AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENTYou have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Iran War Deepens Divide Among Democrats Over Arming IsraelConcerns over the Iran war led several Democratic senators who had rejected past bids to curb weapons transfers to Israel to vote to block the sale of bulldozers and bombs.Listen · 4:26 min Among the Democrats who voted in recent years against blocking Israel arms sales but on Wednesday supported the efforts were Maria Cantwell of Washington, clockwise from top left, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, Alex Padilla of California, Mark Kelly of Arizona.Published April 15, 2026Updated April 16, 2026, 11:37 a.m. ETThe Senate on Wednesday blocked a Democratic bid to cancel arms sales to Israel, but the party’s concerns over the war against Iran widened its rift over arming the longtime U.S. ally.Progressive senators led by Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, have long been critical of robust American aid for Israel’s military. But several Democrats who in the past had opposed efforts by Mr. Sanders and others to block U.S. arms transfers changed course and registered their disapproval of the sale of armored bulldozers and 12,000 bombs.On Wednesday, 36 Democrats voted to take up a measure that would block the sale of the 1,000-pound bombs, while 40 Democrats voted in favor of a measure to bar the sale of the bulldozers that Israel has used to level entire neighborhoods in Gaza and Lebanon. Roughly a dozen more Democrats voted for those measures than have voted for similar ones in the past.Republicans voted en masse against taking up the measures. Congress has the power to cancel weapons transfers proposed by the administration, but only if both chambers pass disapproval resolutions and the president signs them, or supermajorities override his veto.Democratic leaders of the effort argued that the Senate must stop the transfer of new weapons to Israel that would support a war that President Trump launched against Tehran, in coordination with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, without congressional authorization and which a majority of Americans oppose.“If we want to rein in a Trump administration that launched an illegal war against Iran, we should also rein in the Netanyahu administration that’s doing exactly the same thing with American taxpayer dollars,” Senator Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, said ahead of the vote.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT