The top Democrat on the House foreign affairs committee, Gregory Meeks, has placed a hold on a $2.8 billion arms deal to sell 2,000-pound bombs to Israel. The hold was announced on Tuesday, with Meeks expressing concerns that the Trump administration has not provided enough assurance that these weapons will be used by the Israeli government in compliance with U.S. law and with protections for civilians. The sale includes 20,000 MK-84 bombs, 20,000 BLU-117 bombs, and 20,000 I-2000 penetrator warheads, all funded through U.S. Foreign Military Financing. While Meeks cannot single-handedly block the sale, he wields influence through an informal process known as "tiered review." Under this practice, the State Department typically seeks informal approval from top lawmakers before formally notifying Congress about major arms deals. To completely stop the sale, a veto-proof joint resolution of disapproval would be needed from both chambers of Congress, a hurdle that has not been cleared. A similar effort by Senator Bernie Sanders in April failed along party lines. The Trump administration has accelerated arms sales to Israel, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio declaring a national security emergency in 2025 to bypass congressional review and fast-track nearly $3 billion in weapons, including over 35,000 heavy bombs and 4,000 bunker-buster warheads. Combined with a separate $6.67 billion package in January, the administration has cleared or expedited over $12 billion in arms for Israel since Trump took office. Meeks has criticized the rapid pace, saying it has outpaced oversight, with officials skipping briefings and rushing sales while raising concerns about Israeli actions in the occupied West Bank and Lebanon. The hold comes amid long-standing claims that Israel has used U.S. weapons unlawfully. The Leahy laws prohibit U.S. assistance to foreign military units credibly linked to extrajudicial killings or serious abuse. In 2024, the State Department identified at least five Israeli units linked to such violations, even before the war in Gaza began. Additionally, the Geneva Conventions prohibit arming a party where there is a clear risk of war crimes—a standard a UN commission of inquiry cited last year in concluding that Israel’s Gaza campaign amounted to genocide and urging the U.S. and other states to halt weapons transfers. While the Biden administration’s legal team, including some from the State Department, had previously concluded that Israel may have violated international humanitarian law and Leahy laws by using American weapons in Gaza, the administration publicly avoided making that determination.