{"id":40161,"date":"2020-11-18T22:53:06","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T22:53:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/uncategorized\/2020\/11\/18\/lawmakers-introduce-resolutions-to-block-trumps-f-35-sale-to-uae\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:53:28","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:53:28","slug":"lawmakers-introduce-resolutions-to-block-trumps-f-35-sale-to-uae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/armytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2020\/11\/18\/lawmakers-introduce-resolutions-to-block-trumps-f-35-sale-to-uae\/","title":{"rendered":"Lawmakers introduce resolutions to block Trump\u2019s F-35 sale to UAE"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2015 A bipartisan group of lawmakers introduced new legislation Wednesday that would halt the Trump administration\u2019s push to circumvent Congress and expedite a $23 billion sale<\/a> of F-35 fighter jets, Reaper drones and munitions to the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A series of resolutions were announced after lawmakers said they failed to get satisfactory answers from State Department officials over plans to sell the sophisticated weapons. Lawmakers say the administration\u2019s rush to complete the sale is ignoring risks to sensitive military technology posed by UAE\u2019s ties to Russia and China \u2015 and to Israel\u2019s qualitative military edge<\/a>, or QME, in the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Proposed by Sens. Bob Menendez, D-N.J.; Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the four joint resolutions would reject the sale of 50 F-35s, 18 MQ\u20139B Reapers, as well as thousands of munitions and hundreds of missiles. Altogether the sale, cleared by the State Department just over a week ago, would constitute the second-largest ever sale of U.S. drones to a single country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs I tried to warn the Trump administration, circumventing deliberative processes for considering a massive infusion of weapons to a country in a volatile region with multiple ongoing conflicts is downright irresponsible,\u201d Menendez, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee\u2019s top Democrat, said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere are a number of outstanding concerns as to how these sales would impact the national security interests of both the United States and of Israel. As a result, Congress is once again stepping in to serve as a check to avoid putting profit over U.S. national security and that of our allies, and to hopefully prevent a new arms race in the Middle East.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., is set to introduce three resolutions this week to stop arms sales to the UAE, Politico reported<\/a> Wednesday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The news came a day before representatives from the State Department\u2019s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs were scheduled hold a closed-door briefings on Capitol Hill with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\t