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Roughly half of the Democratic caucus in the Senate voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders’s (I-Vermont) resolutions to block the transfer of tens of thousands of bombs and assault rifles to Israel on Wednesday, signalling a small shift among lawmakers as Israel’s famine campaign in Gaza has reached new, catastrophic lows in recent days.
On Wednesday evening, 24 senators voted for Sanders’s resolution to stop the sales of just $700 million worth of bombs and JDAMs to Israel — a small fraction of the tens of billions of dollars’ worth of weapons the U.S. has sent to Israel amid its genocide in Gaza. Seventy-three senators, including 17 Democrats, voted against the resolution.
Another Sanders resolution, to block the transfer of tens of thousands of assault rifles authorized by the Trump administration, garnered 27 votes. There were 70 “no” votes, including 16 Democrats voting against, like Senators Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), some of the Senate’s most ardent supporters of Israel.
All Republicans voted against both resolutions, while three Democrats were absent. This includes Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Michigan), who, despite saying in an interview this week that she’d be open to blocking weapons shipments to Israel, seemingly missed the vote to appear on “The Late Show” with Stephen Colbert, where she ironically talked about the importance of ending Israel’s humanitarian blockade.
Democrats who voted “yes” on both were:
Senators Angela Alsobrooks (Maryland), Tammy Baldwin (Wisconsin), Lisa Blunt Rochester (Delaware), Tammy Duckworth (Illinois), Dick Durbin (Illinois), Martin Heinrich (New Mexico), Mazie Hirono (Hawaii), Tim Kaine (Virginia), Andy Kim (New Jersey), Amy Klobuchar (Minnesota), Ben Ray Luján (New Mexico), Ed Markey (Massachusetts), Jeff Merkley (Oregon), Chris Murphy (Connecticut), Patty Murray (Washington), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Jeanne Shaheen (New Hampshire), Tina Smith (Minnesota), Chris Van Hollen (Maryland), Raphael Warnock (Georgia), Elizabeth Warren (Massachusetts), and Peter Welch (Vermont).
Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, also voted “yes” on both resolutions, after releasing a statement this week saying that he is now opposed to sending any aid to Israel. Democratic Senators Jon Ossoff (Georgia), Jack Reed (Rhode Island), and Sheldon Whitehouse (Rhode Island) voted only for the blocking of assault rifles, and not bombs.
Though the “yes” votes represent only about half of the Senate Democratic caucus, this is still far more support than previous efforts by Sanders to block weapons shipments to Israel. Just in April, Sanders forced a vote on two resolutions to block sales of 2,000-pound bombs and JDAMs to Israel. The resolutions got only 15 “yes” votes.
“This vote is a significant step towards accountability and change in U.S. foreign policy, however it is just a first step,” said Lily Greenberg Call, a Jewish Biden appointee who resigned from the administration in May 2024 over its role in the genocide, in a statement to Truthout. “Every senator who voted yes must continue to stand in moral courage, and everyone who voted no should expect consequences at the ballot box.”
“The tide is turning. The American people do not want to spend billions to starve children in Gaza,” said Sanders after the vote. “The Democrats are moving forward on this issue, and I look forward to Republican support in the near future.”
There has been a small shift among Democrats in recent days, with an increasing number denouncing Israel’s starvation crisis in Gaza.
However, the number of “yes” votes is far fewer than the number of Senate Democrats who signed a letter to the Trump administration this week that urges officials to alleviate the starvation catastrophe in Gaza. The letter, signed by 40 senators, expresses alarm over starvation deaths and the “acute humanitarian crisis” in Gaza.
And yet, numerous senators who signed the letter, sent Tuesday, went on to vote “no” on action that would pressure Israel to end its near-total humanitarian aid blockade. This is despite the enormous leverage the U.S. holds over Israel as its largest foreign supplier of weapons.
Those who signed the letter but went on to vote “no” on both resolutions or who were absent included:
Senators Michael Bennet (Colorado), Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut), Cory Booker (New Jersey), Maria Cantwell (Washington), Catherine Cortez-Masto (Nevada), Chris Coons (Delaware), Ruben Gallego (Arizona), Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), Maggie Hassan (New Hampshire), John Hickenlooper (Colorado), Mark Kelly (Arizona), Alex Padilla (California), Gary Peters (Michigan), Jacky Rosen (Nevada), Adam Schiff (California), Schumer, Slotkin, Mark Warner (Virginia), and Ron Wyden (Oregon).
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