{"id":16042,"date":"2026-11-13T15:38:06","date_gmt":"2026-11-13T15:38:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=16042"},"modified":"2026-11-13T15:38:06","modified_gmt":"2026-11-13T15:38:06","slug":"will-democrats-try-to-strip-us-israel-initiative-from-pentagon-funding-us-midterm-elections-2026-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=16042","title":{"rendered":"Will Democrats try to strip US-Israel initiative from Pentagon funding? | US Midterm Elections 2026 News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Washington, DC \u2013<\/strong> After a commanding performance in the United States midterm elections, advocates say Democrats are uniquely positioned to strip a controversial measure from a Pentagon funding bill that would codify integration<\/a> of the US and Israeli military industries.<\/p>\n

Earlier this year, Democratic leadership had already opposed the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a sprawling $1.15 trillion package that, along with supplemental bills, includes funding for much of President Donald Trump\u2019s military wishlist, including the \u201cGolden Dome\u201d missile shield and his so-called \u201cTrump-class\u201d battleship plan.<\/p>\n

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Top party officials, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, had attached their opposition to the Trump administration\u2019s war with Iran and wider affordability issues facing US citizens. Advocates say the leadership must also send the message that the US-Israeli defence production integration is a non-starter.<\/p>\n

The current Senate version of the bill, under Section 219, calls for the creation of a so-called \u201cUnited States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative\u201d that would \u201cexpand and accelerate bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, coordination, and industrial cooperation\u201d.<\/p>\n

Cavan Kharrazian, senior policy adviser at Demand Progress, told Al Jazeera that \u201cDemocrats need to make it clear right now that their votes for the NDAA depend on substantial changes, including US-Israeli military integration and Iran war prohibition\u201d.<\/p>\n

Opposition to Pentagon funding has historically been politically fraught, with lawmakers wary of appearing to not support the US military. But while a version of the funding package passed the Republican-controlled House of Representatives in May, Democrats delayed the Senate version via a procedural vote in July.<\/p>\n

They now face a December 11 deadline when current stopgap funding ends, meaning they would need to pass another stopgap measure or the full NDAA to maintain Pentagon funding.<\/p>\n

Because the NDAA requires 60 votes to pass, Democrats can exercise outsized leverage in the remaining days of this congressional session, Kharrazian explained. Republicans, meanwhile, face a ticking clock before Democrats take control of both chambers of Congress in January.<\/p>\n

\u201c[Democrats] have the leverage to filibuster the NDAA until these provisions are stripped out and they need to commit to blocking NDAA consideration until those changes are secured,\u201d Kharrazian said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAn amendment vote alone is insufficient if Democrats then let the bill advance with the provisions intact.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Assert full leverage\u2019<\/h2>\n

To be sure, Democrats, eager to show they are delivering on voter affordability concerns, have signalled they will seek some overhaul to the current NDAA and related supplemental bills. Defence industry analysts have predicted a major constriction in Pentagon funding, which also includes a stalled $360bn supplemental package.<\/p>\n

However, it has been unclear if that would extend to the US-Israeli military development initiative.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must push for the development of a more realistic and sustainable approach to our national security \u2013 one that does not require a defense budget in excess of $1 trillion or one paid for with draconian cuts to critical domestic programs,\u201d Representative Adam Smith, currently the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement shortly after the November 3 election results rolled in.<\/p>\n

He echoed Schumer, who wrote in a July \u201cdear colleague\u201d letter that Republicans were seeking a Pentagon funding bill \u201cthat would dump billions more into the defense industry while long overdue investments in American communities wait\u201d.<\/p>\n

Smith had initially supported, but later opposed, the provision to integrate US-Israeli military development. But Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who are both seeking to retain their leadership positions in their respective chambers, have not publicly stated their positions.<\/p>\n

Critics have long warned that the initiative would establish an opaque new avenue for the Pentagon to provide US tax-funded support to Israel via joint development ventures, while dodging congressional oversight. It would also make future policy pivots more difficult, entrenching Israeli-developed technology into US military programmes.<\/p>\n

Some have characterised the initiative<\/a> as the next phase of Washington\u2019s decades-long military support for Israel, with both US and Israeli officials acknowledging direct military aid has become increasingly politically fraught<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole point of Section 219, let\u2019s understand, is to move the US-Israel aid relationship \u2026 further outside the purview of Congress, which is to say to sort of inoculate it from democracy,\u201d said Matthew Duss, the executive vice president at the progressive Center for International Policy think tank. \u201cI think Democrats and others who are opposing this measure in the NDAA are on firm ground to hold a hard line.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I think it\u2019ll be tough, especially with this leadership that remains very strongly pro-Israel,\u201d he told Al Jazeera. \u201cI think both Schumer and Jeffries have shown signs they recognise that their respective caucuses are in a very different place ideologically than they are on this issue.\u201d<\/p>\n

Growing opposition<\/h2>\n

A growing number of senators have publicly opposed the measure. In July, Senator Chris Van Hollen joined six colleagues in rejecting the provision.<\/p>\n

A total of 12 senators have since signed on (PDF)<\/a> to a new letter released earlier this week, including progressive stalwarts like Bernie Sanders and more centrist figures like Ron Wyden and Tammy Duckworth.<\/p>\n

Hamid Bendaas, the communications director for the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project, said the senators represent \u201ca broader range of the Democratic Caucus\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I think that\u2019s a good sign that a good amount of Democrats are ready to really stand against those provisions in the NDAA,\u201d he told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n

Bendaas also pointed to public opinion polls<\/a> suggesting widespread opposition to US military support for Israel, fuelled by the genocide in Gaza. Both President Trump and Vice President JD Vance have acknowledged that the current state of the US-Israel relationship has become politically fraught.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wouldn\u2019t want to be a Democrat or a Republican who votes yes on the text that we\u2019ve seen,\u201d Bendaas said. \u201cFor one of the first major bills to pass post-midterms to be a bill that directs the Pentagon to send taxpayer funds to Israel, or, I should say, Israeli companies, some of which are government-owned companies \u2026 I think that\u2019s about the worst thing that they could possibly do right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

In their letter, the senators wrote the provision would \u201cexpand and accelerate the US-Israel defense relationship, including technology sharing, co-production of weapons systems, and bilateral research and development across multiple domains of warfare such as biotechnology, quantum, autonomous systems, artificial intelligence, cyberwarfare, and others\u201d, surpassing integration even with some US NATO allies.<\/p>\n

That could, in turn, \u201cthreaten US national security interests by handing Israel leverage over American weapons systems and military technology\u201d and \u201ccreate long-term dependencies by embedding Israeli technology into the US defense industrial base that could make future policy changes costly or difficult to implement\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo do so in this instance would be unwise,\u201d the lawmakers wrote. \u201cEspecially as the Government of Israel continues to pursue policies in Gaza, the West Bank and other parts of the region that are inconsistent with US interests and values.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Washington, DC \u2013 After a commanding performance in the United States midterm elections, advocates say Democrats are uniquely positioned to strip a controversial measure from a Pentagon funding bill that would codify integration of the US and Israeli military industries. Earlier this year, Democratic leadership had already opposed the Fiscal Year 2027 National Defense Authorization…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":16043,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_2277560469115098_106292521332774":"","twitter_aToxNzczMzI3Njk4OTg4ODUxMjAxOw==_1773327698988851200":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_templately_pack_id":"","_templately_imported_at":"","_templately_source":"","_templately_import_session_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-international-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t