Archiv: US Senate Foreign Relations Committee

03.09.2026 - 09:32 [ Jeff Merkley, Senator for Oregon ]

Merkley’s Response to Trump’s Submission of U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Deal to Congress

(August 28, 2026)

Washington, D.C. – Following the Trump Administration’s submission to Congress on a proposed U.S.-Saudi civil nuclear cooperation agreement, referred to as a “123 agreement,” Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley—co-chair of the bicameral Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control Working Group and a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—issued the following statement:

“With this deal, President Trump is not only triggering a nuclear arms race in the Middle East but also weakening America’s security and standing on the world stage.

“The President’s decision to provide Saudi Arabia with a nuclear deal that does not meet the bipartisan Gold Standard nor mandate the Additional Protocol, both necessary to ensure sensitive U.S. technology is not used to help build a nuclear bomb, is dangerous and a strategic mistake for our national security.

15.01.2026 - 00:52 [ U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee ]

Murkowski Introduce Legislation to Prevent Trump Administration from Threatening NATO Unity

(January 13, 2026)

WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the NATO Unity Protection Act, bipartisan legislation to prohibit the use of U.S. Department of Defense or Department of State funds to blockade, occupy, annex or otherwise assert control over the sovereign territory of a NATO member state without that ally’s consent or authorization from the North Atlantic Council, and to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to NATO unity and collective security.

19.08.2023 - 20:25 [ Times of Israel ]

White House said briefing top Democrats on Saudi-Israel normalization talks

(17.08.2023)

The report came a week after two Democratic lawmakers told The Times of Israel that they were “dumbfounded” by US President Joe Biden’s decision to pursue the normalization agreement in addition to potentially accepting Israel into the US Visa Waiver Program, in what will shore up Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government at a time when they believe it is egregiously undermining the administration’s interests with its judicial overhaul and antagonizing policies toward the Palestinians.

09.07.2023 - 11:06 [ Patrick Leahy and Jeff Merkley / Washington Post ]

Here’s why supplying Ukraine with cluster munitions would be a terrible mistake

We voted for billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine and strongly believe we must continue to help the Ukrainian people defend themselves against Russian aggression. But supplying Kyiv with cluster munitions would come at an unsupportable moral and political price. Knowing that these weapons cause indiscriminate terror and mayhem, both of us — like many others in the international community — have worked for years to end their use.

11.10.2022 - 06:41 [ Fox News ]

Sen. Bob Menendez calls for end all cooperation with Saudi Arabia over OPEC+ oil cut

„The United States must immediately freeze all aspects of our cooperation with Saudi Arabia, including any arms sales and security cooperation beyond what is absolutely necessary to defend U.S. personnel and interests,“ wrote Menendez, who represents New Jersey and serves as the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

04.02.2022 - 07:48 [ Antiwar.com ]

Top Senate Democrat Slams Biden Administration for Negotiating With Iran to Revive the JCPOA

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), the influential chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, slammed President Biden’s plans for reviving the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA, in a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

Menendez said the administration was “clinging” to the deal for “nostalgia’s sake” in a rebuke to the US’s indirect negotiations with Iran. “At this point, we seriously have to ask what exactly are we trying to salvage?” he said.

14.09.2021 - 18:35 [ Axios.com ]

Top Democrat threatens to subpoena Biden officials as Blinken testifies on Afghanistan

The committee‘s chair, the hawkish New Jersey Democrat Bob Menendez, pulled no punches in his opening statement, threatening to subpoena Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other Biden officials who decline to voluntarily appear before the committee.

„Mr. Secretary, the execution of the U.S. withdrawal was clearly and fatally flawed,“ Menendez told Blinken.

05.08.2021 - 06:06 [ ABC News ]

Senate panel votes to scrap both Iraq war authorizations

Three Republicans — Todd Young of Indiana, Ohio’s Rob Portman, and Rand Paul of Kentucky — voted with all the panel’s Democrats for repeal, with some Republicans who opposed the move Wednesday arguing that though they support scrapping both AUMFs, the time is not right amid rising tensions with neighboring Iran.

05.08.2021 - 06:01 [ Middle East Monitor ]

US lawmakers approach crunch vote to restrain presidents from launching never-ending wars

(04.07.2021)

A near two-decade old act authorising US military intervention across the Middle East and beyond will appear before the Senate for a critical vote today, which could have a huge bearing on America‘s capacity to launch wars in the future.

05.08.2021 - 05:56 [ New York Times ]

Biden Officials Open to Tightening Law Authorizing War on Terrorist Groups

Published Aug. 3, 2021 Updated Aug. 4, 2021, 8:46 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON — The Biden administration is open to several potential ways to tighten a much-stretched 2001 law that serves as the domestic legal basis for the open-ended “forever war” against terrorists around the world, a senior State Department official told Congress on Tuesday.

01.08.2021 - 10:15 [ JustSecurity.org ]

Questions for Senators to Ask the Biden Administration at AUMF Hearing

On Tuesday, Aug. 3, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC) is scheduled to hold a public hearing entitled, “Authorizations of Use of Force: Administration Perspectives.” The SFRC is the committee responsible for drafting and ostensibly also repealing Authorizations for the Use of Military Force (AUMFs). Tuesday’s hearing comes the day before a markup by the SFRC of legislation to repeal the outdated 1991 and 2002 AUMFs.

01.08.2021 - 10:12 [ Brian Finucane / Twitter ]

The SFRC holds a hearing on 8/3 on „Authorizations of Use of Force.“ After 20 years of post-9/11 war, there‘s a lot to talk about. In a new piece in @just_security , I lay out questions that Senators should ask the administration witnesses.

01.08.2021 - 09:46 [ Politico.com ]

‘A very dangerous precedent’: Democrats take aim at Biden’s Somalia airstrikes

(27.07.2021)

“I think President [Joe] Biden should submit a new authorization for the use of military force and should recognize that the 2001 AUMF should be terminated,” Cardin added.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who has been working with the White House on a replacement for the 2001 AUMF that better aligns with the current terror threats, called on the Biden administration to brief Congress “expeditiously” on its “counterterrorism goals and the current threats.”

31.07.2021 - 20:16 [ US Senator Ted Cruz ]

Sen. Cruz Fights to Block the American Government from Establishing COVID Vaccine Passports

(28.07.2021)

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today participated in a committee markup on three bills, one of which seeks to create a fund for global health initiatives. Sen. Cruz introduced two amendments to prevent the federal government from creating a vaccine passport system and vaccine database to track Americans based on their vaccination status. Read excerpts of his remarks below.

28.06.2021 - 12:10 [ DefenseNews.com ]

Iraq AUMF repeal vote delayed until mid-July

(25.06.2021)

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee plans to take up a bipartisan measure to repeal the 2002 and 1991 war authorizations for Iraq in mid-July, the panel’s chairman confirmed Thursday.

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said he is working with the Biden administration to schedule a classified briefing…

26.06.2021 - 12:50 [ justsecurity.org ]

Five Senators Threaten to Derail Repeal of 2002 AUMF: Why Their Timing and Claims Are So Wrong

Following the House’s passage – on a broadly bipartisan basis – of legislation to repeal the 2002 Authorization for Use of Military Force against Iraq (2002 AUMF), five members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (a minority of the minority) are seeking to delay its companion bill’s movement out of committee and onto the Senate floor.

22.06.2021 - 14:57 [ theHill.com ]

Senate panel delays war authorization repeal after GOP push

The delay comes after five GOP senators asked for a public hearing with the secretaries of Defense and State as well as a classified briefing with those departments and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence before the panel votes on repealing 1991 and 2002 authorizations for the use of military force (AUMF).

16.01.2020 - 14:59 [ Politico.com ]

State Department abruptly cancels briefings on Iran, embassy security

Congressional staffers had planned to ask questions about the shifting explanations and wanted to receive a global threat assessment for U.S. personnel.

16.01.2020 - 14:47 [ CNN ]

Trump administration abruptly cancels 4 classified Iran-related briefings

FBI officials had been expected to brief a group of House lawmakers on counterintelligence issues related to Iran on Wednesday in a separate closed-door session but those plans also changed at the last moment, according to two sources familiar with the planning. The reason for the cancellation remains unclear but the briefing was added to the calendar late last week, one of the sources said.

16.01.2020 - 14:38 [ Daily Mail ]

State Department and Pentagon abruptly cancel lawmakers‘ classified briefings on Iran and embassy security after mounting questions over reasons for killing Qassem Soleimani

– The Trump administration has canceled three classified briefings scheduled for lawmakers on the situation with Iran
– The move comes amid questions about the president‘s justification for killing Iranian General Qassem Soleimani
– The last round of administration briefings ended with lawmakers furious over a lack of candor by Trump administration officials
– Additionally, Senate Democrats said they have enough support to pass a war powers resolution to limit Trump‘s ability to use a military response to Iran

03.01.2020 - 18:39 [ Washington Post ]

U.S. strike on top Iranian commander sharply divides Congress

Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), appearing midmorning on MSNBC, said he still had not been briefed on what prompted the strike.

“The question that has to be answered is what brought us to this moment. what’s the intelligence behind that? And what comes now?” Menendez said. “I fear that this administration used tactics but has no strategy in the long term … what we can’t accept is a march to an unauthorized war.”

12.12.2019 - 16:24 [ RT.com ]

US Senate advances bill giving State Department right to call Russia ‘sponsor of terrorism’

The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee has approved a bill asking the State Department to determine whether Russia falls under criteria of a state sponsor of terrorism, potentially opening a way stricter sanctions.

25.05.2019 - 04:41 [ United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations ]

Menendez on Trump Admin’s Decision to Flout Congress’ Role in Approving Arm Sales to Saudi Arabia, UAE

“In trying to explain this move, the Administration failed to even identify which legal mechanism it thinks it is using, described years of malign Iranian behavior but failed to identify what actually constitutes an emergency today, and critically, failed to explain how these systems, many of which will take years to come online, would immediately benefit either the United States or our allies and thus merit such hasty action. With this move, the President is destroying the productive and decades-long working relationship on arms sales between the Congress and the Executive Branch. The possible consequences of this decision will ultimately threaten the ability of the U.S. defense industry to export arms in a manner that is both expeditious and responsible.”

25.05.2019 - 04:31 [ Senator Bob Menendez ‏/ Twitter ]

BREAKING: The Trump Admin formally informed Congress that it is invoking an obscure provision of the Arms Export Control Act to eliminate the statutorily-required Congressional review of the sales of precision-guided munitions to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and others.

28.04.2018 - 13:12 [ Auswärtiger Ausschuss des U.S. Senats ]

Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2018

PRESIDENTIAL SUBMISSION.—On January 20, 2022, and again every 4 years thereafter, the President shall submit to Congress a report regarding the use of military force pursuant to this joint resolution, which shall include a proposal to repeal, modify, or leave in place this joint resolution.

24.04.2018 - 09:31 [ Susan / Twitter ]

Don‘t ever think for one minute that @RandPaul is on the side of Americans. He is a LIAR and a traitor to the American people! He always says one thing, like not voting for a bad appointment like Mike Pompeo, then at the last minute, changes his mind!

24.04.2018 - 09:22 [ Fox News ]

Coons‘ bipartisan gesture during Pompeo panel brings colleague to tears

Coons finally arrived. However, Isakson was still in Georgia. The vote to report Pompeo out of committee with a favorable recommendation would be 10-10.

A tie.

By rule, ties fail. But Corker forged ahead, declaring that Isakson, despite his absence was “aye by proxy.” So 11-10. Still, committee rules forbid proxy votes on behalf of absent senators if they impact the outcome of a roll call tally. So there was a conundrum.

24.04.2018 - 09:02 [ Andrew Solender ‏/ Twitter ]

Senator Chris Coons, A DEMOCRAT, abstained at the request of Bob Corker and allowed Pompeo‘s nomination to go to the senate floor. WHAT MORE DO YOU WANT!?

If they oppose the nominee they should vote no! That‘s how congress works!

24.04.2018 - 09:00 [ Russell Berman / Twitter ]

Even after Rand Paul changed his mind, the Pompeo vote was still stuck at 10-10 because GOP Sen. Johnny Isakson was absent. But Dem Sen. Chris Coons agreed to vote present to move it along

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