Congressional lawmakers were hesitant to agree with President Donald Trump‘s assessment that the United States could sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey while he attended the annual NATO summit in Ankara this week.“It’s a decision we are going to make,” Trump said during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.But stateside, lawmakers, including some Republicans, were not in agreement with selling the fighter jets to Turkey.
“Selling one of America’s most advanced fighter jets to Turkey is not in the best interest of the United States,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) texted the Washington Examiner. “It risks compromising critical technology and sends the wrong message to our allies in Europe and the Middle East. Restrictions on the sale of F-35s to Turkey should absolutely remain in place while Erdogan continues to operate Russian S-400s, in accordance with existing U.S. law.”Even before the NATO summit, Lawler led a bipartisan group of House members in writing to Trump not to sell the jets to Turkey, citing Erdogan’s “continued aggression toward our greatest partners along with his troubling defense partnerships with our adversaries.”Congress banned Turkey from purchasing the jets during Trump’s first term due to Ankara’s acceptance of the Russian S-400 air and missile defense system. Trump could face resistance from his own party members if he does push for Congress to overturn the ban.Anthony Raisley, a spokesman for Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who signed Lawler’s bipartisan letter, told the Washington Examiner, that “the Congresswoman would not support a reversal.”Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) led a group of 18 Democrats in total to write a letter to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries this week, imploring the two leaders to prevent the administration from moving forward through a Joint Resolution of Disapproval.The lawmakers cited the State Department’s sanctioning of Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries under Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act during Trump’s first term as part of their argument.“Nothing in the public record suggests Turkey has disposed of the S-400 system, removed it from operational service, or otherwise remediated the underlying concern that triggered sanctions in the first place,” the letter also states.Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a Foreign Relations Committee member, also signaled his opposition to a deal with Turkey, posting “I hope this is wrong” on X.The Texas senator also highlighted that existing federal law blocks the sale.
