Congressional Democrats are challenging U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan to sell $2.8 billion in heavy bombs to Israel, largely at the expense of American taxpayers, saying that his administration has failed to provide adequate assurances that civilians would be protected.
The U.S. State Department, responding to MBN, said all arms transfers are assessed for human rights concerns, and that Washington monitors how U.S. weapons are used, while declining to discuss the specific sale.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Wednesday he would try to block the sale of 40,000 bombs. Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also pledged to “work to stop” U.S. taxpayer funds being spent for the weapons.
The package reportedly includes 20,000 MK-84 and 20,000 BLU-117 bombs, each weighing 2,000 pounds, and has been informally presented to the two committees, according to Reuters, which cited an unnamed U.S. official.
A State Department spokesperson declined to confirm the transaction, saying they cannot discuss sales before formal notification to Congress.
“Our commitment to Israel is ironclad,” the spokesperson nevertheless told MBN. “Israel has the right to defend itself, and the United States supports Israel taking necessary action to defend its country, consistent with international law.”
In a statement, Meeks said the Trump administration had not supplied enough assurances about compliance with U.S. law and civilian protections. His objection did not mean ending support for Israel’s defense, he added, but he had concerns about the bombs’ potential use in densely populated parts of Gaza and Lebanon.
Republicans currently hold a narrow 219-214 majority in the House. If the Democrats regain control of the House in the Nov. 3 midterms, Meeks will likely return as the House Foreign Affairs chairman when the next Congress opens in January, giving him greater authority to scrutinize arms sales.
Both the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations committees review proposed arms transfers, but the Trump administration would be able to proceed despite any holds. Blocking a sale through legislation would require passage in both chambers and, if the president vetoes it, sufficient votes to override him.
Most of the arms’ package would be financed through U.S. military assistance, meaning American taxpayers would fund Israel’s purchase of the arms. That arrangement in particular has become a focus of criticism for other Democrats.
In a post on X, Van Hollen accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of continuing to bomb Gaza and denying justice for “Americans killed on his watch.”
“How is this America First?” he wrote. “We will work to stop it.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also criticized Israel’s conduct in a CNN interview this week, pointing to strikes in Syria and violence by Israeli settlers in the West Bank.
“All of us share concerns about what Israel is doing, with their bombing in places like Syria and what that means for any peaceful solution in the Middle East,” she said. “Netanyahu needs to hear from America that we don’t like what he’s doing.”
Shaheen said settler violence was killing Palestinians and driving them from their homes and accused Netanyahu’s government of doing nothing to stop it. But she did not say in that interview whether she would oppose the arms transfer.
The State Department spokesperson told MBN that all proposed transfers are assessed individually under U.S. law and its arms-transfer policy, taking account of human rights alongside other political and economic considerations.
“The department conducts end-use monitoring and coordinates with the Department of War and other agencies to ensure compliance,” the spokesperson said. “The United States takes these obligations seriously and engages with allies and partners when and where reports of alleged end-use violations occur.”
Arms sales to Israel have been a point of contention before. Former President Joe Biden paused a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs in 2024 over concerns about casualties in Gaza, but Trump lifted the hold after returning to office.
Still, the skepticism over the sale comes as the Gaza war has strained the steadfast bipartisan support Israel has long enjoyed in Washington, with negative views of the country spreading beyond Democrats into the Republican Party, too.
Pew Research Center polling earlier this year found that 80% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents viewed Israel unfavorably, up from 53% in 2022, before the Gaza war started. Among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, that share rose from 27% to 41% over the same period.
Even within the White House, officials have begun to publicly question how closely American foreign policy should align with Israel’s.
Vice President JD Vance said this week that the White House must not let its “Middle Eastern foreign policy be subservient to the State of Israel,” arguing at the All-In Podcast conference that Trump was willing to break with Netanyahu. He nevertheless also praised military and intelligence cooperation with Israel.
