Senate rejects effort to halt arms sales to Israel, but most Democrats
vote to block them
[April 16, 2026]
By MARY CLARE JALONICK
WASHINGTON (AP) — More than three dozen Democrats supported an effort by
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders on Wednesday to block arms sales to Israel,
signaling a growing discontent in the party with Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and the wars in Gaza and Iran.
The two resolutions to block U.S. sales of bulldozers and bombs to
Israel were opposed by all Republicans and rejected 40-59 and 36-63. But
Sanders has repeatedly forced votes on the issue to put pressure on his
colleagues — both Democrats and Republicans — to oppose Netanyahu’s
regime.
Similar resolutions forced by Sanders in 2024 and 2025 were also
rejected, but the number of Democrats voting with the Vermont
Independent has more than doubled in less than two years amid Israeli
campaigns in Gaza, Iran and Lebanon and a stepped-up campaign by party
activists who have increasingly seen support for Israel as a litmus test
for support.
“It’s clear that Democrats are beginning to listen to the average
American who is sick and tired of spending billions of dollars to
support Netanyahu’s horrific wars when people in this country can’t
afford housing or health care,” Sanders said after the vote.
Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., voted in support of the two
resolutions after opposing some of Sanders’ previous efforts. In a
speech just before the vote, Kelly said that “the reckless decisions
being made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump” led him to
his decision, which he said he did not take lightly.
“Under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, we’ve seen an expanded war
in Lebanon that is putting innocent Lebanese civilians at risk, and
ongoing violence against Palestinians and their homes being demolished
in the West Bank,” Kelly said. “All of this has undermined the path
forward for peace.”
Among the Democrats voting against the resolutions were Senate Minority
Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Nearly 100 protesters
were arrested during a demonstration on Monday calling on the two New
York senators to vote in favor of Sanders' two measures.
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Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during an address marking New
York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani's first 100 days in office at the
Knockdown Center, Sunday, April 12, 2026, in New York. (AP
Photo/Andres Kudacki) CORRECTION: Corrects Sanders' title from
Representative to Senator
Led by the antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace, the crowd of
hundreds initially attempted to stage a sit-in inside the senators'
offices as they said they were abetting Israel’s intensifying
attacks in Lebanon and the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. But they were
blocked and many of the protesters were arrested.
“The majority of Americans and New Yorkers want a resolution to what
the Israeli government is doing,” said the group’s communications
director, Sonya Meyerson-Knox.
Democrats supported a resolution earlier on Wednesday to halt
Trump's war in Iran, though that was also rejected, 47-52.
Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat who voted against Sanders'
Israel resolutions, said he voted to end the Iran war but did not
want to abandon Israel.
“My votes should be taken neither as an endorsement of the actions
of the Netanyahu government nor as an abandonment of the state of
Israel, the Jewish people, or the US-Israel relationship,” Coons
said in a statement after the vote.
Republicans said the vote could hurt U.S. efforts in the Iran war.
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said
the resolutions could embolden Iran and “send the message that the
U.S. is prepared to leave our ally Israel vulnerable.”
“They will not help the United States of America,” Risch said ahead
of the vote.
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