A group of a dozen Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), wrote to House and Senate leaders on Tuesday urging them to remove provisions on U.S.-Israel military and intelligence cooperation from the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.
The lawmakers said that the provisions would “constrain the administration’s ability to independently determine how best to protect U.S. national security and would lock in long-term commitments despite our serious concerns with the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza, the West Bank, and other parts of the region.”
The letter objects to both defense technology cooperation language in the NDAA, based on the FUTURES Act, as well as to language in the Senate draft of the 2027 Intelligence Authorization Act, which could be folded into the NDAA, that would mandate greater intelligence sharing with Israel.
The letter was led by Van Hollen, who is teasing plans for a bid for Senate majority leader, as well as incoming Majority Whip Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) and incoming Appropriations Committee Chair Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA).
