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Bernie Sanders pushes resolutions to block US weapons sales to Israel
The US Senate rejected two resolutions by Senator Bernie Sanders to block arms sales to Israel, but the votes revealed growing Democratic opposition to unconditional military aid. Nearly 85% of Senate Democrats backed at least one measure, reflecting a broader shift in public opinion and party sentiment.
The US Senate on Wednesday rejected two resolutions introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders aimed at blocking the sale of military bulldozers and 1,000-pound bombs to Israel. While the measures failed, the votes highlighted a significant shift among congressional Democrats, with a record number supporting the effort to halt the transfers.
Coverage comparison
Reports from multiple outlets, including Al Jazeera, The Guardian, the Jerusalem Post, and The Intercept, converged on the core facts of the vote: Senate Joint Resolution 32, which sought to disapprove the sale of D9R and D9T bulldozers and related support to Israel, was defeated 40-59. Senate Joint Resolution 138, targeting the sale of 12,000 BLU-110A/B 1,000-pound bombs, was rejected 36-63. All Republicans voted against both resolutions.
Coverage varied in emphasis. The Jerusalem Post framed the result as a potential strategic rupture, noting that nearly 85% of Senate Democrats voted to withhold military hardware from Israel. Al Jazeera and The Guardian highlighted the progressive milestone, with activists calling the vote an “inflection point.” The Intercept focused on the broader debate within the Democratic Party over the future of US military aid to Israel, including calls from some progressives for a total arms embargo.
Key claims
The two resolutions were introduced in March: Senate Joint Resolution 32 on March 10, and Senate Joint Resolution 138 on March 19, submitted on behalf of Sanders and Senators Chris Van Hollen, Jeff Merkley, and Peter Welch. The proposed bulldozer sale was valued at about $295 million, while the bomb sale was a $151.8 million transaction. Sanders described the legislation as blocking “nearly half a billion dollars worth of bombs and bulldozers” to the Israeli military.
Seven Democrats voted against the bulldozer resolution, and eleven against the bomb resolution. Among those opposing the measures were Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. Notable Democrats voting against the bulldozer resolution included Gillibrand, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Coons, Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman, and Jacky Rosen. For the bomb resolution, Senators Gary Peters, Jack Reed, Mark Warner, and Sheldon Whitehouse were among the dissenters.
Senators Cory Booker, Mark Kelly, Ruben Gallego, and Adam Schiff were among those who voted in favor of blocking the transfers. Kelly, who introduced the resolutions on the Senate floor, said the United States and Israel are fighting a war against Iran “without a clear strategy or goal” and that current regional actions are not making the United States safer.
This was the fourth time Sanders has forced consideration of such resolutions. A similar bill in July of the previous year failed 27-70, and earlier efforts drew support from about 18 Democrats in November 2024 and only 15 in April of that year.
Perspectives
Proponents of the resolutions, including Sanders, framed the vote as a response to public opinion. “The American people are sick and tired of Netanyahu’s wars,” Sanders said after the vote, adding that Congress is beginning to respond. He cited polls showing declining support for Israel among Americans.
Republican opponents argued the measures would undermine Israel’s security. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch said the resolutions amounted to trying to help Iran, and Senator Rick Scott accused supporting Democrats of “siding with terrorism.” The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) lobbied against the resolutions, saying they would undermine Israel’s security as it faces attacks on multiple fronts.
Democratic leaders were divided. While a majority of the caucus supported at least one resolution, Schumer voted against both, drawing criticism from progressive Representative Ro Khanna, who called for Schumer’s resignation as Democratic leader. Senator Chris Coons, who voted against the resolutions, said his votes should not be taken as an endorsement of the Netanyahu government nor as an abandonment of Israel.
Advocacy groups praised the vote as a sign of change. J Street, which for the first time called for phasing out US aid to the Israeli military, said the vote marked an important step in opposing what it called Netanyahu and Trump’s destructive policies. Hassan el-Tayyab of the Friends Committee on National Legislation said the vote showed a majority of Senate Democrats now oppose unconditional aid to Israel.
The votes came amid broader debates about US military support and the conflict with Iran. A separate war powers resolution, intended to prevent President Trump from continuing hostilities against Iran, was rejected 47-52, with Senator John Fetterman the only Democrat voting against it and Republican Rand Paul the sole Republican in favor.
Each row is one claim, attributed to the outlet whose wording states it most clearly. Confidence rates how directly the source text states the claim — explicit and unhedged rates high; hedged, pieced-together, or internally inconsistent statements rate lower. It does not measure whether the claim is true. Status counts the distinct outlets we found asserting it — so a single-source claim can still show high confidence, and a multi-source claim can show medium. Every one of those outlets is named beside the status, so you can check the count against the list. For claims extracted before we began storing that list, the row says so: it names the outlet the claim is quoted from and states that we have not recorded which outlets backed it. Outlets wrote at different times, so a figure that evolves — a casualty count, for example — can legitimately differ between rows; check the "as of" time next to each claim's source.
Claim
Confidence
Status
ClaimUS Senator Bernie Sanders forced Senate votes on two joint resolutions of disapproval seeking to block military sales of bombs and bulldozers to Israel.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Jerusalem Postthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSenate Joint Resolution 32, seeking to disapprove the sale of D9R and D9T bulldozers and related support to Israel, was rejected by a vote of 40-59.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Jerusalem Postthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSenate Joint Resolution 138, seeking to disapprove the sale of 12,000 BLU-110A/B general purpose 1,000-pound bombs to Israel, was rejected by a vote of 36-63.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Jerusalem Postthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe proposed bulldozer sale to Israel was valued at about $295 million.
ClaimThe proposed bomb sale to Israel was a $151.8 million sale of 12,000 1,000-pound bombs.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — Worldthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSanders described the legislation as blocking nearly half a billion dollars worth of bombs and bulldozers to the Israeli military.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeerathe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimAll Senate Republicans voted against both Sanders resolutions on arms sales to Israel.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Interceptthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSeven Democrats voted against the bulldozer resolution (Joint Resolution 32).
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Jerusalem Postthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimEleven Democrats voted against the bomb resolution (Joint Resolution 138).
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Jerusalem Postthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimThe bulldozer resolution drew support from 40 members of the Democratic caucus.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Interceptthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimAbout 40 of 47 Democratic senators voted to withhold military hardware from Israel on at least one of the resolutions.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Jerusalem Postthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSenate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted against Sanders's resolutions blocking arms sales to Israel.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Interceptthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSenators Kirsten Gillibrand, Richard Blumenthal, Chris Coons, Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman, and Jacky Rosen were among Democrats who voted against the bulldozer resolution.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Interceptthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSenators Gary Peters, Jack Reed, Mark Warner, and Sheldon Whitehouse joined other Democrats in voting against the bomb resolution.
ClaimMark Kelly said the United States and Israel are fighting a war against Iran without a clear strategy or goal and that current regional actions are not making the United States safer.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Interceptthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimA similar Sanders bill in July of the prior year failed in a 27-70 vote.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeerathe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSimilar Sanders measures won the support of about 18 Democrats in November 2024.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — Worldthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimOnly 15 members of the Democratic caucus supported similar Sanders measures in April of the prior year.
ClaimPew's poll found that 70 percent of respondents under age 50 expressed negative views towards Israel, including 57 percent of Republicans and 84 percent of Democrats in that age group.
ClaimOn Monday before the vote, J Street called for the first time for phasing out US aid to the Israeli military.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeerathe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimJ Street urged an end to providing Israel $3.3 billion in State Department Foreign Military Financing funds to purchase US weapons, along with $500 million in Department of Defense funding for anti-missile systems.
ClaimJ Street's position would still allow Israel to purchase interceptor weaponry from US companies commercially while ending taxpayer-funded aid for those systems.
ClaimJ Street said the war in Gaza, rising extremist Jewish terror in the West Bank, and the US-Israel war with Iran highlighted the need for a fundamental reassessment of the US-Israel security relationship.
ClaimAlexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she would not support Congress sending more taxpayer dollars and military aid to a government that consistently ignores international law and US law.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — Worldthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimRo Khanna said Iron Dome is important for saving lives but Israel can buy it with its own money.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — Worldthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimDozens of people were arrested at a protest outside the New York City offices of Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer urging them to support Sanders's resolutions.
ClaimNearly 100 protesters were arrested during a Monday demonstration led by Jewish Voice for Peace calling on Schumer and Gillibrand to back Sanders's measures.
ClaimA coalition of progressive groups including Indivisible, MoveOn, J Street and Jewish Voice for Peace sent senators a letter urging them to support halting the weapons sales.
ClaimSenate Democrats forced a vote on a war powers resolution intended to prevent Trump from continuing hostilities against Iran, which was rejected 47-52.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Interceptthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimDemocratic Senator John Fetterman was the only Democrat who did not vote in favor of the Iran war powers resolution, and Republican Senator Rand Paul was the sole Republican to vote for it.
ClaimUS President Donald Trump joined forces with Israel in a conflict with Iran without congressional authorisation.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeerathe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimBernie Sanders said after the vote that the American people are sick and tired of Netanyahu's wars and that Congress is beginning to respond.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Jerusalem Postthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSenate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch said Democrats' resolutions amounted to trying to help Iran and that Republicans would not abandon Israel.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Interceptthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimRepublican Senator Rick Scott accused Democrats who backed the measure of siding with terrorism and blocking critical arms sales to Israel.
ClaimAIPAC lobbied against Sanders's bill, saying it would undermine Israel's security as the ally faces terror attacks on multiple fronts.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from Al Jazeerathe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimProgressive Congressman Ro Khanna called on Chuck Schumer to resign as Senate Democratic leader after Schumer voted against the bulldozer resolution.
ClaimIsraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said earlier in the year he would want to taper off military dependence on the US within the next decade.
ClaimThen-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene attempted to pass an amendment in July 2025 to a Pentagon spending bill that would have eliminated $500 million set aside for Israel defense spending, but it drew only six votes.
ClaimAdam Schiff, in a joint statement with Alex Padilla, said they oppose actions that further deepen the United States in an unauthorized conflict in Iran with no clear strategy, no legal authority, and no defined end.
ClaimUnder the Foreign Assistance Act, the US government is barred from sending weapons to any country that engages in a consistent pattern of gross violations of internationally recognized human rights or that blocks humanitarian aid.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Interceptthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
ClaimSenator Chris Coons said his votes against the Israel arms resolutions should not be taken as an endorsement of the Netanyahu government nor as an abandonment of Israel or the US-Israel relationship.
ClaimBernie Sanders said ahead of the vote that support for Israel in the United States has plummeted and that given the behavior of the Netanyahu government the American people have had enough.
ConfidenceHigh
StatusMulti-source quoted from The Guardian — Worldthe outlets behind this status were not recorded for this claim
Transparency & Audit Trail
5 outlets · 9 articles consulted: Al Jazeera, France 24 — English, The Guardian — World, Jerusalem Post, The Intercept62 claims extractedVersion 1Written 2026-08-13