Secretary of State Marco Rubio has invoked “emergency authorities” to bypass Congress and send $4 billion in weapons to Israel, marking the second occasion within a month that the Trump administration has circumvented the congressional approval process for arms sales to the country.
In a statement issued on Saturday, Mr. Rubio did not provide a rationale for the use of emergency authority, simply indicating that the Trump administration would “continue to use all available tools to fulfill America’s longstanding commitment to Israel’s security, including means to counter security threats.”
State Department officials informed the relevant congressional committees in the House and Senate about the emergency declaration on Friday. At least one congressional official expressed concern over this bypassing of the review process.
Several munitions intended for Israel were under congressional review, yet one significant case valued at approximately $2 billion had not been submitted for review by the State Department, according to the official who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive matters.
The Pentagon detailed the arms sale to Israel on Friday, which includes various types of bombs, notably over 35,000 2,000-pound bombs.
Israel has been utilizing these bombs in Gaza, a densely populated area of about 2 million residents, comparable in size to Las Vegas. U.S. military officials have deemed these bombs inappropriate for urban combat.
President Biden had previously sent orders for similar bombs to Israel but delayed one shipment last summer amid concerns over an impending attack on Rafah, a refuge for many displaced Palestinians. Despite this, Israel carried out extensive destruction in Rafah, and the Trump administration released the shipment shortly after President Trump took office in January.
On Sunday, Israel announced a halt to all goods and humanitarian aid into Gaza, aiming to pressure Hamas into accepting a temporary cease-fire extension that had recently expired. Most of the humanitarian aid comes from external groups and governments, leading some legal experts to argue that this cessation violates 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 had demanded Israel engage in serious negotiations for a permanent truce during the recently expired cease-fire, which Israel did not pursue.
Hamas continues to hold numerous Israeli hostages taken during a Hamas-led attack in October 2023, which resulted in about 1,200 Israeli deaths. In retaliation, the Israeli military has conducted operations in Gaza, leading to nearly 50,000 Palestinian fatalities according to estimates from the Gaza Health Ministry, with most casualties on both sides being civilians.
In addition to the $2 billion worth of bombs, other military equipment authorized for shipment to Israel includes bulldozers, additional bombs, and GPS-guidance kits for unguided bombs.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee were informally reviewing the arms package when the emergency declaration was made. Typically, this informal review process lasts no more than 20 days.
Earlier in February, the State Department also bypassed the informal review to announce an $8 billion arms package to Israel that had been approved by the Biden administration.
While the State Department notified the committees about this package in January, three of the four senior officials on the committees approved it during the normal review period. However, one Democratic representative sought to extend the review, leading the Trump administration to bypass full approval shortly after a meeting between Mr. Trump and Mr. Netanyahu.
Mr. Rubio’s statement inaccurately claimed that the Trump administration had approved the $8 billion arms package, which originally stemmed from the Biden administration. It also misleadingly asserted that his recent authorization of $4 billion in weapons reversed a Biden administration “partial arms embargo” on Israel, despite Mr. Biden and Secretary Blinken approving nearly all of Israel’s arms requests.
The State Department declined to comment on these assertions. Secretary Blinken had withheld licenses for Israel to acquire 24,000 U.S.-made assault rifles, citing concerns over potential violence by Israeli settlers against Palestinians. This year, the department under Mr. Rubio submitted at least one request for a license from Israel to purchase 5,000 rifles for congressional review.
During President Trump’s first term, similar emergency declarations were used to bypass Congress for arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.