Bipartisan effort to block Trump's $750M jet engine sale to Turkey

The $750 million sale of General Electric F110 engines to equip Turkey's indigenous KAAN fighter jet is a direct test of Congress's power under the Arms Export Control Act to check an administration intent on rewarding a NATO ally that has defied U.S. sanctions and hosted Russian S-400 defense systems. This is not a routine arms deal; it threatens to undermine the very sanctions regime Congress built to punish Russia's invasion of Ukraine, while subsidizing a rival aerospace program that competes with American industry. For American workers, this means exporting high-tech jobs abroad without any guarantee of domestic economic benefit.

Key facts: The administration proceeded via a standard formal State Department notification to Congress, not by invoking any emergency authority. Rep. Meeks stated that 'the State Department neither invoked emergency authority nor submitted a written justification.' The administration bypassed an informal congressional hold—a non-binding practice—which is not the same as gutting a legislative veto. Under the AECA, Congress now has a 30-day period from the formal notification to pass a joint resolution of disapproval (22 U.S.C. § 2776(b)). The bipartisan pushback shows that some lawmakers still see the value in congressional oversight—but the clock is ticking, particularly as the NATO summit in Ankara approaches. An alternative path would be for Congress to exercise its statutory oversight: pass a joint resolution of disapproval within the 30-day period, compelling a full debate on whether rewarding a NATO partner that openly flouts U.S. law serves American security interests or merely enriches defense contractors.