A striking 40 Democratic and allied senators voted to block a shipment of American-made bulldozers to Israel on Wednesday. The vote represented the biggest-ever rejection from Congress of American military aid for the country, demonstrating that widespread public frustration with devastating U.S.-Israeli cooperation — in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran and beyond — is resonating among lawmakers to a new degree.
The legislators supported a bill led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that presented a historic chance for Democrats to signal opposition to both the Trump administration and the pattern of largely unquestioned U.S. support for Israel that predates Donald Trump’s presidencies. Though the legislation could not pass, given unanimous Republican support for arming Israel, the number of senators backing it was widely understood as a measure of skepticism of the U.S.-Israel status quo.
Sanders also proposed a bill to bar the transfer of 1,000-pound bombs to the Israelis, which senators will vote on next.
An early indicator of the resolutions’ potential came when Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) gave a speech saying he would back them — indicating that, for likely 2028 Democratic presidential nominees like him, the votes were seen as a significant test.
