Administration officials dodged questions about weapons sales to Turkey during a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing Tuesday, despite calling antisemitic statements from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan “atrocious.”

“The president of Turkey, President Erdogan, has said, less than one year ago, ‘May Allah make Zionist Israel destroyed and devastated,’” Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), a hard-right Jewish lawmaker, said during the hearing. He also referenced other comments, such as Erdogan calling Israelis “murderers to the point that they kill children who are five or six years old. They are murderers to the point they drag women on the ground to their death.” 

“Why does the Department of War [Defense] think it’s a good idea to sell American weapons to a country whose leader makes these statements?” Fine added. “Do you think it’s a good idea to be selling weapons to a country that made these statements about Jews and Israel?”

The U.S. has maintained extensive defense ties with Turkey, a NATO ally, through years of foreign military sales. In May 2025, the Trump administration approved a $304 million missile sale to Ankara as part of broader efforts to sustain security cooperation. Between 2020 and 2024, the U.S. agreed to up to $21.67 billion in foreign military sales to Turkey under the Biden administration.

Critics have argued that Ankara’s hostile posture toward Israel and American interests, including support for the Muslim Brotherhood, should draw scrutiny over arms sales to the country. 

Michael Miller, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, said the issue falls out of his purview. 

“It is certainly a fact that Turkey, historically, has been one of our largest purchasers through foreign military sales,” Miller said. “In terms of the decision of whether or not to sell to Turkey, that would be the department of state’s direction on behalf of the president.”

Michael Duffey, the undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, also sidestepped the prompt, replying: “My response is similar to Director Miller.” 

“I don’t endorse any of the statements [from Turkey]. I think they’re atrocious,” Duffey said. “But in terms of making a decision, it’s not within my expertise or knowledge set to make a balanced decision about whether or not that is the advantage of the United States national security to sell weapons to Turkey.”