Rubio certifies AECA Section 36(c) emergency to approve arms sale to Gulf states, bypassing 30-day congressional review

Secretary of State Marco Rubio invokes Section 36(c) of the Arms Export Control Act on May 3, 2026, certifying an emergency to approve an arms sale to Gulf states — including Saudi Arabia and the UAE — without the standard 30-day congressional notification period. Rubio cites Iran's regional military activity as the emergency justification, mirroring Pompeo's 2019 certification. The package's value and specific contents are not immediately disclosed to the public, though the administration notifies the full congressional intelligence committees in a classified briefing. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch receives notification; Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) objects that the emergency justification doesn't meet the statute's standard and calls for a committee vote on a resolution of disapproval. The certification extends a pattern in which executives use Section 36(c) to sell weapons to Gulf partners during periods of Iran tension, effectively converting an emergency exception into a routine policy tool.