Reiterating the assertion that the foreign assistance package for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan includes an “impeachment time bomb” that would bind the hands of the future government, Sen. JD Vance’s staff will write to GOP members on Thursday.
The policy think tank of former Vice President Mike Pence, Advancing American Freedom (AAF), sent a statement to senators the day before Vance’s memo, denying his assertions.
For the year ending September 30, 2025, the national security supplementary text allots $1.6 billion to the Ukrainian military and roughly $14 billion to the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative. Trump briefly halted this funding while he pushed for an inquiry into the international business operations of the Biden family.
The AAF maintains that the president must carry out the Constitution’s mandates by the Take Care clause. They didn’t buy Nixon’s line that the provision gave the president carte blanche to disobey laws passed by Congress.
According to the office, AAF bolstered Vance’s office’s argument that the Ukraine supplemental would limit Trump’s authority upon his return to the White House.
According to a document from AAF, the president must adhere to the letter of the law if he wants to cut off US funding to Ukraine; otherwise, he must seek Congress’ consent within 45 days.
Nearly $400 million in Ukrainian security aid was withheld in 2019 by the Trump administration’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Just before Trump asked the president of Ukraine to look into Joe Biden’s family for a 2020 campaign competitor, reports surfaced that the White House was holding off on granting Zelenskyy a visit to the Oval Office in return for a probe.
These events set the stage for Trump’s impeachment, which ended with his acquittal.
According to Vance’s report, the expiry dates of earlier Ukraine supplemental measures did not carry over into subsequent administrations. The present measure extends funds beyond the next presidential term by including explicit sunset dates, which the Biden administration inserted. Most Republicans in the Senate voted against this, yet it still passed.
When asked about Senator Vance’s allegations, AAF board chairman Marc Short told Fox News Digital that the organization would always stand behind the Constitution and its authority to the legislative and executive branches.
