Since taking office, the Trump Administration has approved a series of arms sales to Israel totaling more than $12 billion. Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRDs) led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (VT) and Reps. Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) and Pramila Jayapal (WA-7) would block the sale of many offensive weapons that have been used in strikes that have killed thousands of civilians, including aid workers and journalists in Gaza.
Some of these transfers include 2,000-pound bombs—previously halted by President Biden over civilian harm concerns—and D9 Caterpillar bulldozers, which could be used to accelerate the destruction of civilian infrastructure, Palestinian home demolitions, and annexation in Gaza and the West Bank. The JRDs do not implicate missile defense systems such as the Iron Dome and David’s Sling.
U.S. law prohibits the provision of security assistance to foreign military units that have committed gross violations of human rights. According to credible reports, including from human rights organizations and the United Nations, Israeli forces have engaged in a pattern of unlawful attacks in Gaza. Independent investigations have also found that U.S. weapons have been used in several unlawful attacks that killed dozens of Palestinian civilians, including children.
With the ceasefire and hostage release negotiations on the brink of collapse and Israel blocking humanitarian aid into Gaza, there is no time to lose. Congress must pass these JRDs and use all forms of U.S. leverage to bring about a permanent ceasefire in Gaza and across the region.
Details on the JRDs to block specific weapons sales to Israel
These JRDs oppose multiple offensive arms sales to Israel that have been used in violation of U.S. law. They include:
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S.J.Res.26: Various bombs and JDAMs - $6.75 billion
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S.J.Res.32: D9 Caterpillar bulldozers - $295 million
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S.J.Res.33: 2,000-pound bombs - $2.04 billion
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S.J.Res.34: 1,000-pound bombs and JDAMs - $675.7 million
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S.J.Res.35: Various bombs and JDAMs - $893 million
The JRD Process Explained
In 1974, Congress passed legislation requiring the President to provide notifications of major arms sales and created a process to block an arms sale by passing expedited resolutions, enabling a fast-tracked floor debate and vote.
Under the Arms Export Control Act (AECA), Congress generally has 30 days to pass a JRD to block a weapons transfer through both chambers after receiving notification of a sale from the State Department. However, for Israel and NATO allies, this window is shortened to 15 days.
Only Senate JRDs can move through a fast-tracked, expedited process and go straight to the floor for a vote. House JRDs must go through the normal legislative process, including a committee markup. Sen. Sanders has invoked expedited procedures under the AECA for his JRDs to block several major offensive weapon sales to Israel. If he brings these bills up for a vote, it would be the second time Congress voted to halt weapons sales to Israel, with the last vote occurring in November 2024.
Topline Messages
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Documented Harm to Civilians: Independent human rights and conflict monitors have thoroughly documented the Israeli military’s use of offensive weapons from the United States in attacks that have killed Palestinian civilians in Gaza. Humanitarian groups have stressed that Israeli forces continue to block the delivery of humanitarian aid as hundreds of thousands of people in Gaza are on the precipice of starvation and suffering from the spread of deadly diseases.
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Violation of U.S. Law and Policy: U.S. law prohibits arms transfers to countries that engage in a consistent pattern of gross human rights violations or restrict the delivery of humanitarian aid. Independent monitors have documented severe human rights abuses in Gaza and the obstruction of critical supplies. Continued offensive arms transfers to Israel would violate the Foreign Assistance Act and the Arms Export Control Act.
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Leverage for a Ceasefire: There is no military solution to this crisis in Israel-Palestine and across the Middle East, and more weapons of war will only escalate the violence. By stopping these arms sales, Congress would send a clear message that only diplomacy – not more weapons – is the way to bring all hostages home and achieve a peaceful settlement to the violence in Gaza and across the region.
Counterpoints and Rebuttals
Without these U.S. weapons, Israel can’t defend against attacks from Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran.
These JRDs do not block defensive systems like the Iron Dome and David’s Sling, which are specifically designed to intercept rockets and protect civilians from incoming attacks. Instead, these JRDs only impact offensive weapons, such as 2000-pound bombs and Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs), that have been linked to war crimes in Gaza.
There is no military solution to the conflict in Gaza, only a diplomatic one that addresses the root causes of violence. Instead of sending more offensive weapons to Israel, Congress and the administration should leverage this military aid with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to get him to finally accept a permanent ceasefire deal in Gaza. This is the only way to bring the remaining hostages home and to support both Palestinian human rights and Israel’s long-term national security.
We should leave it to President Trump to negotiate a ceasefire. If he wants to suspend arms sales, that’s up to him.
Congress isn’t a passive bystander. It’s a coequal branch of government and shares responsibility for what’s happening in Gaza. This is especially true when it involves U.S. weapons that senators and representatives have voted repeatedly to send to Israel. Failing to engage on this issue shirks key oversight responsibilities entrusted to members of Congress. The administration must do more to protect civilians and increase humanitarian aid access, especially now that the ceasefire deal has collapsed and violence is escalating. President Trump’s Gaza policy is failing, and Congress must do more to end the violence, achieve a permanent end to the war, the return of the hostages, and end U.S. complicity in gross violations of human rights in Gaza, as required by U.S. law.
I’m focused on the humanitarian situation and getting a ceasefire – I don’t want to wade into the arms debate.
These issues are deeply interconnected. Getting aid into Gaza will require real leverage, and the greatest leverage the U.S. has is the weapons we sell to Israel, which are fueling the ongoing conflict. Right now, the Trump administration is not publicly putting any pressure on Israel to uphold its end of the ceasefire agreement, which required it to facilitate the flow of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. This has sent a devastating message of impunity to the government of Israel as it has carried out a military campaign that is creating one of the world’s worst man-made humanitarian catastrophes. Members of Congress supporting these JRDs will only increase pressure on both the U.S. and Israel to facilitate aid delivery and secure a lasting ceasefire agreement.
Additionally, we’ve seen many examples where Congress has successfully leveraged military support to key allies, like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, in ways that bolstered diplomacy, improved human rights conditions, and increased aid access. For example, the 2018 Senate passage of the Yemen War Powers Resolution led to President Trump halting in-flight refueling for Saudi-led coalition warplanes bombing Yemen. That move helped compel the Saudi government and the Houthis to reach a ceasefire in Hodeida port, which kept humanitarian aid flowing to millions of Yemenis and saved potentially hundreds of thousands of lives.
There’s no precedent for cutting off arms sales to an ally in wartime.
We are not advocating for cutting off an ally during wartime. These JRDs have been narrowly crafted to target specific weapons sales that human rights monitors have documented to conduct gross violations of human rights in Gaza, such as JDAMs, D9 Bulldozers, and 2000-pound bombs. Since taking office, the Trump administration has approved over $12 billion in military aid to Israel. These figures do not include new multi-billion dollar arms agreements signed that would provide military hardware to Israel over the next several years.
Moreover, since the collapse of the ceasefire agreement in March, Israel has indicated that its goals for the war now go far beyond ending Hamas rule and freeing hostages. They now include occupying Gaza and establishing full Israeli military rule. These actions put hostages at serious risk, which is why many Israelis have taken to the streets in protest of their government’s actions to resume the war.
Dan Shapiro, the U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East in the Biden Administration recently warned, “From the early days of the war, it’s been a concern that the lack of a day-after plan — in which all hostages are released, Hamas is removed from power with the support of Arab states, and a credible alternative Palestinian leadership is installed — could lead to a full Israeli reoccupation of Gaza. It could last for years. It is not an outcome most Israelis want, and it could cost hostages’ lives.”
