State Department declares emergency to bypass Congress on $151.8M Israel bomb sale

On March 6, 2026, the State Department approved an emergency Foreign Military Sale to Israel of 12,000 BLU-110A/B 1,000-pound bomb bodies and related support, valued at about $151.8 million. Secretary of State Marco Rubio formally determined that an emergency existed requiring the immediate sale, invoking Section 36(b) of the Arms Export Control Act to waive the statutory congressional-review period.

It was the administration's first AECA emergency declaration to bypass Congress on an arms sale to Israel, coming roughly a week into the joint U.S.-Israel air war against Iran.

The Arms Export Control Act gives Congress a fixed window to review and, if it chooses, block large weapons sales before they proceed — a check on how the United States commits its arsenal and credibility abroad. The law permits the executive to skip that window only by certifying a genuine emergency, a narrow exception meant for true crises rather than a routine path around the legislature. Using it to fast-track 12,000 bombs Congress had not yet cleared shifts a core legislative power onto the executive alone, which is why it is recorded here.