The Senate has rejected resolutions seeking to block multi-billion-dollar arms sales to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates over the objections of Democrats who say President Donald Trump will personally benefit from separate deals with these countries.
The Senate voted 39-56 on Wednesday against each of the joint resolutions of disapproval, which would have halted a $1.9 billion sale of MQ-9 Reaper drones to Qatar and $1.3 billion Chinook helicopter sale to the UAE.
The votes broke down largely along party lines. But joining the Republicans were five Democrats: Sens. Chris Coons (D-Del.); Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.); Andy Kim (D-N.J.); Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.); and Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.). Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted present.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who forced the votes, argued on the Senate floor that allowing the sales to proceed would effectively sanction what Democrats say is Trump’s brazen corruption. He and allies cited Trump’s solicitation of a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar for his use as Air Force One and a $2 billion Emirati investment in a Trump-affiliated cryptocurrency venture.
The administration has said it accepted the jet in accordance with the law, while Trump himself has defended the acquisition, calling it a goodwill gesture by Qatar and a cost-saving stopgap due to massive delays in the Air Force’s effort to replace the current fleet with two Boeing planes. Still, lawmakers have questioned the cost of making the foreign jet secure and functional enough to serve as Air Force One.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in Senate testimony Wednesday, refused to disclose the cost or delivery timeline of a luxury Qatari jet being retrofitted for use as Air Force One, sparking bipartisan Senate criticism. Lawmakers have raised concerns over transparency, cost, and reports the plane may be transferred to Trump’s presidential library.
Murphy, in a floor speech Wednesday, argued that Congress approving the arms deals amounted to Congress “greasing the wheels” of presidential corruption. Allies also pointed to the UAE’s purported role in Sudan’s ongoing civil war and both countries’ authoritarian governments.
“Trump would not be moving forward with these arms sales if he wasn’t getting what he wanted personally from these two countries,” Murphy said. “American foreign policy should not be for sale.”
Republicans largely dismissed the resolutions as political theater and defended the arms sales as important to strengthening Middle Eastern partners.
Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch (R-Idaho) argued the sales support two major allies of the U.S. Qatar is a major non-NATO ally and hosts the largest U.S. base in the Middle East, and the UAE, a military partner that fought alongside U.S. forces, is in the Abraham Accords, and opposes Iran and its proxies.
“These proposed sales will support the national security objectives of the United States by improving the security of two allies that continue to be important forces for stability in the Middle East,” he said.
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