Bernie Sanders' Attempt to Block $735M Israeli Arms Deal Appears Doomed

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ resolution seeking to block the sale of $735 million in weapons to Israel appears unlikely to pass the Senate, The Hill reported.

Sanders, I-Vt., introduced the resolution Thursday, the same day Israel agreed to a cease-fire with Palestinian terror group Hamas after days of deadly attacks.

Sanders’ move comes after a similar measure was introduced in the House by Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Mark Pocan, D-Wis., and Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich. The House measure, according to Reuters, has at least six other co-sponsors, including some of the most left-leaning Democrats in the House.

Sanders’ resolution, however, faces multiple challenges that make it seem Senate passage is unlikely.

First and foremost, Sanders doesn’t have the needed votes.

Usually when lawmakers try to prevent an arms sale they are able to force a vote, with Senate passage requiring only a simple majority by using the Arms Export Control Act (AECA) to bypass the 60-vote filibuster. (Congress never has blocked such a sale through a joint resolution.)

Sanders would need 51 votes — 50 plus a vote from Vice President Harris — to vote against the Biden administration’s arms sale.

With Israel being a longtime ally that typically enjoys bipartisan support, Democrats were divided on how the administration should deal with the Middle East nation.

“I wouldn’t be supporting [the resolution],” Sen. Robert Menendez, D-N.J., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, told The Hill.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., the second-ranking Democrat on the committee, also said he didn’t support Sanders’ resolution. Cardin added he doesn’t think there were 50 votes in the Senate to block the sale.

“I have confidence that the Biden administration is handling it properly,” Cardin told The Hill.

Foreign Relations Committee members Sens. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and Tim Kaine, D-Va., said they were undecided about the resolution.

Murphy, who has used the same provision of the AECA to try to block arms sales to Saudi Arabia, said he was waiting to get briefed before taking a position on the sale to Israel.

“We’re going to have to think about ways to make sure that Israel stays on a path to a Palestinian state,” Murphy said. “I think that future is much more in jeopardy after the crisis of the last week.”

Kaine, also a member of the Armed Services committee, signaled he trusted the administration’s approach.

“The sale is going to take place a year from now,” Kaine said. “I hope they are talking to them about the proposed use of these weapons.”

It would seem Sanders will need a significant number of Republicans to back his resolution, which is unlikely to get that kind of GOP support.

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a libertarian who often supports blocking arms sales, said he wouldn’t back the resolution.

“I have been opposed in the past to arms sales to people who I think are acting in a way that’s sort of an undemocratic way, a tyrannical way,” Paul said. “I think what I see Israel doing is acting in self-defense.”

Besides lacking votes, Sanders’ resolution reportedly might not qualify for the fast-track procedures that would allow him to bring it to the Senate floor.

On May 5, the Biden administration notified Congress that it approved selling Israel $735 million in weapons. The deal primarily centered around Boeing-made Joint Direct Attack Munitions that can turn so-called dumb bombs into precision-guided missiles, The Hill reported.

Lawmakers can attempt to block most arms deals during a 30-day congressional review period. But some close allies, including Israel, are given a 15-day review period — which for the current deal runs out this week.

“Midnight Friday is the end of the 15 days for this particular commercial sale to Israel,” a Senate aide told The Hill, “and the export license can be issued after that. We understand it’s usually done so pretty much automatically when time expires.”

However, a disagreement has developed over when the review window expires and what it means for Sanders’ ability to force a vote.

“I think procedurally he may be out of time,” Menendez said. “But I’m not sure, we’ll see what the parliamentarian has to say.”

The fast-track procedures still require the resolution to sit in the Foreign Relations Committee for 10 calendar days before Sanders can try to bring it to the Senate floor. Plus the House will be out until mid-June, well past the congressional review period.

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