U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) has vowed to eliminate the controversial Section 224 of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), known as the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative, from the 2027 U.S. Department of Defense budget.
Sanders wrote Monday on social media: “Only 16% of Americans support arming Israel without restrictions. So what is Congress doing? Burying a provision in the defense bill that would give Israel more military integration than any NATO ally. We must strip Section 224 from the Pentagon budget.”
[NOTE: Section 224 would require Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to “designate an executive agent, responsible for synchronizing cooperative efforts between the United States and Israel, to expand and accelerate bilateral defense technology research, development, testing, evaluation, integration, and industrial cooperation.”]
84% of Americans, Bernie Sanders, and Thomas Massie agree. Don’t arm Israel unconditionally.
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) June 16, 2026
Also, don’t merge our military technology and supply chains with Israel’s… or any other country’s. I’ve submitted an amendment to strip section 224 (retitled section 219) from the NDAA. https://t.co/c6KzMLS1E2
U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) amplified Sanders’ post and added: “84% of Americans, Bernie Sanders, and Thomas Massie agree. Don’t arm Israel unconditionally. Also, don’t merge our military technology and supply chains with Israel’s… or any other country’s. I’ve submitted an amendment to strip section 224 (retitled section 219) from the NDAA.”
Other critics including Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft co-founder Eli Clifton and UPenn political scientist Ian Lustick also argue that Section 224 of the NDAA “is not an alliance with a talented and responsible ally that will help keep the US safe, but a trap being set by Israel and its lobby to bind our country to a state that, for all its past promise, has gone rogue.”
