State Department declares wartime emergency to bypass Congress on $23B in Mideast arms sales
On March 20, 2026, the State Department declared a national-security "wartime emergency" to bypass Congress and force through more than $23 billion in arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and Jordan. Secretary of State Marco Rubio invoked emergency-certification authority under the Arms Export Control Act to waive the statutory congressional-review window across 11 weapons packages — some still under review on Capitol Hill, others never formally submitted to Congress. Coverage described it as the administration's second use of emergency authority to circumvent congressional approval of arms transfers since the war with Iran began.