The US Senate on Wednesday voted down two resolutions that sought to block more than $3 billion in arms sales to Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. In separate 56–39 votes, senators rejected efforts to halt a $1.9 billion sale of armed drones to Qatar and a $1.6 billion sale of helicopters and other equipment to the UAE. The votes fell largely along party lines, with most Republicans opposing the resolutions and most Democrats supporting them. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, who led the opposition, criticised the deals as a distortion of US foreign policy, citing Qatar's gift of a luxury jet to former President Donald Trump and an Emirati-backed firm's use of a Trump-affiliated stablecoin. Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch defended both Gulf states as reliable US partners and dismissed the resolutions as partisan. Qatar and UAE embassies did not comment. Attribution: Reuters Subediting: M. S. Salama
