The results signal deepening Democratic discontent with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a sharpening generational and activist divide within the party over U.S. policy toward Israel.

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday voted to reject two resolutions by Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders to block U.S. arms sales to Israel, but more than three dozen Democrats voted for the measures — a figure that has more than doubled in less than two years, according to the Associated Press, as Israeli military campaigns have expanded across Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran.

The two resolutions, which would have halted U.S. sales of bulldozers and bombs to Israel, failed 40-59 and 36-63. All Republicans voted against both measures, ensuring they fell well short of the 51 votes needed for passage.

“It’s clear that Democrats are beginning to listen to the average American who is sick and tired of spending billions of dollars to support Netanyahu’s horrific wars when people in this country can’t afford housing or health care,” Sanders said after the vote.

A growing Democratic bloc

Sanders has repeatedly forced Senate votes on the issue. Similar resolutions were also rejected in 2024 and 2025, but the number of Democrats voting with Sanders has more than doubled in less than two years, the AP reported, as Israeli campaigns in Gaza, Lebanon, and Iran continued and party activists increasingly treated support for Israel’s government as a litmus test for Democratic candidates.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, voted for both resolutions after opposing some of Sanders’ previous efforts. In remarks before the vote, Kelly cited “the reckless decisions being made by Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump” as the basis for his position.

“Under Prime Minister Netanyahu’s government, we’ve seen an expanded war in Lebanon that is putting innocent Lebanese civilians at risk, and ongoing violence against Palestinians and their homes being demolished in the West Bank,” Kelly said. “All of this has undermined the path forward for peace.”

Schumer and Gillibrand hold against

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, both New York Democrats, voted against the resolutions.

Their positions drew organized opposition earlier in the week. On Monday, the antiwar group Jewish Voice for Peace led a protest of hundreds outside the senators’ offices, with participants attempting to stage a sit-in. Protesters were blocked from entering, and nearly 100 were arrested.

“The majority of Americans and New Yorkers want a resolution to what the Israeli government is doing,” said Sonya Meyerson-Knox, communications director for Jewish Voice for Peace.

Iran war resolution also fails

Earlier Wednesday, senators voted 47-52 to reject a separate resolution that would have ended U.S. military involvement in Iran, with Democrats largely supporting that measure.

Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat who voted against the Israel arms-sale resolutions but for the Iran measure, said the two votes reflected distinct considerations.

“My votes should be taken neither as an endorsement of the actions of the Netanyahu government nor as an abandonment of the state of Israel, the Jewish people, or the US-Israel relationship,” Coons said in a statement.

Republican opposition

Republicans argued the votes sent a damaging signal during an active conflict.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch, R-Idaho, said the resolutions could embolden Iran and “send the message that the U.S. is prepared to leave our ally Israel vulnerable.”

“They will not help the United States of America,” Risch said ahead of the vote.