The U.S. Senate rejected a resolution that would have blocked a proposed $295 million sale of Caterpillar armored bulldozers to Israel.
On April 15, 2026, the Senate voted 40-59 against advancing S.J.Res.32, a joint resolution that sought to disapprove the foreign military sale of D9R and D9T Caterpillar bulldozers along with spare parts, corrosion protection, technical documentation and related logistics support, according to the official bill record.
The Senate also voted 36-63 against advancing S.J.Res.138, which sought to disapprove a separate $151.8 million sale that included 12,000 BLU-110A/B 1,000-pound general purpose bombs and associated logistics and technical support services, Congress.gov records show.
Both resolutions were introduced by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). The votes were the latest in a series of attempts to use congressional disapproval procedures to halt specific U.S. arms transfers to Israel.
A record 40 out of 47 Senate Democrats supported the resolution targeting the Caterpillar bulldozers. Thirty-six Democrats supported the resolution on the bombs. All Republicans voted against both measures, along with a small number of Democrats.
The proposed sales had been notified to Congress and approved under the Trump administration. The D9-series Caterpillar bulldozers are heavy armored vehicles used by the Israeli military for engineering and demolition purposes.
Sanders stated after the votes that more than 80 percent of the Democratic caucus had voted to block the sales. He described the outcome as progress even though the resolutions did not pass.
The rejection of the motions to discharge the resolutions from committee means neither sale is blocked by Congress. The transactions can proceed as approved.
No further immediate congressional action on these specific arms sales was announced following the April 15 votes.
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