From PolitiFact · Amy Sherman · · 3m
Trump announces plan to end $4 billion annual aid to Israel
On Election Day, Trump says the US will phase out military aid to Israel, claiming Netanyahu agreed months ago. But other financial ties would remain.
In brief
On Election Day, Trump says the US will phase out military aid to Israel, claiming Netanyahu agreed months ago. But other financial ties would remain. Trump announced on Election Day that the US will end nearly four billion dollars in annual aid to Israel, though Israel can still buy weapons and access loan…
Trump announces end to Israel aid
On November 3, President Donald Trump said the US is moving toward ending nearly four billion dollars in annual aid to Israel, claiming Netanyahu agreed to the plan months ago.
“Israel is a very thriving country. They don't need it.”
Trump's reasoning on Fox
Trump told Fox and Friends that Netanyahu said it would be appropriate not to receive aid because it is one of Israel's points of contention with critics.
“He said, 'I think it would be appropriate if we do not receive aid.'”
Other financial ties remain
If implemented, the phaseout would end one major source of US support but not all. Israel would still buy US weapons with its own money and access billions in loan guarantees.
Growing American concern about aid
Chicago Council on Global Affairs polling in July found about fifty-six percent of Americans say US military aid to Israel should be decreased or stopped, up from thirty-eight percent in two thousand twelve.
Trump links aid to Michigan race
Trump drew a connection between the proposed phaseout and the two thousand twenty-six midterm elections by citing criticism of the aid by Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed.
Netanyahu's June letter
In June, Netanyahu wrote to US Representative Marlin Stutzman that the time had arrived to move from aid recipient to partner, signalling the shift months before Trump's announcement.
“The time has now arrived for us to move from aid recipient to partner.”
Rubio outlined phaseout plan
In June, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said at a House Appropriations Committee meeting that Israel wanted to buy defence products from the US but not receive assistance, phasing out aid to zero.
The existing aid agreement
The funding comes from a ten-year, thirty-eight billion dollar memorandum of understanding signed in two thousand sixteen covering fiscal years two thousand nineteen through two thousand twenty-eight.
Additional aid since October 2023
The US has given additional billions since Hamas attacked Israel on October seven, two thousand twenty-three, including a twenty-six billion dollar supplemental agreement in two thousand twenty-four.
Loan guarantees and defence integration
Beyond direct grants, the US backs Israel through nine billion dollars in active loan guarantees. The House also passed a provision integrating Israel into US defence research in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and cyber defence.
Congress must approve funding
A memorandum of understanding is an executive branch agreement, but Congress must approve the funding every year through the appropriations process, meaning there is no guarantee it will end.
Experts doubt full implementation
Aaron David Miller, a State Department official from nineteen seventy-eight to two thousand three, said he does not see the US going through with ending the agreement despite Trump's plan.
Aid debate expected to continue
Barbara Slavin, a distinguished fellow at the Stimson Center, said she expects spirited debates about Israel aid in the next Congress and in the two thousand twenty-eight presidential campaign.
What matters most
Trump announced on Election Day that the US will end nearly four billion dollars in annual aid to Israel, though Israel can still buy weapons and access loan guarantees.
