What are the tools the U.S. president can use to circumvent the chambers in granting military aid to Ukraine?

Question

Debate over the funding request is beginning in earnest after a weeks-long delay while House Republicans struggled to name a new speaker, and it is unclear what, if anything, can get through both chambers.

Both Democrats and Republicans in Congress want to promptly adopt military aid for Israel, a long-standing US partner at war with Hamas.

Things get more complicated, however, when it comes to Ukraine.

Washington is Kyiv's biggest military backer, having committed tens of billions of dollars since Russia invaded in February 2022.

But Biden's pledge of undisrupted financial support, reiterated during Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's visit to Washington in September, looks to be in jeopardy.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231102-split-us-congress-quarrels-over-new-aid-to-israel-and-ukraine

What are the tools the U.S. president can use to circumvent the chambers in granting military aid to Ukraine? It seems that the U.S. Congress is split when it comes to granting additional aid to Ukraine. What are some of the tools the U.S. president can use to still be able to grant money to Ukraine if the U.S. Congress somehow decide to block any aid?

Answer 1

Question:

What are the tools the U.S. president can use to circumvent the chambers in granting military aid to Ukraine?

Presidential drawdown authority, or PDA, allows the president to to transfer weapons and other materials from U.S. military stocks and transfer them to other nations after notifying Congress, but doesn't require Congressional approval. However; These draw downs are capped.

Use of Presidential Drawdown Authority for Military Assistance for Ukraine

In support of this effort, Congress has progressively increased the cap on this drawdown authority from $100 million to $11 billion for Fiscal Year 2022, most recently in the Additional Ukraine Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2022 (P.L. 117-128), which was signed into law by the President on May 21. Since last August, the Administration has utilized this Presidential Drawdown Authority 44 times to provide military assistance to Ukraine.

Traditionally President's have found ways. During WWII 1940, President Roosevelt could not transfer weapons directly to Britain because of Congressional action. President Roosevelt had the planes flown to the U.S boarder with Canada, in North Dakota. From there Britain's were permitted to bring horse teams across the boarder and drag the planes back to Canada. I believe the letter of the neutrality act was conformed with while permitting the weapon transfers; by this cumbersome antiquated transfer. Clearly Roosevelt did it at the scarcely populated North Dakota border, because he wasn't convinced of the legality of his actions.

Why Britain Pulled Aircraft with Horses and Trucks

To circumnavigate the US neutrality act, Britain took delivery of aircraft at the US Canadian border and pulled them into Canada by horses or trucks.