Secretary of State Marco Rubio has utilized “emergency authorities” to send $4 billion in weapons to Israel, marking the second instance in a month that the Trump administration has evaded congressional approval for arms transfers. Rubio cited a commitment to Israel’s security but did not clarify the emergency rationale. Congressional officials responded with concern over bypassing reviews, specifically regarding a $2 billion bomb case still under consideration. Meanwhile, Israel announced a halt to goods and humanitarian aid to Gaza amid a pressure campaign on Hamas, leading to increased fatalities in ongoing conflicts. The controversial arms deals continue to attract scrutiny.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has utilized “emergency authorities” to circumvent Congress and allocate $4 billion in armaments to Israel, marking the second instance this month that the Trump administration has evaded the congressional approval process for arms shipments to the nation.
In a statement released on Saturday regarding the decision, Mr. Rubio did not clarify the rationale behind invoking emergency authority. He merely stated that the Trump administration would “continue to employ all available measures to uphold America’s enduring commitment to Israel’s security, including efforts to counter security threats.”
State Department officials notified the two congressional committees in the House and Senate that oversee foreign weapons sales about the emergency declaration on Friday. At least one congressional member privately voiced concern over the bypassing of the review process.
Some of the munitions being sent to Israel were under review in Congress. However, one significant package valued around $2 billion had not been submitted by the State Department for congressional assessment, according to the official who preferred to remain unnamed to discuss sensitive arms transactions candidly.
On Friday, the Pentagon detailed the sale to Israel. The announcement includes various combinations of bombs to be delivered, featuring over 35,000 2,000-pound bombs.
Israel has been deploying 2,000-pound bombs in Gaza, a densely populated area home to 2 million residents, roughly the size of Las Vegas. U.S. military personnel have indicated that these bombs are not suited for urban warfare.
President Joseph R. Biden Jr. had previously dispatched several orders of these bombs to Israel but withheld one shipment last summer while Israel was preparing to strike Rafah, a refuge for many displaced Palestinians. Despite this, Israel largely destroyed Rafah, and the Trump administration released the shipment shortly after President Trump assumed office in late January.
On Sunday, Israel announced a complete halt to all goods and humanitarian aid into Gaza, exerting pressure on Hamas to accept a temporary cease-fire extension that had just lapsed. Most of the aid comes from external groups and governments, with some legal experts arguing that Israel’s blockade contravenes international law.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu indicated that the cease-fire extension proposal originated from Steve Witkoff, President Trump’s special envoy to the Middle East. Hamas insisted that Israel seriously engage in discussions for a permanent peace agreement during the recently expired cease-fire, which Israel failed to do.
Hamas continues to hold dozens of Israeli hostages taken during the October 2023 attacks, which resulted in approximately 1,200 Israeli fatalities from a Hamas-led offensive in southern Israel. In retaliation, the Israeli military launched strikes on Gaza, claiming nearly 50,000 Palestinian casualties, according to estimates from the Gaza Health Ministry. The majority of fatalities on both sides have been civilians.
In addition to the $2 billion bomb package, the emergency authorization also includes sending bulldozers, additional bombs, and GPS-guidance kits to enhance unguided or “dumb” bombs.
The two congressional committees involved—the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—had been conducting an informal review of the military equipment. During this review, aides and lawmakers have the opportunity to inquire about the orders before granting approval. Typically, this informal review for arms regarding Israel is expected to conclude within 20 days.
In early February, the State Department bypassed the informal congressional review procedure to announce an $8 billion arms package for Israel that had been approved by the Biden administration.
The State Department, headed by Antony J. Blinken under Mr. Biden, informed the committees about that package in early January. Three out of four top Republican and Democratic officials on the committees endorsed the package during the standard 20-day review period. However, one Democratic representative, Gregory W. Meeks of New York, sought to prolong the review, leading the Trump administration to bypass full approval shortly after Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu convened at the White House.
In Mr. Rubio’s Saturday statement, he asserted that the Trump administration had sanctioned the $8 billion arms sale to Israel, despite the fact that the package originated with the Biden administration.
The statement also inaccurately claimed that Mr. Rubio’s decision regarding the new $4 billion in weapons and equipment reversed a Biden administration “partial arms embargo” on Israel. In reality, Mr. Biden and Mr. Blinken approved nearly all of Israel’s weapon orders.
The State Department declined to comment on either claim.
Mr. Blinken had refrained from issuing licenses for Israel to procure 24,000 U.S.-made assault rifles from American manufacturers, concerned that this could exacerbate violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians in the West Bank. This year, the department under Mr. Rubio submitted at least one request from Israel for a license to acquire 5,000 rifles for Congressional review.
During Mr. Trump’s initial term, the administration also invoked an emergency declaration to circumvent Congress for arms shipments to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.