Trump Administration lacks formal policy process to stop Russia’s war against Ukraine – Politico

The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has no formal process for developing policy, issuing recommendations, engaging with foreign governments, or defining a clear course of action to stop Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, resulting in chaos and confusion.

According to Ukrinform, Politico reported this.

“As long as the handful of players within Trump’s administration keep operating on their own, there will be chaos and confusion surrounding any Ukraine peace plan,” the report states.

One of the reasons for this chaos, Politico writes, is that President Donald Trump has given his team an almost impossible task: to stop the war between two countries that are both determined to continue fighting for completely opposite goals – in Russia’s case, to subjugate Ukraine; in Ukraine’s case, to secure its sovereignty and independence.

Analysts say the absence of a formal process is a unique feature, or flaw, of Trump’s presidency.

Former U.S. Ambassador to NATO Ivo Daalder believes Trump runs the U.S. government the same way he would a family business — from his seat in the Oval Office, holding meetings with anyone he wants, calling whoever he wishes, and then making policy decisions entirely at his own discretion.

“When it comes to Ukraine and Russia, there are literally only a handful of individuals within the President’s circle: Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State and National Security Advisor Marco Rubio, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, Presidential Peace Envoy Steve Witkoff and, since October, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. Not included as a matter of course are the defense secretary, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, or the heads of the CIA and national intelligence,” Daalder added.

Among these key players, only Marco Rubio has a substantial staff working under him at the State Department and the National Security Council. But even then, there is very little evidence that he relies on them in the way his predecessors did. Whatever interagency discussions do occur, their influence on top-level policy development appears minimal, if at all, Politico suggests.

Even more problematic, analysts say, is that aside from Rubio, the other key figures in Trump's Ukraine group operate without staff support or established procedures.

As reported earlier by Ukrinform, Secretary of State Marco Rubio had informed European allies that the United States wanted to conclude a peace agreement before providing any security guarantees for Ukraine.