President Joe Biden has been in office since Jan. 20. In this short time frame, he has done his best to unravel former President Donald Trump’s former agenda.
Biden has implemented countless executive orders and memorandums over the course of his first week in office.
These executive orders and memorandums have dealt with a wide range of topics, including COVID-19, immigration, and the environment. Recently, President Biden set his sights on the Trump Administration’s foreign weapon sales.
President Biden has paused this operation for examination. According to a State Department spokesman, this is a routine move when there is a transition of power in the White House.
Trump’s Foreign Weapons Sales
President Trump had multiple deals for foreign weapons sales with countries throughout the Middle East. One of these sales has sparked some concern in Washington.
President Trump and the United Arab Emirates were negotiating a deal where the United States would sell F-35 fighter jets.
The State Department has said that this a routine action when a new president takes over the country. However, there has been a lot of pressure on Capitol Hill for the Biden Administration to end weapons sales with Saudi Arabia.
These top lawmakers would’ve never been able to halt arms deals if President Trump was reelected.
Not Ending All Middle Eastern Trade Deals
Top Democrats on Capitol Hill want to end trade relations with Saudi Arabia when it comes to weapons. This will most likely occur because President Biden has proven to listen to his fellow party members.
Putting this aside, the United States is still expected to have a tight relationship with countries throughout the Middle East.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken stated that the Biden Administration supports trade relationships with Israel and other countries throughout the Middle East that were created under President Trump.
Blinken made it clear that weapons sales would be under review, but the new administration didn’t want to end any of these current relationships.
Concerns for Israel
President Trump expedited weapons sales to the United Arab Emirates during his time in office. The Democrats openly opposed this over the course of his presidential term. Even members of President Trump’s party were against his weapons sales to the UAE.
Government officials in the UAE understood that this change was going to occur under the Biden Administration. The reason that representatives and senators disapproved of Trump’s foreign weapons sales was because of concerns for Israel’s power in the Middle East.
There was an attempt made to block $23 billion in sales of F-35s, drones and missiles to Saudi Arabia late last year. However, this bill died on the Senate floor in December.
With the Democrats’ big wins in November, a strict adjustment of these weapons sales is a likely possibility.
This isn’t the only thing that Democrats want from the Biden Administration. Lawmakers want Saudi Arabia to take accountability regarding the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Also, Democrats want the Houthis in Yemen to no longer be considered foreign terrorists. This classification was designated under President Trump.
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