The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | March 6th, 2025: When Will Ukraine Run Out Of Weapons? & Trump Drafts Order To 'Make Shipbuilding Great Again'

Episode Date: March 6, 2025

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:   First, the latest fallout from the Trump administration’s order to halt military aid to Ukraine, as officials in Kyiv warn they could run out of critical ammunition supplies in a matter of months. Later in the show, President Trump vows to "Make Shipbuilding Great Again" as he preps an executive order aimed at countering China’s grip on the global maritime industry. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The President's Daily Brief. YouTube: youtube.com/@presidentsdailybrief Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Welcome to the PDB afternoon bulletin. I'm Mike Baker, your eyes and ears on the world stage. Let's get briefed. First, the latest fallout from the Trump administration's order to halt military aid to Ukraine, as officials in Kiev warned that they could run out of critical ammunition supplies in a matter of months. Later in the show, President Trump vows to, quote, make shipbuilding great again as he preps an executive order aimed at countering China. his grip on the global maritime industry. But first, today's afternoon spotlight. With President Trump pausing all military aid to Ukraine, not to mention Intel support, leaders in Kiev are warning that they could soon face a dangerous shortage of key defensive weapons. The Ukrainian prime minister said on Tuesday that while the country's troops are currently well equipped to continue fending all freshen attacks, they will run out of ammunition by the beginning of the summer.

military officials also warn that Ukraine will likely deplete their stockpile of interceptors for the U.S. Patriot missile systems that defend their cities from Russian bombardment within the next two to three months, and that's according to our report from the New York Post. Warning of the devastating battlefield impacts the looming shortage could have, an anonymous Ukrainian official said, quote, after that it will be very difficult for us. It will not be a total collapse, but we will be forced to withdraw from areas more quickly, end quote. The White House announced its decision to halt all military aid to the war-torn nation just three days after President Trump and Ukrainian President Zelenskyy

engaged in a televised argument in the Oval Office last Friday. The move was quickly followed with the suspension of all intelligence sharing between the U.S. and Ukraine, depriving Keeve of critical battlefield insights that could tip the scales. favor of the Russian military. As we discussed earlier on the PDB, officials with the Trump administration said Wednesday that the pauses will remain in place until Ukraine comes to the negotiating table, and a viable timeline for peace talks with Russia is established. Of course, it would be interesting to know if Russia has actually agreed to come to the negotiating table, and under what conditions

and with what demands. Ukraine's leaders are now scrambling to mend fences with the Trump administration, On Wednesday, Zelensky's chief of staff held a productive call with White House National Security Advisor Mike Waltz and scheduled a meeting with U.S. officials for the, quote, near future to discuss potential negotiations with Russia. In the meantime, Ukraine is doing all they can to accelerate their own domestic production of ammunition and drones, though they don't have the ability to replace what the U.S. has been providing. Over the course of the more than three-year-long war, the U.S. says, served as the single largest military aid supplier to Keeve, giving approximately $70 billion

in weapons and ammunition, according to the U.S. State Department. Among those weapons are advanced air defense systems, ballistic missiles, and long-range artillery rockets, munitions that European allies can't readily replace for Ukraine. Analysts have said the military aid cutoff will hinder the Ukrainian military's ability to conduct long-range strikes inside Russian territory, but the biggest immediate concern for Kyiv is the impact on their defensive stockpiles. A lack of anti-aircraft and air defense ordinance, particularly for the U.S. Patriot batteries, could leave Ukrainian cities exposed, and many officials are fearful that the Putin regime will exploit the looming shortage, along with the pause and intelligence sharing

to further bombard the Ukrainian population. Officials say even a temporary shortfall will force their military into making difficult decisions on what it will prioritize to defend, with one official asking, quote, do you defend an airfield or a power plant or a factory making weapons, end quote. Now, the threat is all too real, with the Russian military unleashing a series of deadly aerial attacks in recent days. Early Thursday, a Russian drone strike on a shipping facility in the city of Sumi killed a civilian worker, and that came after a Russian missile struck a hotel in a city in central Ukraine late Wednesday evening. That killed four people and injured 31, though rescue workers are still sifting through the debris. Following the attacks, Zelensky declared, quote,

there must be no pause in the pressure on Russia to stop this war and terror against life, end quote. Well, not to sound negative, but it seems a little too late for that, one could argue. Pausing military and intelligence support to Ukraine is not exactly putting pressure on Russia. Coming up next, President Trump vows to make shipbuilding great again, ordering the most aggressive push to bolster America's commercial and military ship production in half a century. I'll be right back. USAA knows dynamic duos can save the day, like superheroes and sidekicks or auto and home insurance. With USAA, you can bundle your auto and home and save up to 10%. Tap the banner to learn more and get a quote at USAA.com slash bundle.

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book direct at Choicehotales.com. See you on the roof. Welcome back to the afternoon bulletin. The Trump administration is moving to overhaul American shipbuilding with a draft executive order aimed at countering China's grip on the global maritime industry. The plan seeks to revitalize commercial and military ship production through financial incentives and reforms. President Trump announced the initiative titled Make Shipbuilding Great Again during a joint address to Congress on Tuesday, revealing

plans to establish a maritime industrial base office within the White House's National Security Council to lead the effort. The administration argues that China, through non-market practices, has built a shipbuilding industry more than 200 times the capacity of Americas posing economic and security threats. This maritime action plan spearheaded by multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Commerce, State Transportation, and Homeland Security, centers on a Maritime Security Trust Fund, which would be financed through tariffs and taxes to support, shipbuilding over the next nine years. The plan also designates maritime opportunity zones, offering incentives to attract shipbuilding businesses to designated regions. One of the most

contentious elements is a harbor maintenance tax on foreign cargo, slapping additional 10% fees on shipments entering the U.S. from Mexico or Canada. The Department of Homeland Security will oversee enforcement at American ports, tightening tax collection, and security measures to ensure compliance. The administration is also taking aim at the military procurement process, ordering the Department of Government Efficiency, known as Doge, of course, overseen by Elon Musk, to conduct a three-month review of Navy and Homeland Security acquisitions. A particular focus is what Trump officials call, quote, unaccountable Navy requirement officers, accused of delaying ship production and driving up costs through excessive red tape. The White House is pushing for a more streamlined process,

to accelerate procurement and cut spending. On the labor front, Trump's initiative revives key elements of the Shipyard Accountability and Workforce Support, or SAWS program, because, frankly, nobody loves an acronym like the government and the military love an acronym. And SAWS had sought to boost wages for nuclear shipward workers through contract adjustments. The Biden administration previously rejected SAWS, while Congress shelved it over transparency concerns. Under Trump's plan, the Navy would tap into existing funds to push through wage hikes and expand hiring and shipyards. The drafted order

also mandates a 45-day shipbuilding review to investigate delays and cost overruns in critical Navy programs, including submarines, unmanned systems, and surface ships. A similar review last year exposed significant setbacks across the industry, raising concerns. about the military's ability to sustain its maritime fleet. Experts say this initiative represents the most aggressive push to bolster American shipbuilding in half a century, drawing comparisons to President Nixon's 1970 Merchant Marine Act, which poured federal loans into domestic ship production.

With China dominating global shipbuilding and tensions escalating in the South Pacific, the Trump administration argues that a revitalized maritime industry is essential to national security and economic sovereignty. Well, they're not wrong. Whether Congress and industry leaders will back the plan, that remains an open question. But at least for now, it does appear to be gaining bipartisan support. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin for Thursday, 6 March.

If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And as the end of the week approaches, I can confirm that the PDB staff is hard at work producing our latest episode of America's favorite weekend news show, the PDB Situation Report. Now, I honestly, I don't know that it's actually America's favorite weekend news show. That's not a scientific assessment or it's not based on extensive surveys, but it's got a nice ring to it. Every Friday evening at 10 p.m. on the first TV, we launch a brand new episode of the Situation Report. Also, of course, it's available on our YouTube channel at President's daily brief and all the podcast platforms out there in podcast land.

I'm Mike Baker, and I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Stay cool. Not loving your AT&T or T Mobile Bill. Yeah, we've been hearing that a lot. Good news. Bring your AT&T or T Mobile Bill to Verizon and we'll give you a better deal. So get away from that unfortunate phone bill and get to Verizon.

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