US: Democrats stall crucial defence budget in protest against Trump policies

US: Democrats stall crucial defence budget in protest against Trump policies

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MEE staff
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Wed, 07/15/2026 - 21:07

While different lawmakers had different motivations, the president's approach to Iran and Israel is proving increasingly unpopular

A view of the US Capitol dome in Washington, DC on 13 July 2026 (Al Drago/Reuters)

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In rare pushback against a must-pass annual defence budget bill, Democrats in the US Senate on Tuesday collectively voted not to advance the legislation, largely in protest against the Trump administration's approaches to Iran and Israel. 

The bill includes a $1.1 trillion request for the Pentagon, $41bn for the Department of Energy's nuclear arms management, and $11bn for other defence-related issues. 

The motion failed in a vote of 50 to 46, when it needed 60 votes to proceed. 

As of Wednesday evening local time, the defence budget bill, formally titled the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), is also stalled in the House of Representatives, where there are efforts to move it past its critics, and with a razor-thin Republican majority.

A bipartisan amendment from Democrat Ro Khanna and Republican Thomas Massie to strip the bill of deeper US-Israeli military integration failed to pass in the lower chamber but garnered more than 100 Democratic votes. 

"The Massie amendment sends a clear signal to the enemies of America that we are willing to abandon our allies and our own security. I stood against this anti-Israel, pro-terror amendment," California Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman wrote on X, highlighting the intra-party divide. 

Senate view

In the upper chamber on Tuesday, progressive Democrats pointed to unchecked collaboration with Israel when voicing their opposition to the bill, particularly as Israel is seen to have influenced the US president to launch the war on Iran on 28 February.

"Not only does this effectively green light Trump's illegal Iran war, it also gives the Israeli govt immense leverage over our national security," Maryland Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen wrote on X ahead of the vote. 

"At a time when millions struggle to pay the bills, virtually every Senate Republican voted... for the illegal and immoral war in Iran and a special provision to provide even more weapons to Israel with almost zero oversight. It's time to invest in the American people, not endless war," Vermont Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders wrote on X at the vote's conclusion. 

Even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York who was not as opposed to the US-Israeli war on Iran as some of his colleagues were, said on X on Tuesday that Trump "is dragging America deeper into a war in Iran with no authorization, no plan, and no exit strategy. Democrats will not go along". 

US-Israel military merger

A particularly new and controversial component within the NDAA is Section 219, establishing a "United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative" that would see expanded and more deeply embedded partnerships on everything from missile defence to artificial intelligence, and any emerging military tech. 

It's a project that is hard to reverse once it begins. 

The Khanna-Massie amendment was meant to strip the bill of this section.

More registered US voters view Israel negatively than positively, poll finds

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With consecutive polling showing that Democratic voters in particular have developed increasingly negative views of Israel, Section 219 has become a focal point.

The American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee welcomed the Senate's decision not to move forward with a final vote on the bill. 

"We thank every senator who voted no [and] who demanded scrutiny of provisions that would permanently intertwine the US and Israeli military and intelligence apparatuses," it said in a statement. 

"This bill would have severely compromised America’s independence and its ability to pressure Israel to stop its military expansions and genocides of the Palestinian and Lebanese people."

The National Iranian American Council also hailed the move.

"We applaud those Senators who acted and demonstrated that Congress will not stand by while the President openly defies the law," the group said in a statement.

"Blocking the NDAA sends an unmistakable message: if the President refuses to obey the law, Congress can and must bring the Washington war machine’s business to a halt."

The NDAA is still on track to be approved - likely with some amendments - before lawmakers go on their annual August recess. 

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