US Senators Urge Taiwan to Pass Stalled $40 Billion Defense Budget

The senators’ visit to Taiwan comes as Lai’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the opposition are mired in a rare political crisis.

(L-R) Taiwanese National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu and U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), John Curtis (R-Utah), and Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) pose with Director of the American Institute in Taiwan Raymond Greene as they attend a press conference at the Presidential Office Building in Taipei, Taiwan, on March 30, 2026. Ann Wang/Reuters

TAIPEI, Taiwan—A bipartisan group of U.S. senators met with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te on March 30, amid a legislative deadlock over competing defense budget proposals as the island faces rising military pressure from China.

The U.S. delegation—headed by Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Sen. John Curtis (R-Utah)—urged Taiwan’s parliament, known as the Legislative Yuan, to pass Lai’s proposal for extra defense spending of $40 billion.