I. Legislative Branch
1) Legislation
Senate Rejects Effort to Block Arms Sales to Israel. On July 28, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I‑VT) introduced S.J.Res.70, a joint resolution to disapprove of the sale of 5,000 automatic rifles to Israel. On July 30, Sanders forced votes to discharge S.J.Res.34 and S.J.Res.41, to block the sale of bombs and rifles to Israel, respectively, from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC). Twenty-seven Senate Democrats, a majority of the caucus, voted in favor of the Sanders resolution and 24 voted for the other resolutions. Despite the unprecedented Democratic backing, the efforts failed to pass.
Bipartisan House Bill Seeks to Restrict Campus Boycotts of Israel. On July 29, Reps. Virginia Foxx (R‑NC) and Josh Gottheimer (D‑NJ) introduced H.R.4795 to amend the Higher Education Act of 1965 to strip federal aid from universities that engage in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement or that fail to ensure students are not obstructed from participating in academic programs in Israel.
Senate Bill Seeks to Ban Iranian and Chinese Flight Students from United States. On July 30, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) introduced S.2555 to prohibit Iranian students from obtaining flight training and to empower the administration to exclude Iranian and other nationals from foreign adversaries from studying in the United States.
Senate Committee Approves Defense Bill. On July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the Fiscal Year 2026 Defense Appropriations Act. The bill provides for a topline (maximum) discretionary spending of $851.9 billion. Among its provisions, the bill provides $500 million for US-Israeli missile defense programs and increased funding for Bahrain and Jordan.
2) Personnel and Correspondence
Democrats Press Administration Over Gaza Humanitarian Crisis. On July 27, Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) and Peter Welch (D-VT) led 19 other Senate Democrats in a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio in urging the Trump administration to halt US funding for the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) and to restore support for UN-led aid mechanisms, citing GHF’s lack of transparency and reports of deadly violence at its food distribution sites.
On July 29, Sens. Adam Schiff (D‑CA), Brian Schatz (D‑HI), Chuck Schumer (D‑NY), and Jacky Rosen (D‑NV) led 40 other Senate Democrats in a letter to Secretary Rubio and Special Envoy Steve Witkoff in expressing concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza and calling for a significant expansion of aid. The next day, Rep. Sean Casten (D‑IL) led 93 House Democrats in a letter to Rubio in demanding an investigation into GHF.
House Democrats Urge Trump to End Gaza War. On August 1, Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, Jim Himes (D-CT), ranking member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging him to fulfill his campaign pledge to end the war in Gaza by prioritizing a permanent ceasefire and an immediate return to negotiations. The letter called for increased humanitarian aid and the return of Gaza to Palestinian control without Hamas while rejecting any plans for the forcible displacement of Palestinians.
3) Hearings and Briefings
Senate Reviews Nominations for US Ambassadors to Lebanon and Morocco. On July 29, the SFRC held a hearing to review the nominations of Michel Issa as US Ambassador to Lebanon and Duke Buchan as US Ambassador to Morocco. During the hearing, Issa said that the war between Israel and Hezbollah, “while devastating, has opened a narrow but meaningful window for progress,” and called for the full disarmament of Hezbollah. Buchan reaffirmed US recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara and pledged to “strengthen and expand the Abraham Accords.”
II. Executive Branch
1) White House
Trump Acknowledges Starvation in Gaza. On July 28, during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Scotland, President Trump contradicted the Israeli government’s claims that there is no starvation in Gaza. Trump said, “Some of those kids are—that’s real starvation stuff. I see it, and you can’t fake that. So we’re going to be even more involved.” The following day, Trump announced that the United States would partner with Israel to establish additional food centers in Gaza, though he provided no details. On July 31, Trump wrote on Truth Social that “the fastest way to end the Humanitarian Crises in Gaza is for Hamas to surrender and release the hostages.”
Witkoff and Huckabee Visit GHF Site in Rafah. On July 31, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt announced that Special Envoy Witkoff and Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Israel to discuss the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. On August 1, Witkoff and Huckabee visited a GHF distribution site in Rafah, after which Huckabee took to social media to praise GHF’s deadly operations as “an incredible feat!” Huckabee reportedly deleted another August 1 social media post in which he claimed that Gazans “love Trump.”
Witkoff Says Administration Wants Deal to End Gaza War, Demilitarize Hamas. On August 2 in Tel Aviv, Witkoff told families of Israeli hostages in Gaza that the United States is working on an “all or nothing” deal to end the war and to secure the release of all remaining hostages at once, emphasizing that any agreement would require Hamas to demilitarize. Witkoff claimed during his visit that Hamas had already agreed to demilitarization, to which the group itself responded that it would not relinquish its arms until a fully sovereign Palestinian state was secured.
Trump Appears to Reject Evidence of Israeli Genocide in Gaza. On August 3, when asked about whether the United States had evidence of a genocide occurring in Gaza, President Trump demurred, stating “I don’t think—and, look, they’re in a war there. Some horrible things happened on October 7…It was a horrible, horrible thing. One of the worst I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen a lot of bad things since I’m president in terms of wars.”
2) Department of Education
Brown University Reaches Settlement Over Campus Protest Activity. On July 30, Brown University reached a deal with the Trump administration to restore its federal funding, agreeing to pay $50 million to the government after the administration accused the university of failing to address anti-Semitism on campus. Among the stipulations of the settlement is Brown’s acceptance of a three-year monitoring period to “ensure that it complies with this agreement and federal [anti-discrimination] laws.”
3) Department of State
Department Condemns UN Palestine Conference and Recognition of Palestinian State. On July 28, Department of State Spokesperson Tammy Bruce criticized the July 28-30 UN‑hosted conference on a two‑state solution. On July 31, Secretary Rubio condemned some countries’ plans to recognize a Palestinian state, arguing that, among other criticisms, recognition of a Palestinian state would undermine ceasefire negotiations and reward Hamas.
Department Calls for Repatriation of Persons from Syria’s Islamic State Detention Camps. On July 29, Spokesperson Bruce announced that the US government had repatriated an unaccompanied US citizen minor from a camp in northeast Syria where tens of thousands of people with alleged ties to the so-called Islamic State (IS) are detained. Bruce encouraged countries of origin to repatriate, rehabilitate, reintegrate, and take responsibility for their nationals in northeast Syria.
Rubio Meets with Egyptian Foreign Minister. On July 30, Secretary Rubio met with Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty at the Department to discuss the release of hostages in Gaza and the transition to civilian governance in Sudan.
Department Sanctions PLO Members and PA Officials. On July 31, Spokesperson Bruce announced sanctions that will deny visas to Palestinian Authority officials and members of the Palestine Liberation Organization.
United States, European Nations Condemn Iranian Intelligence Threats. On July 31, the United States and 13 European governments condemned the Iranian intelligence services’ targeting of individuals in Europe and North America.
4) Department of Defense
AFRICOM Continues Strikes in Somalia. On July 25, US forces carried out an operation against IS and conducted an airstrike against al-Shabab in Somalia. On August 1, US forces conducted additional strikes against al-Shabab.
5) Department of the Treasury
Sanctions Target Iranian UAV Program, Shipping, and Petroleum Networks. On July 30, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned an Iranian shipping network comprising more than 115 individuals, entities, and vessels in Treasury’s “largest Iran-related action since 2018.” The same day, the Department of State sanctioned 20 entities and 10 vessels involved in the trade of Iranian petroleum and petrochemicals. On July 31, OFAC sanctioned five entities and one individual based in Iran, China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong connected to Iran’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) program.
