Washington, DC – U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), today released a statement ahead of the Senate’s vote on three Joint Resolutions of Disapproval (JRD), introduced by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), to block nearly $660 million in arms sales to Israel amid the ongoing, illegal war with Iran.

“Today, I voted for the Joint Resolutions of Disapproval being considered in the Senate. While I believe Israel maintains a right to defend itself, the actions by Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government have taken innocent lives and further destabilized the Middle East.

“President Trump, with misguided assurances from Prime Minister Netanyahu, started an illegal war with Iran without a strategy or defined goals. Neither he nor Netanyahu has achieved anything more than upending the global economy and raising prices here at home. Now, after Israel’s continued war with Lebanon undermined the fragile ceasefire with Iran, Trump wants to use tax dollars to supply Netanyahu with more weapons and equipment to carry out his deadly campaigns in Gaza and throughout the region.

“While Iran and its proxies have long threatened U.S. allies and interests in the Middle East, Trump and Netanyahu’s consistently careless aggression endangers American troops, compromises our national security, and puts countless civilians in the region at risk. These Joint Resolutions of Disapproval are a tool Congress must use to rein them in.”

###

Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.