The Republican-led Senate voted down two attempts on Wednesday by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) to advance measures that would block more than $3.5 billion in U.S. arms sales to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
The Democratic effort was in response to President Donald Trump accepting gifts and business deals tied to the Middle East countries that his critics say present “corrupt” conflicts of interest.
Those include a $400 million luxury Qatari jet recently gifted to the Pentagon that will be used by Trump for personal use after leaving office and the UAE pouring $2 billion into Trump’s cryptocurrency venture. The resolutions wouldn’t have blocked the new Qatari Air Force One and crypto deals from happening, but would have prevented the U.S. from selling arms to the two Middle Eastern nations in return.
Procedural votes on a pair of privileged joint resolutions of disapproval that Murphy forced to the floor both failed along mostly party lines. The vote to block weapons sales to Qatar was rejected 39-56 and the one against UAE failed 39-56. Both required only a simple majority.
The votes were expected to fail but were meant to offer Democrats a messaging opportunity to reinforce the party’s criticism that Trump is openly reaping financial benefits from his position of power. Instead, they did more to split the party.
Four Democrats joined with Republicans in rejecting both measures: Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI).
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) broke with his party by voting “present” on both.
Murphy said in floor remarks: “I believe that this Senate should join Republicans and Democrats together in saying that any country that’s willing to pay the president personally — to enrich our president personally — in order to receive favorable reatment from the United States of America in its foreign policy, or to receive national security secrets from the United States of America, shouldn’t be able to do business as usual.”
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID) waved off Murphy’s criticism as an attempt by the Democrat to boost his own national profile amid chatter of a 2028 potential presidential run.
“These flawed resolutions aren’t really about arms sales to our allies in Qatar or UAE,” Risch said in floor remarks, as he rattled off examples of the U.S. partnering with the countries on foreign policy matters. “Instead, they make arms sales to some of our closest allies in the Middle East about partisan politics.”
The arms sales to Qatar are valued at $1.9 billion and include MQ-9 Reaper drones, various munitions, and radar systems. The sales to the UAE are valued at $1.6 billion and include Chinook helicopters, F-16 components, and munitions.
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Murphy said both countries have been, and will continue to be, “important partners” to the U.S. in the region, but that national security has been jeopardized by Trump’s business relationships with them.
“These are important partners of the United States in the region. They will be important partners in the future,” Murphy said. “But this is an exceptional moment where the corruption, and our effort to stop the corruption, has to take priority and has to take precedent.”
