Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), the ranking member of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense, accused Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday of preventing European allies from transferring missile interceptors to Ukraine. She said the move “only emboldens Putin’s aggression.”
McCollum’s full post, published at 8:51 a.m. on Oct. 20, 2026, read:
“Sec.Hegseth is preventing our European allies from transferring critical defensive missile interceptors to Ukraine which can defend against Russian missiles and drones. Blocking defensive munitions does nothing to stop this conflict, it only emboldens Putin’s aggression.”
The report McCollum linked
McCollum linked a Washington Post report by John Hudson, published Oct. 19 at 6:33 p.m. EDT under the headline “Trump administration holds up Patriot missiles for Ukraine.” The report said the administration has not approved the transfer of interceptor missiles needed to protect Ukraine from Russian missile and drone attacks.
At least some Patriot transfers come from countries friendly to Ukraine and need Hegseth’s approval, the report said, citing a U.S. official and three other people who spoke on condition of anonymity. The weapons are U.S.-made and shipped under agreements requiring American approval before transfer to a third country.
The report did not say Hegseth had formally rejected the transfers. A senior Pentagon official said there had been no change in the department’s policy on intelligence sharing or on the capabilities Europeans may provide to Ukraine.
McCollum’s record on Ukraine funding
McCollum’s post draws on her role overseeing defense spending. In May 2022, as chair of the subcommittee, she backed a $40 billion Ukraine assistance bill, saying it continued funding for equipment, weapons and training and included oversight measures.
In remarks on H.R. 5692, the Ukraine Security Assistance and Oversight Supplemental Appropriations Act, she noted that the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative has been part of the base defense bill since fiscal 2015. She said five different subcommittee chairs across both parties had included the funding.
In a February 2023 statement marking one year of the invasion, McCollum said she had worked with the Biden administration to ensure Ukraine received the assistance it needed to defend itself.
In June 2024, she told the House Rules Committee she opposed the fiscal 2025 defense bill in part because it cut the initiative’s funding, saying that “sends a terrible signal.”
On March 4, 2025, after President Trump suspended military aid to Ukraine, she warned of “disastrous consequences” if the decision was not reversed. She argued it would weaken Zelenskyy’s negotiating position and could lead to a collapse of Ukrainian defensive positions.
McCollum’s Tuesday post focuses on defensive weapons, a distinction she has not drawn as sharply in earlier statements. Hegseth has not publicly said whether he has approved the transfers described in the Post report.