Congressional Democrats are attempting to block over $3 billion in proposed weapons sales to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, announced during President Trump’s recent visit to the Middle East.
The proposed sales include a $1.9 billion package to Qatar and a $1.6 billion package to the Emirates, featuring Chinook helicopters, armed drones, hundreds of bombs, targeting kits, F-16 aircraft components, and other military equipment.
The State Department approved the sales and notified Congress shortly before President Trump’s trip. However, the administration bypassed an informal review period for the Emirates sale, which typically allows senior lawmakers on foreign affairs committees to express concerns or negotiate changes prior to full congressional notification.
Senator Christopher S. Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut and member of the Foreign Relations Committee, is leading the opposition. He introduced resolutions aimed at blocking the arms sales to both countries, questioning the sale to Qatar amid reports that the country offered President Trump a $400 million luxury Boeing jet as a gift.
“Unless Qatar rescinds their offer of a ‘palace in the sky’ or Trump turns it down, I will move to block this arms sale,” Mr. Murphy stated. He also referenced a $5.5 billion real estate and golf course deal involving the Trump family and a firm linked to Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.
Senators Tim Kaine of Virginia, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, all Democrats on the Foreign Relations Committee, have joined in supporting the resolutions, along with Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
The group has also raised concerns about the Emirates sale, citing its connection to a recent investment by a state-backed Emirati firm in a cryptocurrency business associated with the Trump family. Additionally, they criticized the Emirates for its involvement in the war in Sudan, where U.S. and U.N. officials have accused the country of supporting the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group determined by the Biden administration to have committed genocide.
While Mr. Trump’s State Department has not made the same determination, officials have condemned the group following a recent attack that resulted in 300 deaths and displaced hundreds of thousands.
“The U.S. should not be delivering weapons to the U.A.E. as it aids and abets this humanitarian disaster and gross human rights violations,” Mr. Van Hollen stated. “We must stop this corrupt Trump family crypto-for-arms deal and use our leverage to prevent more suffering in Sudan — and bring its civil war to a peaceful resolution.”
A parallel effort is also underway in the House, where Representatives Gregory W. Meeks of New York and Sara Jacobs of California have introduced resolutions of disapproval targeting the Emirates arms sales.
The Arms Export Control Act provides Democrats with a procedural tool to force Congress to debate these issues, one of the few maneuvers available to lawmakers in the minority to control the legislative agenda.
Mr. Murphy emphasized, “If a foreign government is participating in this kind of nuclear-grade corruption by directly enriching the president and his family, we are going to force a full Senate debate on that behavior and a vote on their security relationship with the United States.”