Ex-National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan revealed he told
Democrats he supported withholding US weapons from Israel after the Gaza
ceasefire breakdown.
He claimed on the Tim Miller-hosted podcast that he had counseled lawmakers who were debating legislation to limit the sale of weapons, especially after a truce failed in March 2025.
“I have, in fact, told a number of members who were thinking about the votes on these resolutions that the situation as it stands today, following the breakdown of the ceasefire in March, means that a vote to withhold weapons to Israel is a totally credible position. That is a position I would support,”
Sullivan said.
The remarks make reference to resolutions that Vermont Independent Representative Bernie Sanders introduced with the goal of preventing specific weaponry exports to Israel.
Amid concerns about Israel's military actions in Gaza, 27 Democrats voted in favor of one of the measures in July 2025, marking the first time that more than half of Democratic senators supported it.
“I have, in fact, told a number of members who were thinking about the votes on these resolutions that the situation as it stands today, following the breakdown of the ceasefire in March, means that a vote to withhold weapons to Israel is a totally credible position. That is a position I would support,”
Sullivan said.
Sullivan had persuaded Democratic lawmakers to oppose such arms limitations to Israel during the first 18 months of the conflict, but his comments now represent a change from his involvement in the Biden administration.
In reaction to the October 7, 2023, Hamas bombings that claimed almost 1,200 lives and resulted in the kidnapping of 251 hostages, the administration gave Israel substantial military support during that time.
He expressed concerns about the trajectory of Israeli domestic politics under the present administration and placed his current stance amid larger conversations about the future of US-Israel relations.
"Jake Sullivan: Trump Is Making China Great Again"
was the title of the podcast episode, which also discussed the changing circumstances in Gaza and US foreign policy under the Trump administration.
What reasons did Sullivan give for changing his stance on withholding weapons from Israel?
In 2024, Israel's continued assistance by the United States
in diplomacy and military support was justified by multiple serious regional
threats (Hezbollah, Houthis, Syria, Iraq, Hamas, and Iran). That changed in
2025 because the threats are diminishing.
Earlier in 2025 there was a ceasefire-hostage deal with the potential for negotiations, but Israel just walked away with no serious engagement. Gaza is now in a full-blown famine, as declared by the UN, adding further humanitarian distress.
Sullivan reported that there are no longer serious military aims at this stage; "we are just bombing the rubble into rubble." He argued that the argument for not supplying weapons to Israel is "much stronger" now because of a changing security situation, knowledge of the failed ceasefire attempts, the humanitarian disaster, and the lack of meaningful military objectives.