President Trump is expected to advance a massive $14 billion arms package for Taiwan, according to Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, who made the remarks during a visit to Taipei this week.
The Trump administration approved a massive $11 billion weapons sale for Taiwan in December 2025, more than was approved for the island during the entire Biden administration. In response, China launched major military drills around Taiwan, and since then, Beijing has warned strongly against US plans to advance another massive arms package.
“Last December, Congress signed off on the largest foreign military sales package in history at US$11 billion — and we aren’t stopping there,” McCaul said, according to Taiwan’s Central News Agency. “I am confident the president will forward soon another package to Congress with an additional $14 billion in critical military defense articles.”
McCaul, former head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is known as a China hawk and has made frequent visits to Taiwan. He made the comments during a ceremony at the office of Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, who presented the Texas congressman with an award and praised him for “always supporting Taiwan’s efforts to strengthen its national defense capabilities” and pressing US administrations to “accelerate the delivery of arms to Taiwan.”
It remains unclear whether President Trump will move forward with the massive arms sale ahead of an upcoming summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Washington, scheduled for September 24. If he does, it would put a major strain on the talks with the Chinese leader, who warned Trump in Beijing that differences over Taiwan could lead to “clashes and conflicts.”
After his visit to Beijing in May, Trump said he was undecided over advancing the $14 billion arms package, and called it a good “bargaining chip” with Beijing. Hung Cao, the acting secretary of the Navy, presented a different reason for the delay, saying that the US was holding off on the sale to ensure it had enough of its own weapons for the Iran war.
Democrats have attacked Trump for not advancing the arms sale despite recently moving forward the massive $11 billion package. China hawks say the sales are necessary for “deterrence,” but US military and diplomatic support has only increased tensions across the Taiwan Strait, which is demonstrated by the fact that China has held blockade drills around Taiwan directly in response to the US’s actions.
