On April 16, 2026, the United States Senate voted on two resolutions introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders to block arms sales to Israel. The first targeted a $295 million sale of military bulldozers — the kind used to demolish Palestinian homes in the West Bank, Gaza, and Lebanon. The second targeted $152 million in 1,000-pound bombs being shipped to the IDF.
Both resolutions failed. But the margins told the real story.
The Vote
On the bulldozer resolution: 40 out of 47 Senate Democrats voted to block the sale. That’s 85% of the Democratic caucus. The final vote was 40–59 — every Republican voted against it.
On the bomb resolution: 36 Democrats voted to block the sale of 12,000 1,000-pound bombs to Israel. That one went down 36–63.
In November 2024, only 18 senators voted with Sanders on a similar measure. In July 2025, it was 27. Now it’s 40. The Democratic defection from decades of unconditional Israel support has more than doubled in less than two years. This is the fastest collapse of a foreign policy consensus inside a major party in modern Senate history.
The Seven Who Said No
Only seven Democrats voted against both resolutions — meaning they sided with every Republican to keep sending weapons to a government currently under investigation for war crimes by the International Criminal Court:
Chuck Schumer (New York) — Senate Minority Leader, the first Jewish leader of the Senate, who once called Netanyahu an “obstacle to peace.” He still voted to arm him.
John Fetterman (Pennsylvania) — The man who ran as the working-class progressive champion of 2022 and has since become Congress’s most vocal unconditional defender of Israel.
Chris Coons (Delaware) — Biden’s closest Senate ally. Reliably hawkish on foreign aid.
Richard Blumenthal (Connecticut) — Who has publicly criticized Netanyahu’s conduct but apparently not enough to stop selling him bulldozers.
Catherine Cortez Masto (Nevada), Kirsten Gillibrand (New York), and Jacky Rosen (Nevada) — all in states with significant pro-Israel donor networks.
The 2028 Factor
What made this vote different wasn’t just the numbers. It was who voted yes.
Senators Ruben Gallego, Mark Kelly, Elissa Slotkin, Chris Murphy, and Cory Booker — all potential 2028 presidential contenders — voted to block the sales. These aren’t backbenchers or progressive firebrands. These are mainstream Democrats calculating where the party is going and deciding they’d rather be ahead of it than behind it.
Kelly, a Navy veteran and national security hawk, told reporters: “Netanyahu has made some decisions inconsistent with our values. As a good ally of theirs, I think we’ve got to make decisions that are also in their best interest.”
Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla — both California senators who had previously opposed similar measures — flipped to voting yes. Their joint statement: “Being a stalwart friend of Israel does not mean agreeing with all decisions of the Israeli Government or Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
The Numbers Don’t Lie
A Pew Research Center survey released earlier this month found that 80% of Democrats and 41% of Republicans now view Israel negatively. Sanders cited that number on the Senate floor: “In strong and growing numbers, they do not want us to continue spending billions of their taxpayer dollars in support of the illegal, horrific and expansionist war policies of the Netanyahu government.”
Here’s the math. In the last two years:
- November 2024: 18 Senate Democrats voted with Sanders
- July 2025: 27 Democrats (first time a majority of the caucus)
- April 2026: 40 Democrats — 85% of the caucus
That trajectory doesn’t plateau. It accelerates.
But It Still Failed
Both resolutions died because not a single Republican voted for either one. Not Rand Paul. Not Mike Lee. Not anyone. The party that lectures about fiscal responsibility and “America First” voted unanimously to send $447 million in military equipment to a foreign government currently fighting three simultaneous wars — all while American infrastructure crumbles, federal workers get fired, and gas prices sit above four dollars a gallon.
This is not a pro-Israel story or an anti-Israel story. This is an accountability story. Forty Democrats said “enough.” Zero Republicans did. Seven Democrats didn’t. And both resolutions still failed. That’s where America is right now.
Sources
- Times of Israel / AP: 40 of 47 Senate Democrats voted for bulldozer resolution; 36 for bombs resolution; Sanders-led; both failed with Republican opposition. April 16, 2026.
- Jewish Insider: Only 7 Democrats voted against both measures; 2028 hopefuls Gallego, Kelly, Slotkin, Murphy, Booker all voted to block; number doubled from 27 in July 2025. April 16, 2026.
- Time: The 7 Democrats who voted against: Schumer, Coons, Cortez Masto, Fetterman, Gillibrand, Rosen, Blumenthal; Schiff and Padilla flipped; Sanders: “shift reflects where the American people are.” April 16, 2026.
- NOTUS: Kelly quote on Netanyahu’s decisions; Schumer still voted to arm Israel despite calling Netanyahu “obstacle to peace”; 80% of Democrats view Israel negatively (Pew). April 16, 2026.