National Security and Congress Oversight

Senate Democrats staged a noticeable revolt on the floor in mid-April, pressing to block arms sales to Israel as an explicit rebuke of President Trump's Iran war strategy. In late-night roll calls driven by Sen. Bernie Sanders, the chamber considered resolutions to disapprove roughly $295 million in Caterpillar D9 bulldozers and about $152 million in 1,000-pound bombs — about $450-$500 million in equipment — after a string of administration decisions and battlefield developments tied to the U.S.-Israel campaign. Support within the Democratic caucus grew: roughly four dozen Democrats backed halting the bulldozer shipment and about three dozen did the same on the bomb sale, with several senators who had previously voted to approve similar transfers flipping their positions and explicitly citing the administration's Iran policy. The measures ultimately failed to clear the Senate, and the Democratic push coincided with repeated, separate attempts to constrain the president's war powers on Iran that have likewise been rejected on the floor (a recent war-powers discharge motion failed 47-52).