The Standing

A daily, non-partisan record of US democratic norms — and the events that erode them.

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

    On March 6, 2026, the U.S. Department of State 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.

    Jurisdiction
    federal
    Location
    Washington, D.C.

    Abuses documented

    Actors

    • Marco Rubio
    • U.S. Department of State
    • Defense Security Cooperation Agency

    Why we recorded this

    Congress holds a defined statutory role in overseeing major foreign arms transfers: the Arms Export Control Act gives lawmakers a fixed window to review and, if they choose, block large weapons sales before they proceed. That review is a check on how the United States commits its arsenal and credibility abroad. The law lets the executive skip the window only by certifying a genuine emergency — a narrow exception meant for true crises, not a routine path around the legislature. Using that authority to fast-track 12,000 bombs to Israel that Congress had not yet cleared shifts a core legislative power onto the executive alone, which is why we record it.

    Sources

    1. Israel – Munitions and Munitions Support (Foreign Military Sales: Congressional Notification) — U.S. Department of State primary accessed June 11, 2026
    2. US bypasses congressional review to approve munitions sale to Israel — Reuters via U.S. News & World Report secondary accessed June 11, 2026
    3. US bypasses congressional review to approve munitions sale to Israel — The Times of Israel secondary accessed June 11, 2026

    See also