Senate votes 40-59 to keep $447M Israel arms sales despite Democratic opposition

The Arms Export Control Act (AECA, 22 U.S.C. § 2751) requires the president to notify Congress of proposed foreign military sales. For sales over $25 million in major defense equipment or $50 million in defense services, Congress has 30 calendar days to block the sale through a joint resolution of disapproval. The president can invoke emergency authority under Section 36(b) to bypass this review window entirely, which the Trump administration did for the Israel bulldozer and bomb sales in late March 2026.

By invoking emergency authority, the administration prevented public debate, congressional staff analysis, and constituent input before finalizing the sales.

S.J.Res.32, filed by Sen. BSBernie Sanders, would have blocked the sale of D9 and D9T Caterpillar bulldozers to Israel valued at $295 million. The Senate voted 40-59 to reject it on April 15, 2026. S.J.Res.138, also filed by Sanders, would have blocked $151.8 million in 12,000 general-purpose 1,000-pound gravity bombs; the Senate rejected that resolution 36-63.

In July 2025, only 11 Senate Democrats had supported a Sanders resolution to block Israel arms sales. By April 2026, that number grew to 40 on the bulldozer resolution.

All 53 Senate Republicans voted against both resolutions. Among the 47 Senate Democrats, 40 voted yes on the bulldozer resolution and 36 voted yes on the bomb resolution. Seven Democrats sided with all Republicans on the bulldozer sale and 11 on the bomb sale.

Mark Kelly, who had voted against Sanders' resolutions in 2024 and 2025, voted yes on both in April 2026. In a floor speech before the vote, Kelly said that 'the reckless decisions being made by Prime Minister Netanyahu' and the 'ongoing violence against Palestinians' in the West Bank drove his decision. CSChuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, and JFJohn Fetterman voted no on both.

D9 Caterpillar bulldozers have been documented by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem as tools used by Israel in civilian demolitions in Gaza and the West Bank since 2024. The Biden administration had withheld approval for this specific sale, citing concerns about their use in residential demolitions.

The D9 is a heavy-duty armored bulldozer equipped with armor plating and remote-control operation. It can demolish multi-story buildings in minutes and has become the primary tool for clearing Palestinian residential areas in Gaza and the West Bank.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio approved both sales in late March 2026 using emergency authority, bypassing the normal 30-day congressional review period. No public legal justification was provided. Both sales were finalized six days after the United States launched its military operation against Iran.

Under Section 36(b) of the AECA, emergency authority is supposed to be used for genuine national security crises threatening U.S. armed forces. The statute gives presidents discretion to define what counts as an emergency.

CSChuck Schumer, the Senate Minority Leader, voted against both resolutions. So did Kirsten Gillibrand and JFJohn Fetterman, among roughly seven Democrats who sided with all Republicans. Fetterman was the only Democrat to also vote against an Iran war powers resolution the same day.

Schumer and Gillibrand represent 🗽New York, which has substantial Jewish constituencies and historic ties to Israel advocacy.

A joint resolution of disapproval under the AECA is privileged, meaning it can't be filibustered and requires only a simple majority (51 votes) to pass. However, it still must be signed by the president or Congress must override a veto with a two-thirds majority. Trump would veto any resolution blocking Israel arms sales. A veto override would require 67 Senate votes, meaning 15 Republican senators would need to defect.

Sanders has forced disapproval votes on Israel arms sales repeatedly since 2024. His coalition added votes across three separate vote cycles: 11 in 2024, 27 in July 2025, and 40 in April 2026. Sanders used a motion to discharge to force the vote without Foreign Relations Committee approval, the same parliamentary tool Democrats used on the Iran war powers resolutions.

In a statement after the vote, Sanders said: 'When we started this effort there were just 11 votes. Now, there are 40. That shift reflects where the American people are.'

The Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program is the official mechanism for U.S. government-to-government sales of defense equipment and services. Unlike direct commercial sales by contractors, FMS allows the Defense Department to act as the seller, generating revenue for American defense contractors while building military relationships with allied governments.

Emergency authority can be used to accelerate FMS transfers without the standard 30-day congressional review, the agency coordination process, or the interagency checks that normally precede major weapons sales.