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Lawmaker cites Politico and urges Congress to assert authority over emergency weapons sales
Summary
A lawmaker at the hearing argued that emergency arms sales should be subject to congressional review, citing a Politico report that quoted Rep. Gregory Meeks saying such sales "should go through Congress," and framed objections as possible partisan hypocrisy rather than a straightforward constitutional question.
A lawmaker at the hearing criticized what they described as hypocrisy in reactions to emergency weapons sales and urged that such sales be reviewed by Congress. The speaker said a Politico article quoted Representative Gregory Meeks, the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urging that emergency sales be routed through Congress and said they agreed with that view.
"I have been absolute on that. It should go through Congress," the lawmaker said, pressing the point that the constitutional authority Congress holds does not change depending on which party occupies the White House. The speaker framed recent public reaction as inconsistent: "if it's okay when one administration does it, ... then all of a sudden we lose our minds when another administration does it," they said, urging clarity on whether concerns are principled or partisan.
The lawmaker noted they were reading a Politico story for the record and summarized its framing: according to the article, Democrats criticized former President Biden over weapon sales and quoted Representative Gregory Meeks as saying emergency sales like the one approved for Israel "should go through Congress." The transcript does not record a response from other participants or any formal action on the matter during this session.
The remarks centered on two points: whether criticisms of emergency arms sales reflect consistent statutory or constitutional concerns about congressional prerogatives, and whether public debate is being shaped by partisan standards. The lawmaker emphasized Congress's constitutional role in oversight and said that authority is the same "whether it's a Democratic president or a Republican president." No vote or directive related to the matter is recorded in the transcript.
