Marlin Stutzman

A pro-Israel House Republican on Wednesday introduced a resolution calling on the United States to end the $3.8 billion in annual military aid it provides to Israel and replace it with a partnership in which Israel buys American weapons with its own funds, an effort backed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The resolution from Rep. Marlin Stutzman, R-Ind., urges the Trump administration to negotiate a new memorandum of understanding that would end direct U.S. military aid and shift the relationship to weapons sales financed by Israel.

The current 10-year MOU, worth $38 billion through 2028, is the framework Stutzman wants to retire. Rep. Abe Hamadeh, R-Ariz., signed on as a supporter.

Stutzman handed Netanyahu a draft during a 45-minute meeting at the prime minister's Jerusalem office on May 27, with Hamadeh present. "I like it," Netanyahu replied after reading, according to Stutzman.

"This is the direction I've been wanting to go for a long time," Netanyahu said.

On Monday, the prime minister followed up with a letter of support, writing that Israel "appreciates the financial component of the military aid" but that "the time has now arrived for us to move from aid recipient to partner."

The mechanism Stutzman envisions is a trade-based pact, not a unilateral cutoff.

Other support could continue through joint programs, including a provision under discussion for the next National Defense Authorization Act that would deepen U.S.-Israeli cooperation on weapons production and technology.

"We want to stand on our own feet," Netanyahu told the lawmakers in Jerusalem, language the prime minister has used publicly for months.

Stutzman cast the move as a response to shifting U.S. politics and rising antisemitism.

"A lot of taxpayers don't even like foreign aid altogether, but there's a lot of questions around why are we giving Israel $3.8 billion a year under the MOU," he said. The goal, he added, is to signal "to the rest of the world that Israel is not just leaning on America," and that "even though we will have a strong partnership with them going forward, it'll look different."

He said he had briefed the White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson's office, senators, and AIPAC, and described the response as "very much an openness to the dialogue."

The political ground has been moving in his direction.

U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said in a Monday post on X that the "New MOU w/ Israel ends aid & will be based on trade," the first public confirmation from a U.S. official.

A spring 2026 Pew Research Center survey found 60% of U.S. adults view Israel unfavorably, up from 53% a year earlier, with 57% of Republicans younger than 50 holding negative views.

Hamadeh said in a statement that the U.S.-Israel relationship is "moving towards true collaboration as strategic partners."

The resolution is nonbinding and would not by itself alter the current MOU, which runs through 2028.