Congress’s Military Budget Carries Perks for Israel
As Palestinians return to Gaza amid the Trump administration’s precarious Israel-Hamas ceasefire, senators approved a $914 billion defense budget that fulfills several surveillance and weapons funding requests from the pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC.
Through its donor-funded war chest, AIPAC has secured more than $38 billion in US taxpayer–funded contributions toward Israel since October 7. (Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg via Getty Images)
As displaced Palestinians return to a leveled Gaza amid the Trump administration’s precarious Israel-Hamas “ceasefire,” senators quietly worked through a government shutdown to deliver $914 billion in 2026 military spending.
The budget fulfills a number of expensive surveillance and weapons funding requests from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group. Through its donor-funded war chest, AIPAC has secured more than $38 billion in US taxpayer–funded contributions toward Israel since October 7.
In a 77-20 vote last week, senators passed their version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which expanded the Pentagon’s already outsize annual budget by more than $100 billion — including lucrative subsidies for the Israeli military.
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