WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, alongside U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), on Wednesday will force a vote in the U.S. Senate to object to President Trump’s corruption of U.S. foreign policy and block a $1.9 billion arms sale to Qatar and a $1.32 billion arms sale to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after Trump demanded billions of dollars in luxury gifts and business deals from the two countries. The senators introduced these joint resolutions of disapproval last month.

“We cannot normalize the President of the United States using American foreign policy as a means to enrich himself and his family. A ‘floating palace’ from Qatar and a $2 billion investment in Trump’s stablecoin represent a level of corruption that would be unbelievable if it weren’t so brazen. Today’s votes are an opportunity for the United States Senate to object to this corruption and prove U.S. national security is not and will never be for sale,” said Murphy.

“Trump’s Middle East trip amounted to a brazen display of corruption on a level we’ve never seen. Foreign governments enriched him and his family, promising a $400 million luxury jet and major investments in their crypto schemes, then Trump returned those personal favors by using his official authority to give away the crown jewels of U.S. AI technology and greenlight over $3 billion in weapons sales to those same foreign powers – including the UAE, who is fueling the murderous RSF in Sudan. Our colleagues on both sides of the aisle should join us in blocking these transfers to stop the sale of the presidency to the highest bidder. American foreign policy decisions must be made based on the interests of Americans and our national security – not on a pay-for-play basis,” said Van Hollen.

“Donald Trump has made clear time and again that he will take every opportunity to monetize the presidency for his own personal gain. But American foreign policy is not for sale and must be based solely on American values and interests,” said Schatz.

“Everywhere I go in Virginia, I hear about how worried folks are about price hikes because of President Trump’s tariffs and the massive cuts he’s trying to implement on basic government services, including Medicaid. Meanwhile, he’s hatching secret plans with corrupt foreign governments to enrich himself with crypto deals, golf courses, and a luxury plane?” said Kaine. “I’m glad to be working with my colleagues to force votes on legislation challenging arms sales to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates to make it clear that bribing an American president is one of the fastest ways to poison your relationship with the United States. Countries around the world should take notice.”

"Donald Trump is the most corrupt president in American history, and the authoritarian leaders of the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have perfected the art of channeling money to Trump and his family as a way to buy influence and get what they want. It's time Congress did something about it," said Sanders.

“Donald Trump’s corruption knows no bounds—selling out our country and our national security to enrich himself and his family,” said Hirono. “I’m glad to join my colleagues in introducing these resolutions to block arms sales to countries blatantly bribing Trump and making clear that our national security is not for sale.” 

At the Token 2049 crypto conference in Dubai in April, MGX, an investment firm backed by the Emiratis, announced that it would use a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, a crypto company majority-owned by the Trump family, to facilitate a $2 billion investment in the Binance cryptocurrency exchange. Concerns have also been raised about the UAE’s arming of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), who have killed tens of thousands of people in Sudan and furthered the civil war in that country.

Trump demanded that Qatar gift him a $400 million luxury Boeing 747 jumbo jet for him to use as Air Force One. Reporting suggests the jet would be transferred to Trump’s personal use after he leaves office. The Trump Organization also recently signed a $5.5 billion golf course and real estate deal with Dar Global and Qatari Diar, a firm established by Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund.

Full text of the resolutions are available HERE and HERE