12 US Senators Demand Removal of 3 Clauses on Cooperation with Israel

Twelve U.S. senators, led by Democrat Chris Van Hollen and including 11 Democrats and one independent, urged congressional leaders on June 10 to strip three Israel-related provisions from the final fiscal 2027 National Defense Authorization Act. The targeted measures are House-passed Section 219, Senate Armed Services Committee report Section 1217, and Senate intelligence authorization Section 618; the first two establish a U.S.-Israel defense technology cooperation initiative, while Section 618 covers intelligence sharing between the two countries. Section 219 would require the Pentagon to designate an official to coordinate bilateral defense technology cooperation. The push matters because it signals growing Democratic scrutiny of defense-technology and intelligence ties with Israel and could complicate final NDAA negotiations. What to watch is whether the conference committee drops, retains, or waters down the three provisions before the final bill reaches the floor.