More Than Two Dozen Senators Vote to Halt Bomb and Rifle Transfers Amid Soaring Palestinian Death Toll
Something shifted in Washington this week—quietly, but unmistakably. For the first time in history, large numbers of U.S. senators voted to block weapons shipments to Israel, signaling mounting discomfort with the Gaza war’s devastation and a growing rift inside the Democratic Party.
On Wednesday night, the Senate voted on two measures led by Senator Bernie Sanders to halt the transfer of $700 million in U.S. rifles and bombs to Israel. The bomb measure drew 24 votes, the rifle vote 27, with more than half of Senate Democrats backing at least one of them. It’s a far cry from past efforts that barely cracked double digits.
A New Line Crossed on Capitol Hill
Nine months ago, a vote like this would’ve been unthinkable. Today, it feels overdue.
This wasn’t just symbolic. The effort, spearheaded by Sanders and backed by progressive groups, laid bare something that’s been brewing quietly since Israel’s October 2023 offensive: deep discomfort among Democratic lawmakers over American complicity in a war that’s killed over 60,000 Palestinians.
One-liner here: For decades, the U.S. wrote Israel a blank check—this week, a few senators finally asked for a receipt.
And the moment was punctuated by some surprising names. Senator Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, voted to block the rifle transfer. He’s never done that before.
Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Rhode Island’s Sheldon Whitehouse split their votes between the two motions, showing how politically tricky the issue has become even for moderates.
How the Vote Broke Down
The votes weren’t enough to stop the sales, but they were the most successful ever attempts at curbing Israel’s military aid in Congress. Here’s how the numbers stacked up:
| Weapon Transfer | Votes to Block | Notable Democrats Who Supported |
|---|---|---|
| Rifles ($300M) | 27 | Sanders, Reed, Merkley, Baldwin |
| Bombs ($400M) | 24 | Warren, Markey, Welch, Van Hollen |
Not one Republican supported the effort—not even the isolationist bloc that’s usually wary of foreign entanglements. That silence raised eyebrows.
“It’s astonishing,” said one aide to a GOP senator who asked not to be named. “Some of these guys claim they’re ‘America First,’ but won’t touch Israel no matter what it does.”
Political Stakes Are Shifting Fast
The Senate votes come as Gaza descends deeper into catastrophe. Aid agencies are now calling it the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century, citing widespread starvation, collapsed hospitals, and mass graves near schoolyards.
For lawmakers, the optics are unavoidable.
Photos of starving children in Rafah. Rows of lifeless bodies outside Jabalia. The soundbites write themselves.
Sanders, speaking on the floor before the vote, asked: “How can we continue to send bombs when the world sees what those bombs are doing to innocent people?”
His tone wasn’t fiery—it was resigned.
And while the resolutions failed, activists say they’ve never seen momentum like this before.
“This is a turning point,” said Ari Tolany of the Center for International Policy. “You can feel it in the conversations on the Hill. You can see it in the polls. People are done pretending this war doesn’t have American fingerprints all over it.”
The Democratic Party’s Long-Awaited Split
This may be the beginning of a full-blown generational rift.
Younger Democrats—especially those under 50—are increasingly critical of Israel’s actions. Many represent diverse districts where pro-Palestinian sentiment has surged. Others are simply responding to what they see on their phones every day.
There’s also been pressure from activists, student groups, and prominent progressives like Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib.
One line here: Gaza is no longer a fringe issue—it’s on the Senate floor.
Meanwhile, older Democrats who have long backed Israel unconditionally are finding themselves politically cornered. A few skipped the vote altogether. Others issued vague statements about “regional stability.”
But the younger faction isn’t backing down.
Biden and Trump Walk a Tightrope
President Biden has tried to avoid this fight. His administration quietly approved the arms sales despite private misgivings, hoping to balance support for Israel with humanitarian rhetoric.
But he now faces pressure from his own party—and from global allies like France and Canada, who are openly calling for a ceasefire and rethinking arms deals of their own.
Trump, too, is in a bind. Despite MAGA’s “America First” mantra, he’s remained staunchly pro-Israel during his second term. His Mar-a-Lago meeting with Netanyahu last week made headlines but drew criticism from populist conservatives who believe U.S. troops and weapons should stay home.
One strategist close to Trump admitted the vote rattled some within the base: “They’re starting to ask what we’re getting out of this. That’s not great.”
Why This Moment Matters, Even If Nothing Changes
To be clear, the arms will still go through. Israel will still get its weapons. Biden didn’t signal any intent to reverse course. And yet, the shift on Capitol Hill feels real.
What Sanders and his allies did was break the wall of silence. They forced senators to make a choice—and 27 of them said no.
That may not seem like much. But it’s eight more than the highest vote total in history for a motion like this.
It’s also a signal to the White House that political cover is wearing thin.
“We may have lost the vote,” said one Senate staffer, “but we changed the conversation. And that’s how policy starts to move.”
