Washington Post Confirms US Has Paused $14B Taiwan Arms Sale After Trump-Xi Summit; Congressional Republicans Push Back; Beijing Welcomes Pause

The Washington Post published a comprehensive report on May 23, 2026 confirming that the Trump administration has paused the $14 billion Taiwan arms sale — comprising PAC-3 MSE interceptors and the NASAMS air defense system — in the wake of the Trump-Xi Beijing summit (May 14-15). Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao confirmed before a Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee hearing that the pause was driven by the need to preserve munitions stockpiles depleted by Operation Epic Fury (the ongoing US-Iran military operation): 'We have done some foreign military sales to them. It's just right now we're doing a pause... [sales will resume] when necessary.' Trump had earlier described the $14 billion package as 'a very good negotiating chip with China' and said it was being held 'in abeyance.' Taiwan's Presidential Office spokesperson Karen Kuo maintained that Taiwan had 'not received any relevant information about the U.S. adjusting these military sales,' and the AIT (American Institute in Taiwan) declined to comment on the specifics. The South China Morning Post reported that Beijing expressed satisfaction with the pause, viewing it as diplomatic progress following the summit. Congressional Republicans, including members of the Senate Armed Services Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee, pushed back strongly. The PORCUPINE Act (which had passed the House Foreign Affairs Committee 45-0 the previous week) would require congressional notification before any pause in arms sales to Taiwan. Analysts at CSIS and the Center for American Progress assessed the pause as potentially damaging to Taiwan's deterrence posture ahead of the May 31 HIMARS payment deadline, describing it as the 'most consequential arms ambiguity Taiwan has faced since the Taiwan Relations Act.' The arms pause intersects directly with China's blocking of Elbridge Colby's Pentagon Beijing visit as diplomatic leverage, creating a three-way pressure triangle: $14B package frozen, FMS pause for Iran operations, and Colby visit denied pending the arms decision.