{"id":669939,"date":"2026-09-17T15:06:42","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T15:06:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=669939"},"modified":"2026-09-17T15:06:42","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T15:06:42","slug":"top-democrat-puts-hold-on-trumps-2-8-billion-israel-bomb-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=669939","title":{"rendered":"Top Democrat puts hold on Trump\u2019s $2.8 billion Israel bomb deal"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A top Democrat has instituted a hold preventing the Trump administration from selling 40,000 one-ton tombs to Israel.<\/p>\n

Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced on Wednesday that he won\u2019t allow the $2.8 billion sale because of concerns about how the bombs will be used.<\/p>\n

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Ranking Member @RepGregoryMeeks<\/a> announced he will not clear the Trump administration\u2019s proposed $2.8 billion sale of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel due to concerns that those munitions would not be used in accordance with U.S. and international law. pic.twitter.com\/g6mwNvUTOF<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 House Foreign Affairs Committee Dems (@HouseForeign) September 16, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI remain firmly committed to Israel\u2019s security and its ability to defend itself against serious regional threats. But the Trump administration\u2019s proposed sale of 40,000 2,000-pound bombs, some of the most destructive munitions in our arsenal, raises grave, unresolved concerns about how these munitions could be used in densely populated areas of Gaza and Lebanon,\u201d he said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Trump administration has not provided sufficient assurances that these weapons will be used by the Netanyahu government in accordance with U.S. law and with appropriate protections for civilians,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cI therefore will not clear this sale at this time,\u201d Meeks concluded. \u201cThis decision does not diminish Congressional support for Israel\u2019s legitimate defense needs; it reflects Congress\u2019s responsibility to ensure that U.S.-funded weapons are used lawfully, responsibly, and with meaningful safeguards for human life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meeks\u2019 decision to blatantly publicize his opposition was surprising, though The Hill<\/a> noted that it \u201crepresents Democrats\u2019 frustration with the Trump administration and toward the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Hill also reported that, while the State Department usually respects such \u201cholds\u201d from Congress, the Trump administration has a history of ignoring Meeks in particular.<\/p>\n

\u201c[T]he Trump administration has previously ignored an objection from Meeks, moving forward on an arms sale package in February 2025 despite the Democrats \u2018hold\u2019 on parts of the sale,\u201d according to the outlet.<\/p>\n

Secretary of State Marco Rubio bypassed the hold by declaring a national security emergency.<\/p>\n

\n

U.S. Releases $4 Billion in Military Aid to Israel, Strengthening a Key Strategic Ally<\/p>\n

\"\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\" Secretary of State Marco Rubio has authorized the expedited delivery of $4 billion in military assistance to Israel, undoing previous restrictions that had delayed critical weapons and\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/rt18NjCHxg<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Israel War Room (@IsraelWarRoom) March 3, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

The $2.8 billion bombs package for Israel includes 20,000 MK-84 bombs and\u00a0 20,000 BLU-117 bombs, in addition to 20,000 I-2000 penetrator warheads.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmong the most destructive munitions in Western military arsenals, an MK-84 explosion sends metal fragments in every direction for thousands of feet, can rip through metal and thick concrete, and often creates large craters in the earth,\u201d according to the Washington Post<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This will reportedly be the biggest sales of weapons to Israel in years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe size of the package eclipses previous sales of 2,000-pound munitions to Israel during the Biden administration and the Trump administration, including a controversial $2.04 billion sale in 2025 that bypassed the normal congressional review process,\u201d the Post noted.<\/p>\n

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Trump greenlights 2,000-pound bomb supply to Israel, reversing Biden-era block<\/p>\n

1,800 MK-84 bombs set to arrive in Israel within days pic.twitter.com\/csalwk3j74<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 RT (@RT_com) January 25, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Israel likes to use the bombs to target buildings containing Hamas terrorists.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey do like to use them a lot when they\u2019re trying to target any building,\u201d former U.S. Army explosive-ordnance-disposal technician Trevor Ball told the Post. \u201cIf Hezbollah or whoever is in a building, an MK-84 will bring down the whole building.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bombs are reportedly nicknamed the \u201chammer,\u201d and according to the Post, the Biden administration stopped sending them to Israel out of concern Israel was using them to kill Palestinian civilians.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat involved suspending a single shipment of the munitions in the spring of 2024,\u201d according to the Post. \u201cThe policy was immediately reversed by President Donald Trump in January 2025, his first month back in office.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, another Democrat, is also hoping to stop the bomb sale by building support against it.<\/p>\n

\u201cDonald Trump is sending bombs paid for by American taxpayers to a government led by a wanted war criminal \u2014 all while the Netanyahu government continues to bomb Gaza and Lebanon, and block justice and accountability for Americans killed on its watch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A top Democrat has instituted a hold preventing the Trump administration from selling 40,000 one-ton tombs to Israel. Rep. Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, announced on Wednesday that he won\u2019t allow the $2.8 billion sale because of concerns about how the bombs will be used. Ranking Member @RepGregoryMeeks announced… Continue reading Top Democrat puts hold on Trump\u2019s $2.8 billion Israel bomb deal<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":669940,"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":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,22,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-669939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-border-security","category-immigration","category-immigration-reform","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=669939"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/669939\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/669940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=669939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=669939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=669939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}