A senior official at the US State Department told the site ‘Axios’: ‘This actually harms our allies, partners, and the American industry in providing many of these vital capabilities abroad.’ According to the site, the final destination of the exports is unclear, but arms sales to NATO allies are often transferred to aid Ukraine. The official pointed out that ‘pending transactions include direct arms sales from the US government to NATO allies, as well as licensing for private American defense companies to export weapons. Typically, the process of these sales, in particular, is straightforward and non-controversial.’ The American official added that ‘the State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs was operating with about a quarter of its normal staff to support arms sales last month.’ The chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, James Risch (a Republican from Idaho), told the American site: ‘China and Russia have not been shut down, and their efforts to undermine the US, our partners, and allies have become easier, while our industrial base suffers and our allies’ needs are not being met.’ The US government shutdown began in October 2025 due to Congress’ failure to pass the new fiscal year’s budget, which starts in October each year. Former US President Donald Trump had noted in previous statements that he might use this to reduce the number of government employees, while the National Economic Council warned that the continued shutdown could cost the American economy about $15 billion a week.
