Congressional lawmakers were hesitant to agree with President Donald Trump‘s assessment that the United States could sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey while he attended the annual NATO summit in Ankara this week.
“It’s a decision we are going to make,” Trump said during a press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
But stateside, lawmakers, including some Republicans, were not in agreement with selling the fighter jets to Turkey.
“Selling one of America’s most advanced fighter jets to Turkey is not in the best interest of the United States,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) texted the Washington Examiner. “It risks compromising critical technology and sends the wrong message to our allies in Europe and the Middle East. Restrictions on the sale of F-35s to Turkey should absolutely remain in place while Erdogan continues to operate Russian S-400s, in accordance with existing U.S. law.”
Even before the NATO summit, Lawler led a bipartisan group of House members in writing to Trump not to sell the jets to Turkey, citing Erdogan’s “continued aggression toward our greatest partners along with his troubling defense partnerships with our adversaries.”
Congress banned Turkey from purchasing the jets during Trump’s first term due to Ankara’s acceptance of the Russian S-400 air and missile defense system. Trump could face resistance from his own party members if he does push for Congress to overturn the ban.
Anthony Raisley, a spokesman for Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who signed Lawler’s bipartisan letter, told the Washington Examiner, that “the Congresswoman would not support a reversal.”
Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) led a group of 18 Democrats in total to write a letter to House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries this week, imploring the two leaders to prevent the administration from moving forward through a Joint Resolution of Disapproval.
The lawmakers cited the State Department’s sanctioning of Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries under Section 231 of the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act during Trump’s first term as part of their argument.
“Nothing in the public record suggests Turkey has disposed of the S-400 system, removed it from operational service, or otherwise remediated the underlying concern that triggered sanctions in the first place,” the letter also states.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), a Foreign Relations Committee member, also signaled his opposition to a deal with Turkey, posting “I hope this is wrong” on X.
The Texas senator also highlighted that existing federal law blocks the sale.
Much of the opposition to the deal is related to Turkey’s military occupation of the northern third of Cyprus and Israel’s concern that Turkey is harboring Hamas terrorists.
“He threatens to destroy my country, the one and only Jewish state,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said about Erdogan this week. Netanyahu also claimed that Erdogan “says that we have no place among the nations, and you know what that means.”
Rep. Marlin Stutzman (R-IN) claimed in a recent interview: “Turkey has been very open about their hostilities towards Israel, and I think that that’s why that should be put on pause.”
But some Republicans are willing to give Trump some leeway on selling the jets to Turkey. In an interview with the Washington Examiner, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) said he supports the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey under certain conditions.
TRUMP SAYS HE IS CONSIDERING SELLING F-35 JETS TO TURKEY DURING NATO SUMMIT
“We haven’t been able to get Turkey to deal with some real problems of the past,” said Issa, pointing to its occupation of Cyprus. Turkey “clearly is using NATO-pledged assets in Cyprus in violation of those rules.”
The California congressman warned that not supplying Turkey could allow it to rely on nations more hostile to the U.S.
“Turkey is a critical NATO ally, and if we don’t supply them the assets, and they use non-NATO assets, it works to the detriment of the strength of NATO,” Issa said. “So I know why the president did it. I’m completely supportive of it. I would just hope that negotiations are underway… to accomplish the two before the transfer is complete.”