More than 80 House and Senate Democrats urged the Biden administration to sanction two Israeli officials -- Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir -- for spurring destabilizing activity in the West Bank, including settler violence against Palestinians and “illegal and dangerous” settlement expansion.
Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas, introduced a bill Nov. 13 that would authorize the president to sanction foreign individuals and companies that are most responsible for exacerbating climate change and deforestation.
The incoming Trump administration likely will end the Biden administration’s temporary pause on pending decisions for liquefied natural gas exports, Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said late Nov. 13.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said in a statement Nov. 13 that she expects to become the ranking member on the Senate Banking Committee in the next Congress, which begins in January.
A member of the House Financial Services and Foreign Affairs committees urged eight federal financial regulators, including the Treasury Department, to refrain from pushing through new rules in the waning days of the Biden administration.
Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to become the committee’s chairman when Republicans take control of the Senate in January, a Senate aide said Nov. 8. As ranking member, Risch has urged the Biden administration to counter China’s material support for Russia’s war machine, curb Chinese purchases of Iranian oil and implement new sanctions on Iranian oil (see 2407300033). The current chairman, Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., is retiring from the Senate.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., President-elect Donald Trump’s reported choice to be secretary of state, and Rep. Mike Waltz, R-Fla., Trump's selection to be national security adviser, have played active roles on export controls and sanctions while serving in Congress.
Sen. George Helmy, D-N.J., said Nov. 8 that he’s consulting with fellow lawmakers to help him decide whether to support a proposal by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to block the sale of more than $20 billion in U.S. military equipment to Israel.
Six Democratic and Republican senators urged the Biden administration last week to again designate the Houthis as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO), citing the Yemen-based group’s attacks on commercial ships, U.S. forces deployed overseas and Israel, and its obstruction of humanitarian aid deliveries to Yemeni civilians.
Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., introduced a resolution last week urging the Biden administration to pause further transfers or sales of U.S.-made fighter jets to Turkey. Titus criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for making statements threatening Israel and supporting the terrorist group Hamas in its war on Israel. The measure was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The State Department formally notified Congress in January that it approved Turkey’s request to buy 40 new F-16s and modernize 79 existing ones for a total of $23 billion (see 2401290067).