US Senate rejects Bernie Sanders' bid to block nearly $500 million in arms sales to Israel
Lawmakers in the upper chamber of the US Congress voted down measures to prohibit the sale of 1,000-pound bombs and armoured bulldozers to Tel Aviv.
The US Senate has rejected two joint resolutions introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders to block nearly $500 million in proposed US arms sales to Israel.
In a series of votes on Wednesday, the upper chamber disagreed with motions aimed at halting the transfer of bombs and armoured bulldozers to the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
By a vote of 40-59, the Senate did not agree to the motion to discharge to prohibit the $295 million sale of armoured bulldozers.
A few Democratic senators, including Rich Blumenthal, Chris Coons, Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jacky Rosen, and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, have voted no, joining Republicans to defeat the measure.
A second resolution to block the $151.8 million sale of 1,000-pound bombs has also been rejected.
The US has provided over $21 billion in military aid to Israel since October 2023.
Shifting Democratic Support
Sanders—an Independent who caucuses with the Democrats—highlighted a significant increase in opposition, noting that while the effort began with only 11 votes, 40 out of 47 Senate Democrats voted to block the bulldozer sales.
Sanders noted on social media that this shift reflects the will of the American people, citing a recent poll which found that 60 percent of Americans—including 75 percent of Democrats and two-thirds of independents—oppose sending arms to Israel.
Notably, not one Democratic senator considering a presidential run has voted in favour of the sales, as Sanders continues to use the "only formal mechanism" available to Congress to challenge the transfers.
"War of expansion"
Sanders slammed the sales, stating that the bulldozers are "machines used to demolish homes in the occupied West Bank and Gaza and make a Palestinian state physically impossible."
He argued that the American people do not want to fund "illegal, horrific and expansionist war policies."
He added that Israeli actions in Lebanon have resulted in a "full blown war of expansion" that has killed more than 2,000 people.
While a ceasefire was reached in October 2025, violations have been frequent, and the Gaza death toll surpassed 72,000 since the genocide began in 2023.