Sanders Leads Charge To Block Arms To Israel, Senate Votes Down Overwhelmingly

On Thursday US senators voted overwhelmingly to reject two resolutions of disapproval on Washington’s massive arms transfers and other military assistance to Israel. The Trump White House has greenlit an estimated $20 billion arms so far, and this is largely a continuation of prior Biden administration policy.

In particular the resolutions sought to block the sale of $8.8 billion in bombs and munitions to Israel, and were offered by Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

But they received the support of only 15 out of 45 Democrats in the Senate, with the final allies being 82-15 and 83-15 in the two votes.

“The United States must end our complicity in these atrocities, we cannot be part of this any longer,” Sanders said in a video statement released the day prior to the Senate vote. Liberal icon Sanders, it should be noted, is Jewish but has long criticized Israel for human rights abuses.

The “no” votes were as follows:

Among the four senators who voted in favor of Sanders’s resolutions in November and who who flipped their votes on Thursday to “No” was Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia, who is likely to face an intense reelection challenge from Republicans in 2026.

The others were fellow Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock, New Hampshire Senator Jeanne Shaheen — who announced earlier this month she will not seek reelection next year — and Maine Senator Angus King, an Independent who caucuses with Democrats.

And further, “The other fourteen Democrats who voted in favor of blocking weapons to Israel were Mazie Hirono, Ben Ray Luján, Bernie Sanders, Chris Van Hollen, Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey, Tim Kaine, Elizabeth Warren, Martin Heinrich, Brian Schatz, Tina Smith, Dick Durbin, Peter Welch and Chris Murphy.”

The vote happened the same day that President Trump previewed a coming visit by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to the US. It would mark his second visit since the The Hague’s International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for him.

“I think he’s going to be coming to the country some time in the not-so-distant future. Maybe next week,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.

It has now been 30 days with NO humanitarian aid getting into Gaza.

No food, no water, no medicine, no fuel.

That is barbaric. The U.S. must end our complicity in these atrocities. pic.twitter.com/Ix3IVrDHNg

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) April 3, 2025

Netanyahu has been in Hungary this week, which just pulled out of membership in the ICC, despite the country being a founding member. Prime Minister Viktor Orban complained that the court has become a “political tool” – a perspective which non-member Washington shares.