A striking 40 Democratic and allied senators voted to block a shipment of American-made bulldozers to Israel on Wednesday. Immediately afterward, 36 senators voted against bombs for Israel. The votes together represented the biggest-ever rejection from Congress of American military aid for the country, demonstrating that widespread public frustration with devastating U.S.-Israeli cooperation — in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran and beyond — is resonating among lawmakers to a new degree.

The legislators supported bills led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) that presented a historic chance for Democrats to signal opposition to both the Trump administration and the pattern of largely unquestioned U.S. support for Israel that predates Donald Trump’s presidencies. Though the legislation could not pass, given unanimous Republican support for arming Israel, the number of senators backing it was widely understood as a measure of skepticism of the U.S.-Israel status quo.

An early indicator of the resolutions’ potential came when Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) gave a speech saying he would back them — indicating that, for likely 2028 Democratic presidential nominees like him, the votes were seen as a significant test.

The bills offered a more potent indicator of the shifts among Democratic Party leaders on foreign policy than an earlier vote against Trump’s war on Iran, because the Iran votes have consistently gathered broad support.

Only seven Democrats opposed the motion on the bulldozers: Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto (Nev.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (N.Y.), Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Chuck Schumer (N.Y.), John Fetterman (Penn.) and Chris Coons (Del.)

In the case of the Israel votes, the influential Coons pushed colleagues to oppose the motions prior to the vote, according to a Coons statement reviewed by HuffPost, and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) sought to stem Democratic backing by circulating talking points among congressional offices earlier in the week. AIPAC’s bid focused on the resolution that was accurately expected to garner more votes: the bill barring bulldozers, which Israel has used to ruinous effect in the occupied West Bank, Gaza and Lebanon.

Proponents of the legislation cast it as a vital anti-war signal.

“Earlier this afternoon, nearly all Democrats voted together to end Donald Trump’s illegal war against Iran,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) noted before the votes. “That commitment and determination should apply to the Trump administration and to the Netanyahu administration.”

Effectively, the votes were also a rebuke of Democrats in the Biden administration, who continued funneling U.S. weaponry to Israel despite broad concerns about their use and violations of U.S. and international law, including among nonpartisan government experts.

Proponents of the bills celebrated the record support as a sign elected Democrats were becoming increasingly willing to channel anger in their base over U.S.-backed Israeli actions.

“The senators who voted today to block President Trump’s giveaways of bombs and bulldozers to Israel showed that they are listening to the American people’s undeniable demand to stop funding Israel’s genocide, apartheid, and aggression,” Margaret DeReus, the executive director of the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU) Policy Project, said in a Wednesday evening statement. “There is much more work to be done, but today was yet another statement that the movement for Palestinian rights is growing in the halls of power.”

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