Senate Blocks Sanders Effort to Stop $20 Billion Arms Sale to Israel

The tally of the votes provided a clear map of the current political divide in Washington. S.J. Res. 111 was struck down with a vote of 18 to 79; S.J. Res. 115 followed a similar path at 17 to 80; and S.J. Res. 113 was defeated 19 to 78. While these numbers indicate a solid majority in favor of maintaining military aid, they do not tell the full story of the momentum shifting beneath the surface. For Sanders and his co-sponsors, including Senators Peter Welch, Chris Van Hollen, and Jeff Merkley, the goal was not merely to win a legislative victory that was statistically unlikely, but to force a public accounting of American “complicity” in the devastation. During a press conference following the votes, Sanders was unwavering, accusing the administration of Benjamin Netanyahu of violating both international law and U.S. domestic statutes that prohibit military aid to countries blocking American humanitarian assistance.

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The core of the tension lies in the interpretation of a nation’s right to self-defense. While the vast majority of the Senate agrees that Israel has a fundamental right to protect its citizens from terrorism, Sanders has argued that this right does not grant a “blank check” for a military campaign that utilizes starvation as a tool of war. He has been a vocal critic of the restrictions placed on aid delivery, pointing to reports from international relief organizations that describe widespread hunger and a lack of basic medical supplies. For Sanders, the issue is one of consistency: the United States cannot claim to lead the world in human rights while simultaneously providing the bombs that create humanitarian catastrophes.

Despite the initial defeats, the persistence of the anti-arms-sale movement began to show tangible results in subsequent voting rounds. By mid-2025, when Sanders introduced a resolution to block a separate $675 million sale of bombs and 20,000 automatic assault rifles, the numbers within the Democratic caucus began to move. While the resolution failed to pass the full Senate, more than half of the Democratic caucus—27 senators—voted to block the sale of the assault rifles, and 24 supported the measure to halt the bomb sales. This marked a sharp increase from previous attempts, where only 18 Democrats had stood with Sanders. This shift suggests that the “unshakeable” consensus on military aid is fracturing, driven by pressure from a younger, more progressive electorate that is increasingly skeptical of traditional foreign policy alliances.

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