Tom Cotton Slams Biden for Withholding Weapons from Israel

Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) issued a scathing letter to President Joe Biden this week, criticizing the administration's decision to withhold weapons and ammunition shipments from Israel. The move is seen as an effort to placate the pro-Hamas faction within the Democratic Party.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly condemned the Biden administration on Tuesday for delaying crucial shipments. This criticism followed a report by The Wall Street Journal that the administration was withholding a fleet of F-15 jets, despite Congressional approval of the sale a month ago.

The withheld supplies range from rifles intended to protect local Israeli communities from terrorist threats to precision bombs designed to minimize collateral damage in the ongoing conflict.

“I write regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public statement this week that your administration has been withholding weapons and ammunition from Israel and hampering its war effort against Hamas—a serious accusation from a trusted U.S. ally,” Cotton’s letter, obtained by reporter Adam Kredo, began. “Your administration responded by claiming that aid is flowing normally, with one official asserting, ‘We genuinely do not know what he’s talking about.’”

Cotton accused the administration of deliberately misleading the American people. He pointed out that the Arms Export Control Act requires the administration to notify Congress before sending weapons to a foreign country, a requirement the administration is circumventing by withholding formal notifications for approved weapons sales.

“You’re deliberately misleading the American people and insulting a key ally,” Cotton stated. “As you are aware, the Arms Export Control Act requires the administration to notify Congress before sending weapons to a foreign country. Your administration has manipulated this requirement by withholding this formal notification to Congress of approved weapons sales, including F-15s, tactical vehicles, 120-mm mortars, 120-mm tank rounds, joint direct attack munitions, and small diameter bombs.”

The senator emphasized that the law includes an exception for emergencies, which the administration could invoke to expedite weapons sales without congressional review. Cotton noted that while the administration used this exception last year, it has since stopped acknowledging the emergency in Israel following pressure from congressional Democrats.

“Your administration is obviously aware of this exception since you invoked it just last year. Yet, it appears that you stopped acknowledging the emergency in Israel after receiving a letter from nearly twenty congressional Democrats in January, urging you to end expedited weapons sales to Israel. Though your administration reportedly released a ship carrying at least some of these arms on Wednesday, that modest step doesn’t cure the damage done by the delay.”

Cotton concluded his letter by accusing the administration of playing politics with national honor and Israel's security. He demanded that the administration provide detailed answers to several questions by July 1, 2024, including information on additional delayed weapons, all support requests from Israel, and the administration's justification for not promptly delivering the orders.

“You’re playing politics with the nation’s honor and our ally’s security,” he wrote. “Worse still, your administration lacks the honesty to communicate its true policy to the American people, instead preferring to hide behind weasel words and bureaucratic process. Any delays to military support to Israel blatantly disregard Congress’s bipartisan mandate to supply Israel with all it needs to defeat the Hamas terrorists and other Iranian-backed groups. Our ally is under sustained threat, and we must use all available resources to expedite military aid.”

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