Date: Saturday, 24 October 2026
https://ericzuesse.substack.com/p/israel-is-tightening-its-grip-on
https://theduran.com/israel-is-tightening-its-grip-on-the-u-s-government/
Israel is tightening its grip on the U.S. Government.
24 October 2026, posted by Eric Zuesse. (All of my recent articles can be seen here.)
Here is how it’s being done:
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https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-us-military/
https://web.archive.org/web/20260615224616/https://responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-us-military/
20 May 2026, Ben Freeman
At a time when the American public is expressing unprecedented levels of distrust in the Israeli government, Congress just proposed tying the U.S. to the Israeli military more than ever before.
Buried in the House's version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) released on Tuesday, is section 224, entitled “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.” The provision would arguably do more to intertwine the U.S. military with the Israeli military than the more than $200 billion (inflation adjusted) in military assistance Israel has received from the U.S. since its founding in 1948.
Section 224 lays the groundwork for bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and seemingly every manner of U.S.-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation. The U.S. and Israel already work together heavily on missile defense, but this provision would greatly expand coordination to seemingly every area of defense tech, including AI, quantum, autonomous systems, directed energy, cyber, biotech, and many more. It also proposes “network integration” and “data fusion.” In other words, the U.S. military’s data could soon be the Israeli military’s data.
If fully enacted, this proposal would provide a higher level of military-industrial integration than the U.S. has with any other country in the world. To be sure, the U.S. has worked closely with its NATO partners on co-production and shared supply chains, most notably via the Defence Production Action Plan. And, as the number one arms dealer in the world, the U.S. provides weapons to militaries across the globe. But that is mostly a one-way street, with the U.S. providing weapons to foreign buyers who only occasionally make parts for those weapons themselves, as in the case of the F-35’s global supply chain.
Section 224 would be a different beast entirely. It would fuse the U.S. and Israeli defense sectors in multiple areas vital to the battlefields of the future, like autonomous systems and cyber. It would also bring extraordinary Israeli influence to the U.S. beyond what it already has through the Israel lobby and its robust network of social media influencers. It would give the Israeli government the opportunity to greatly expand one of the most powerful levers of influence in U.S. politics: jobs in the U.S. By expanding or starting new co-production facilities like it already has in Mississippi and Arkansas, the Israeli government could boast of providing jobs on U.S. soil, thereby securing allies among members of Congress who represent the districts where those jobs lie.
The result could well be a U.S. political system even more susceptible to the whims of an Israeli government that seemingly has no qualms about drawing the U.S. into military conflicts in the Middle East.
This unprecedented level of U.S.-Israeli military integration stands in stark contrast to the traditional aid model of defense cooperation, in which Israel already stood out as the top recipient of U.S. military assistance. As laid out in a recent Quincy Institute brief, authored by Steven Simon, this shift from an aid model to a military integration model has troubling implications, namely:
The shift will strip away the political and diplomatic oversight mechanisms that make the relationship publicly accountable, moving it from a visible annual aid vote into the opaque machinery of defense acquisition, where oversight is limited and political accountability is minimal. The result would be a defense relationship that is simultaneously deeper and less transparent.
This all comes at a time when the Israeli military has repeatedly used U.S. weapons in strikes that have violated international humanitarian laws in Gaza, and as Israel has repeatedly violated ceasefires (as has the U.S. itself) in the Trump administration’s unnecessary war with Iran.
The enormous gulf between what most Americans want and what the president [AND CONGRESS!] is doing when it comes to Israel and what Congress is proposing here should not be ignored. Just 30% of respondents to a New York Times/Sienna poll from mid-May believe Trump made “the right decision” to go to war with Iran, with 64% saying it was wrong. An Institute for Global Affairs poll released earlier this week dove even deeper into the American psyche when it comes to arming Israel, finding that “Just 16 percent say the United States should keep supplying Israel with weapons without new restrictions. Thirty-eight percent want to stop supplying weapons entirely, and another 24 percent want weapons conditioned on how they’re used.”
Yet, mainstream leadership in both parties remains largely pro-Israel and continues to shape the base legislative text before amendments and broader congressional debate open it to the full body, as is the case with this NDAA provision.
Though slowly, tides within both parties are shifting as more and more members speak out against the growing divide between Israel’s actions and America’s interests. For example, Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) wrote in The New York Times on Tuesday that, “The Democratic Party has provided reflexive and unconditional support to Israeli governments, even as their actions have increasingly undermined American interests and values.” On the Republican side of the aisle, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-Ga.) have openly decried the Israel lobby’s corrosive influence — a stance that may have, at least partially, cost both of them their seats in Congress.
What can other members of Congress who are concerned about Israel’s destabilizing actions do right now? Stop the Israeli-U.S. military-industrial merger in its tracks. Lawmakers should reject Section 224 from the NDAA to avoid deep integration with Israel's military at a time when a growing number of Americans oppose Israel's actions in the region.
Ben Freeman is Director of the Democratizing Foreign Policy program at the Quincy Institute and the author of "The Trillion Dollar War Machine: How Runaway Military Spending Drives America into Foreign Wars and Bankrupts Us at Home" (2025)
FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES
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https://responsiblestatecraft.org/us-israel-military-congress/
Pro-Israel voices win out, kill bill to stop US-Israel military integration
3 June 2026, KELLEY BEAUCAR VLAHOS, Editor-in-Chief of Responsible Statecraft.
A House committee summarily struck down an amendment to strip a measure from the massive annual defense policy bill that would provide Israel “a higher level of military-industrial integration" with the U.S. than Washington has "with any other country in the world.”
Pro-Israel voices on the House Armed Services Committee argued that reports about Section 224 — that Congress was trying to integrate U.S. and Israeli military systems as a way to entrench aid without proper oversight — were disingenuous and wrong.
In fact, members claimed that these were “existing initiatives” and that Section 224 “actually improves oversight and accountability of these programs by designating a single official responsible for them,” according to Chairman Mike Rogers, (R-Ala.)
Not quite true, said the Quincy Institute’s Ben Freeman, who broke the initial story of Section 224 for RS last week. “Members of Congress supporting the proposal laid out caricatures of critiques against Section 224. And when they did actually talk about the provision itself they spread half-truths and outright inaccuracies about how far this provision will go to integrate the U.S. and Israeli defense sectors.”
According to Freeman, as reported in these pages, Section 224 would lay the groundwork for:
…bilateral research and development, co-production of weapons, joint ventures, licensing agreements, and seemingly every manner of U.S.-Israeli military-industrial complex cooperation. The U.S. and Israel already work together heavily on missile defense, but this provision would greatly expand coordination to seemingly every area of defense tech, including AI, quantum, autonomous systems, directed energy, cyber, biotech, and many more. It also proposes “network integration” and “data fusion.” In other words, the U.S. military’s data could soon be the Israeli military’s data.
Critically, it would shift the annual $3.8 billion the U.S. now gives Israel (a 10-year memorandum of understanding soon up for renewal) to these programs and partnerships, i.e. “co-production” and other “fusion” deep inside Pentagon procurement and acquisitions process, where sunlight is rare and often fleeting. A perfect solution — which is, by the way, endorsed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — given the dwindling American support for Israel’s wars and U.S. military assistance for them.
In his remarks on Section 224, Khanna spoke vociferously against what he saw as a blank check at a time when a majority of Americans say they do not want to send more military aid to Israel.
“The American people are tired of the arrogance and insolence of Prime Minister Netanyahu telling America what we should do. The entire country of Israel has a GDP that is less than a single town in my district, yet somehow Netanyahu thinks he could tell the American people what we should do,” he charged.
“I am for Team America. I am for the interests of this country, and I believe that's what Donald Trump ran on. That includes American interests against any foreign country,” Khanna said. “We should have American sovereignty and make it clear that we strike 224. If we want to give aid to Israel, if we want to sell them weapons, that should be a vote for the entire Congress.”
Unfortunately for Khanna, the majority on the committee did not agree. According to several members, not only is Israel the only friend we have in the region, it helped us create new technologies and capabilities, and we would only benefit from the deeper military ties.
“This is a win-win relationship. We have Silicon Valley, Israel has Tel Aviv, and it's like Silicon Valley number two. We have gained so much technology advantages from our partnership with Israel, and vice versa,” declared Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb). “They gain as well, and this is what we're trying to do, is create that synergy. They support our foreign policy, they've been the most supportive of us in the U.N. They're the only democracy in Middle East, and so I'll oppose the amendment.”
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) warned that American national security would be at risk if such synergy didn't occur. After “the bad actors” of the world go after Israel they will then “exercise their free will against us," he charged.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) took the line that the reports about Section 224 were overblown. “It's not a new framework at all. We have three existing programs right now where we do military cooperation with Israel to develop technologies. Those programs already exist," he said.
"This amendment ... suggests some other areas where maybe we should look at opportunities, and as the chairman noted, we had somebody now appointed to coordinate those programs.”
He said he, too, was “frustrated with Netanyahu’s leadership” and Israel's support for a “war with Iran that has strengthened Iran and weakened our position,” but he disagrees that Section 224 “is Congress just bowing to what Netanyahu wants — this is to our benefit.” In fact, such sharing should occur with Ukraine, too, he added.
Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.) was the only other member who spoke out in favor of Khanna’s amendment, pointing out that current laws prohibit transfers of weapons to countries committing war crimes and violating international law, but Section 224 makes no such provisions, and takes oversight away, despite what some of her colleagues were arguing on Thursday.
She raised the issue of Israeli-owned Pegasus spyware, which was blacklisted for its use against Americans. “Two administrations from both parties left it on that list, and that same company is right now trying to buy its way into the American market, fusing our defense and technology sectors together permanently,” she said.
A proposal “with no conditions in the exact area where we have already been burned (Section 224) is reckless on its own terms, and it would do it through a must-pass bill with almost no oversight and with none of the human rights conditions that govern the rest of security assistance," Jacobs added.
Next steps: Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) says he will work with Khanna to strip the language from the final House NDAA. If the parade of voices that insist Israel must have this relationship with the U.S. military is any indication, it will be a hard road ahead.
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https://caucus99percent.com/node/29676
[NOTE: If a link goes to something like this “https://archive.ph/o/u4m1R/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6b4KXMS1aw” just remove the prefix and start it with the “https:// …“]
The Weekly Watch
Submitted by Lookout on Sun, 06/07/2026 - 6:38am
On Becoming Israel
Looks like the bill to integrate the US military and the IDF will pass. Pro-Israel voices win out, kill bill to stop US-Israel military integration, with statements (lies) like Israel is the only democracy in the region. Let's face it folks, the Zionists own our government. They are even considering giving IDF soldiers full US veteran benefits. I guess we plan to become genocidal maniacs ourselves. We're well on the way. Human life doesn't mean much to the US military. We're still blowing up fishing boats claiming they are running drugs. "Besides being clearly illegal under both US and international law, the bombing campaign has also failed at stemming the flow of drugs to the US, according to a recent report from The New York Times." The US used to pretend to adhere to international law, but now we don't even offer a pretense, like Israel we are a law unto ourselves.
MAGA somehow morphed into Israel First. Any politician who does put Israel first is targeted. Recently, Massie is a case in point, but Dems, Cory Bush and J.Bowman were also targeted in the last couple of years. That's just one of the ways Israel owns our government. "Capitol Hill is lsraeli-occupied territory" said Pat Buchanan in 1990.
Like Israel, the US is agreement incapable. As Trump said this week, "A ceasefire in that region just means fire less" or something to that effect.
Does Trump control Bibi, or does Bibi control Trump?
Trump and Netanyahu: The odd couple
“He’ll do whatever I want him to do,” Donald Trump declared recently about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu....
If there is one lesson since the election of Trump, it is that Netanyahu, not Trump, has consistently dictated the pace of America’s wars in the Middle East. Trump may occupy the White House, issue ultimatums, and proclaim himself the master negotiator, but the facts on the ground tell a different story. Again and again, Netanyahu acts, and Trump adjusts.
Col Douglas Macgregor: The Israel First White House
Col Douglas Macgregor: The Israel First White House
(40 min)
Joe Kent's recent article:
US-Israel integration is far from 'America First'
We cannot outsource components of our national security to nations that do not share our interests and that is exactly what this proposed scheme would do.
...Section 224, cleverly buried deep in the massive National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is entitled “United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative.” This initiative transitions the traditional aid relationship into a deeper partnership between the U.S. and Israel in many aspects of technological research and development and defense production, and would also give Israel unprecedented access to U.S. technology development and "data fusion."
...We are a sovereign nation. We cannot outsource components of our national security to nations that do not share our interests; they will put their own interests first every time. No other government prioritizes the needs of a different country before its own, because that would be foolish.
Fusing the US Military and the IDF
A bill’s provision to integrate the U.S. and Israeli militaries will go to a U.S. House vote after an effort to stop it failed Thursday. Passage will make it nearly impossible to end the U.S.-Israel special relationship, writes Alan MacLeod.
In essence, then, it would dramatically change the relationship between the two states, from one where Washington supplies Tel Aviv with money, weapons, and diplomatic support, to a situation where the two are fundamentally intertwined.
It would also make the relationship far less transparent, as aid to Israel currently requires an annual public debate and vote. However, by moving it away from the political realm into that of defense acquisition, oversight and accountability mechanisms will be removed, and the public will have little right to know the details going forward.
Israel Asks For A Guaranteed Share Of U.S. Weapon Purchases
The colonial expansion of Israel is openly subsidized by the U.S. with currently $3.5 billion per year. Most of that money is bound to Israel’s purchase of U.S. made weapons. The stipend is controlled by Congress and must pass the yearly budget review.
The Israeli government is trying to change the stipend into a more lucrative racket.
It has suggested to replace the yearly subsidy by a ‘deeper military cooperation’ which is code for the guaranteed U.S. purchases of Israeli made weapons and continuous profits for Israel’s weapon manufacturers. To institute the new scheme Congress will pass a law that will integrate Israel’s military-industrial complex into U.S. procurement and production lines.
Following that there will be no more yearly reviews
Let's continue with the two Larry's...
Larry Johnson & Col. Wilkerson: Iran FIRES MISSILES at US Destroyers – US Ships FLEE to Indian Ocean
Larry Johnson & Col. Larry Wilkerson:
Iran FIRES MISSILES at US Destroyers – US Ships FLEE to Indian Ocean.
Iran and the US Trade More Blows in the Persian Gulf
The big talk this week has revolved around a report from Larry and Pepe: Does Iran Have a Nuke? Well Placed Source Says, “Yes”
More from Larry:
Confirmed — Donald Trump Believes Iran Has The Bomb
It will be interesting to see how this plays out...
Here's Larry explaining his sourcing and probability.
Iran-US Conflict Is Entering Round 2? CIA Analyst explains
(9 min) Iran-US Conflict Is Entering Round 2? CIA Analyst explains
Recent attacks, military escalation, and shifting political signals suggest that what many thought was over may only have been on pause. Former CIA officer Larry Johnson explains how the Iran-US conflict is entering a dangerous new phase — and why Round 2 could be very different from the first.
Phil Giraldi Exposes the Israelization of US Military Command
Phil Giraldi Exposes the Israelization of US Military Command
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom
(27 min) He discusses the VA benefits at about 15 min.
Alastair Crooke, longtime ME diplomat
Alastair Crooke: IRAN’S TRIGGER WARNING: ‘Withdraw from Lebanon… Any Violations and We Strike
(61 min) IRAN’S TRIGGER WARNING: ‘Withdraw from Lebanon… Any Violations and We Strike
Now let's hear from veteran diplomat, Chas Freeman
Chas Freeman: The Greater Israel Project Is Collapsing
(58 min) The Greater Israel Project Is Collapsing
Jeffrey Sachs
[SPECIAL] Prof. Jeffrey Sachs : Will Israeli Officials Blow Up any US/Iran Peace?
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom
(25 min) Will Israeli Officials Blow Up any US/Iran Peace?
Robert Barnes
Robert Barnes: The Iranian Navy announces it targeted a U.S. warship in the Sea of Oman
(54 min) The Iranian Navy announces it targeted a U.S. warship in the Sea of Oman
Will the coming economic effects cause Trump to change strategies? I doubt it, but he may be forced to adapt...
Economic Reality Will Force Trump To Defy The Lobby’s Pressure
The Zionist lobby is vehemently against any peace deal with Iran. Israel will do its best to sabotage any resolution of the matter by continuing its war in Lebanon, Gaza and the West Bank. It wants the war on Iran to continue until that country is destroyed as a viable competitor.
So far the Zionists hold the upper hand. They can and do defy Trump at every corner. The Lobby has the upper hand. He does not yet dare to take it down.
Existing oil inventories, commercial ones as well as state owned strategic reserves, were used as a buffer to paper over the lack of some 15% of crude oil in the global markets. Gas prices at the pump have risen, but only moderately.
From now on the situation can only, and will, get worse.
During June and July Prices will rise further. Distribution problems will lead to temporary closure of this or that gas station. Selected oil derived products will become rare.
By August western governments will start to introduce rationing measures. Smaller refineries will shut down. Political pressure will increase to a point where it can no longer be ignored. The voices of the (non-oil) industry, financial circles, and the public will become louder than the Lobby’s.
This is driving a global depression, and if the conflict continues through the summer the effects will be felt around the world.
That's plenty of perspectives on the war with Iran and a good bit of discussion of Israel's continued attacks on Lebanon. We're in a tit for tat exchange of attacks between the US and Iran that looks likely to escalate. But there's another war brewing that may prove more consequential...
NATO vs Russia
Ukraine has been flying drones over the Baltic states to hit around St Petersburg during the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum . This is primarily a distraction from the fact Ukraine is losing ground quickly...
Konstantinovka Is Falling, West's Ukraine Narrative Is Crumbling
Konstantinovka Is Falling, West's Ukraine Narrative Is Crumbling
(28 min) The western narrative that Ukraine is winning on the battlefield is visibly falling apart, and Alex Christoforou and Alexander Mercouris on The Duran break down exactly why: Ukraine's drone offensive deep into Russia is producing less damage than last year, Konstantinovka is on the verge of falling and opening the road to the Slavyansk and Kramatorsk cauldron the channel first predicted in 2022, and the CIA is now moving to place Budanov in command not to win the conventional conflict but to prepare for a long insurgency once the front line collapses. Add Zelensky demanding a Patriot missile manufacturing license that will never produce a single interceptor but will generate billions in contracts, and the question becomes: how much longer can the gap between the official story and the reality on the ground be maintained?
00:00:00 Introduction and Overview
00:01:32 Ukraine Drone Offensive Into Russia Is Fading
00:03:43 Why Deeper Drone Strikes Are Doing Less Damage
00:04:24 Attacks on the Novorossiya Highway Explained
00:06:09 Real Front Line Picture and Konstantinovka Crisis
00:07:20 Why Budanov Is Replacing Syrsky
00:08:48 CIA Control and the Shift to Unconventional Conflict
00:10:51 The New York Times and CIA Grooming of Budanov
00:12:47 Putin on Drones and Why Russia Is Not Attacking Europe
00:14:40 Oreshnik Missiles Targeting Ukrainian Command Bunkers
00:15:40 Expect Distractions as Konstantinovka Falls
00:17:24 The Donbass Cauldron Is Finally Forming
00:19:35 Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Plant Attack and the Difficult Summer Ahead
00:20:50 EU 21st Sanctions Package and the Oil Price Cap
00:22:06 Zelensky's Complaints Over Oil Sanctions and Patriot Missiles
00:25:55 Why the Patriot License Scheme Is Pure Grift
00:28:07 Closing Remarks
Putin held on of his marathon press conferences at the Economic Forum answering questions from global journalists. He also presented a 2+ hour speech at the plenary session of the Forum.
During the interactive session at the International Economic Forum, Vladimir Putin addressed geopolitical issues being faced across the world, including the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict and Russia's war with Ukraine. Putin repeated his earlier offer to play mediator between Israel and Iran, while also revealing that he spoke to leaders from the US, Israel and Iran. The Russian President also issued a warning to Israel as it seeks to destroy Iran's nuclear program, revealing Moscow's stake in the entire ordeal. On Ukraine, Putin spoke about Russia's territorial claims as well as peace negotiations that have, so far, not yielded any major outcomes.
Putin Reveals Oreshnik Plan. West Desperate to Get Conflict Freez
Putin Reveals Oreshnik Plan. West Desperate to Get Conflict Freeze
(35 min) Alex Christoforou and Alexander Mercouris break down Putin's St Petersburg press conference and reveal what Western coverage is missing: a deepening split inside the Russian Security Council, with Putin standing virtually alone in keeping the door open to the Anchorage agreement while Lavrov, Medvedev, and the rest push for a harder line. The Duran examines Zelensky's open letter as a coordinated Western operation timed to the forum, the reality behind the House Ukraine aid bills, the fading influence of Russia's business oligarchs, and why the Oreshnik is being quietly perfected for strikes on Kiev command centers. Is Putin running out of time to close a deal with Trump before the window shuts and a new Democratic administration resets everything?
00:00:00 Putin at St Petersburg Forum Overview
00:01:00 Russia Winning: Front Lines and Drone Reality
00:03:31 Oreshnik Disclosure: Combat Tests and Urban Targeting
00:04:34 Putin Walks Back Ukraine EU and US Rhetoric
00:05:46 Rubio Admits US Is on Ukraine's Side
00:06:44 Security Council Tensions: Lavrov Fires Back
00:09:19 Zelensky Open Letter: Freeze Demand Explained
00:11:51 Who Really Wrote Zelensky's Letter
00:13:03 House Aid Bills and the Coordinated Western Push
00:16:25 Everything Orchestrated to Bury Anchorage
00:18:26 Security Council vs Putin: The Anchorage Compromise
00:21:34 Does Anchorage Keep Putin Restrained
00:23:19 Oreshnik and the Inevitable Move on Kiev
00:24:32 How Powerful Are Russia's Business Oligarchs
00:30:24 Russian Economy Update and Growth Figures
00:30:58 Why Putin Should Move Faster Before Trump's Term Ends
00:32:17 The General Staff Plan: Donbass then Beyond
So, my friends, we are living in volatile times. We've talked for years about the power of the lobby, and now we face the lobby becoming the government. Think things are bad now? Just wait. We are addicted to war...it is the US business model. Any country who won't submit (think Venezuela and Cuba) will be targeted just like any US politicians who challenge the lobby. The funny thing about it, by designing the military as a profit generator, our weapons are ineffective and dysfunctional. They are designed to break down and require maintenance. A new warfare has evolved involving unjamable fiber optic drones, under sea drones, hypersonic missiles, and underground bases. We've not adapted, and we're going to face consequences sooner or later. Do any of you see an escape route? Looks like checkmate to me with Israel winning control of the US system.
Sorry I don't have a more cheerful summary. Perhaps we can ride out the decline with less negative effects than most simply by being aware. Have a good Sunday. I look forward to your stories and insights below. The thread is open...
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Defense_Authorization_Act_for_Fiscal_Year_2027
The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027 (NDAA 2027) is a proposed U.S. federal statute which specifies the budget, expenditures and policies of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) for fiscal year 2027. Analogous NDAAs have been passed annually for over 60 years. Senate Democrats have largely opposed the current version of the bill.
Legislative history
Senate
In a July 2026 "Dear Colleague" letter, Senate Democrats wrote, "As Senate Democrats, we should not be providing votes compelling him (President Donald Trump) to deepen the U.S. relationship with Netanyahu's extremist government."[1] The letter was signed by Chris Van Hollen, Jeff Merkley, Ed Markey, Elizabeth Warren, Peter Welch, and Bernie Sanders.[1] The letter also noted the Intelligence Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2027, which includes provisions to expand intelligence sharing with Israel.[1]
On July 14, 2026, Senate Democrats blocked a motion to advance the NDAA (50-46). The motion required 60 votes to pass.[2] Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, about the 2026 Iran war, "Republicans want the Senate to take up the NDAA, the defense bill, as though none of this is happening, as though Congress can debate the nation’s central national security bill while ignoring the nation’s most urgent national security crisis."[3]
House of Representatives
On June 29, 2026, the House Rules Committee released a list of amendments to the Act ruled "in order" to vote on.[4] The list did not include Amendment 2 introduced by Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie to strip Section 219 from the Act.[5]
On June 30, 2026, Khanna wrote on X, "Congress has blocked the amendment @RepThomasMassie and I introduced to stop the integration of our military with Israel’s."[6] He added, "It is unconscionable to not even have a vote. We will be continuing on and will not be intimidated by the pro-Israel lobby."[6][7]
In June 2026, the House Armed Services Committee passed the markup of the NDAA 2027.[8]
On July 22, 2026, the $1.15 trillion NDAA was passed by the House of Representatives 216 to 212.[9][10][11] Seven Republicans voted against the NDAA, with six Democrats voting in favor.[12][13]
Provisions
The House's bill would ban gender affirming care, prevent transgender girls from participating in sports at Department of Defense Education Activity schools, require compliance with the Naming Commission, and restore collective bargaining at the Department.[14]
United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative
Main article: United States-Israel FUTURES Act § United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative
The United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative was introduced as the core provision of the United States-Israel FUTURES Act and subsequently incorporated into both House and Senate versions of NDAA 2027.[15][16][17] The House version's provision was titled Section 224 and subsequently retitled as Section 219.[18]
Representatives Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie introduced Amendment 2 to the NDAA 2027, which strikes 219 from the Act.[19][20]
Amendment 2 was subsequently supported by Adam Smith, Ranking Member of the House Armed Services Committee, who had previously supported Section 219.[20][21] Smith said, "In the context of these ongoing conflicts, Section 224 carries meaning beyond the plain text substance of the provision."[21] He added, "I want to advocate for peace and pressure Israel to meaningfully work with partners in the region to bring these conflicts to an end."[21]
In July 2026, Massie announced plans to re-introduce an amendment removing Section 219 from the Act.[22]
On July 21, 2026, representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote that Section 219 was "an existential threat to American sovereignty and democracy" in a social media statement in advance of the House vote on the NDAA.[12][23] In response to Ocasio-Cortez's statement, representative Mike Lawler wrote "Good grief, you are either obtuse or intentionally lying. We are not merging our military with the IDF. As we do with many of our allies, we enter into cooperative agreements, share intelligence, develop technology and ammunitions, and conduct military exercises together. Stop stoking Jew hatred and do better."[24][23]
Following the House's passage of the NDAA, Representative Thomas Massie wrote that the bill was "a betrayal of American sovereignty", adding that it "tragically merges our military technology and supply chain with Israel’s."[11]
US-Israel joint military projects
The NDAA 2027 allocates $750 million to several joint military projects with Israel. According to a statement by AIPAC, the funds include "$500 million for missile defense, $100 million for counter‑unmanned systems, $100 million for subterranean operations, and $50 million for emerging technologies. The bill also extends the War Reserves Stockpile Authority–Israel."[25]
Compensation
The Trump administration proposed a tiered military pay raise for junior service members.[26][27] The provision was adopted by the House Armed Services Committee and rejected by the Senate Armed Services Committee.[27]
Anti-boycott restrictions
Amendment 151 of the NDAA 2027 "Extends existing anti-boycott protections to international governmental organizations (IGOs), such as the UN. These protections are already in place for boycotts instigated by foreign countries."[28][29] Amendment 362 would require the Secretary of Defense to certify Department of Defense contractors do not participate in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement targeting Israel.[28][29]
Department of War
The House version of the NDAA 2027 included a provision for re-naming the United States Department of Defense to the United States Department of War.[30]
Reaction
Josh Paul, a former State Department official and head of think tank A New Policy wrote that under Section 219, Israel being positioned "to become a supplier to the U.S. military is just a further example of [it] using [its arms] sector as a tool of influence."[31]
Support
In an opinion for The Jerusalem Post, Meital Stavinsky, president of South Florida Women in Defense, described the NDAA 2027 as a "congressional recognition of this unique relationship", referring to US-Israel military ties.[32] Stavinsky advocated for the upgrading of US-Israel military ties to "a Five Eyes-equivalent or analogous statutory and administrative framework providing greater reciprocity, accelerated technology security review, stronger industrial security pathways, and fully integrated defense industrial cooperation."[32]
In an opinion written by the Editorial board at The Wall Street Journal titled "The Military Danger of the Anti-Israel Panic", the Board criticized Representative Adam Smith's support of Amendment 2 to trip Section 219 from the NDAA 2027, writing, "anyone can see that the politics of Israel have changed in the Democratic Party and even among some Republicans," adding "The rising anti-Israel obsession is a gift to U.S. adversaries."[33]
Following the passage of the House version of NDAA 2027 on July 22, 2026, AIPAC released a statement supporting the bill's pro-Israel measures. The statement wrote, "We applaud the inclusion of a new provision that will help keep America safe and bolster our strategic capabilities — the United States-Israel Defense Technology Cooperation Initiative. This authorizes the Pentagon to work even closer together with Israel in the strategic arenas that will define 21st‑century warfare, ensuring American troops have a greater edge over our adversaries."[25]
Opposition
A coalition of 14 anti-war organizations, foreign policy, and civil liberty organizations (including the American Civil Liberties Union, J Street, Code Pink and Win Without War) urged lawmakers to oppose the NDAA unless senators were guaranteed a vote on an amendment barring more funds for the Iran war.[34] …
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MY COMMENT:
It isn’t only Israel’s billionaires who support and benefit from this, but also America’s billionaires who do, because the most-profitable investments ever since the Soviet Union ended in 1991 have been “defense/Aerospace” and “Semiconductors” (chips), both of which categories depend upon further expanding the U.S. empire. On the Republican side, mining and energy stocks are also of special interest. All of these interests are embodied in Trump but were present in Biden too, because the empire demands them. And those are the U.S. Government’s top interests of concern — NOT the top interests of the public.
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Investigative historian Eric Zuesse’s latest book, AMERICA’S EMPIRE OF EVIL: Hitler’s Posthumous Victory, and Why the Social Sciences Need to Change, is about how America took over the world after World War II in order to enslave it to U.S.-and-allied billionaires. Their cartels extract the world’s wealth by control of not only their ‘news’ media but the social ‘sciences’ — duping the public.
