House Republicans sounded largely supportive of President Donald Trump’s announcement on Monday that he plans to sign a deal to sell advanced F-35 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia, despite an apparent lack of progress toward normalization of relations between Riyadh and Israel.

The deal was previously seen as linked to Saudi Arabia’s normalization of relations with Israel — a prospect that seems less viable following the war in Gaza. The Trump administration is pushing ahead nonetheless.

“I’m very supportive of the president in every effort to reach out to Saudi Arabia,” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), a senior member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told Jewish Insider. “Saudi Arabia has been so significant in addressing the regime change in Syria and so over and over again, Saudi Arabia is proving [itself].”

He further noted that the kingdom has agreed to buy around $40 billion in Boeing aircraft manufactured in Wilson’s home state — “so I could give you a couple of reasons why I want to continue what the president is doing. He’s doing a great job.”

Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee, indicated that he supports the sale. A spokesperson highlighted that he has introduced legislation that would allow Abraham Accords members a quicker timeline to acquire U.S. weapons systems.

“The U.S. partnership with Saudi Arabia is essential to expanding the Abraham Accords, isolating Iran and its proxies, and advancing regional stability. Congressman Lawler is focused on ensuring our partners can deter malign influence from Russia, China, and Iran,” Lawler spokesperson Ciro Riccardi said in a statement.

Rep. Ann Wagner (R-MO), a co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, expressed confidence that the normalization process is proceeding.

“With the recent addition of Kazakhstan to the Accords, momentum continues to build for increased normalization of economic and diplomatic ties with our greatest democratic partner in the Middle East, Israel,” Wagner told JI. “Saudi Arabia’s participation in the Accords would be hugely beneficial to Israel, the U.S., and other Abraham Accords partners, and I am confident that President Trump is working hard to bring Saudi Arabia on board. As co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, I will be watching developments with the Saudis closely, with a strong hope they officially join the accords in the future.”

Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), a pro-Israel Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, suggested that the deal could be a precursor to further progress on normalization.

“I actually think we are taking steps toward normalization in the region. We just added a country to the Abraham Accords in Kazakhstan and so I think [the F-35 deal] perhaps could be the beginning step toward normalization,” he said.

But other Democrats expressed more hesitance about the deal.

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus, suggested that normalization should precede the sale of F-35s.

“Saudi Arabia either bilaterally normalizing relations with Israel or joining the Abraham Accords would change the entire political and security landscape in the Middle East. Such a change would certainly require a reassessment of the assumptions underpinning our strategic outlook for the region and revisions to our policy doctrines, including provision of the F-35 platform to Saudi Arabia, while also preserving Israel’s qualitative military edge,” Schneider said.

He added that it is “imperative that Congress maintains its proper role in the foreign military sales process. The White House must provide to Congress a classified briefing on what the United States is receiving in return for the potential sale of F-35s,” vowing to his “colleagues to ensure that any transfer protects our service members, advances our interests, and preserves Israel’s security.”

Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), a leading opponent of advanced weapons sales to Saudi Arabia who also sits on the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the sale could compromise Israel’s security.

“Just because they aren’t Shiite doesn’t mean they are Zionists. I am very concerned about anything [that] impairs Israel’s qualitative military advantage,” Sherman said. “I fear that our policies could be influenced by Saudi purchases of Trump coin,” a reference to the Trump family’s cryptocurrency.

Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, characterized Trump’s announcement as premature. 

“We’ll see how that plays out. There’s a lot of things that have to be done before that decision is made,” he said, adding that he’s “a little skeptical [of the announcement] until I hear some more details.”