Opposition in Congress to the infamous U.S.-Israel military merger in the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) is spreading. On Nov. 10, 12 senators led by Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) wrote to House and Senate leaders asking them to remove three provisions from the NDAA dealing with the increased defense and intelligence cooperation with Israel—namely Section 219 of the House bill and sections 1217 and 618 of the Senate bill.
The provisions would “lock in long-term commitments despite our serious concerns with the Israeli government’s actions” in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere, they wrote. The signers include incoming Majority Whip Brian Schatz (D-HI) and incoming Appropriations Committee Chair Patty Murray (D-WA), as well as Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Peter Welch (D-VT), Ed Markey (D-MA), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL).
On Nov. 9, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) also put out a call urging fellow Democrats to strip Section 219, saying, “This needs to be the top priority in the lame duck session.” The House passed its NDAA on July 22 by 216-212, after the Rules Committee blocked a floor vote on a Khanna-Massie amendment to strike the provision.
These statements come after Trump said on Nov. 3 that he is cutting $4 billion in U.S. aid to Israel, appearing to be a nod to the widespread sentiment in America that sees our relationship to Israel as unhealthy. However, this is a deceptive statement. NPR published an article showing that the aid is not actually ending but simply changing shape. Netanyahu himself had actually proposed to “taper off” Israel’s reliance on the $3.8 billion in financial aid from the U.S. back in January.
NPR notes that, under the NDAA framework, the U.S.-Israeli financial relationship would become part of Pentagon procurement, which is significantly hidden from any sort of Congressional or other oversight. Mairav Zonszein of the International Crisis Group told NPR the allegedly cancelled funding would continue but be repackaged, but without the Congressional oversight. Annelle Sheline, a former State Department official now at the Quincy Institute, told NPR: “This would not only enable the Israel lobby to protect this money that the U.S. sends to Israel each year from the collapse in public support for U.S. funding for Israel, but it would also likely allow it to increase significantly.”
AIPAC, which backs the new NDAA provisions, says the bill will lead to “a $50 million increase” over fiscal year 2026.
