Senator Tom Cotton calls Biden's delay of weapons to Israel 'bureaucratic sleight-of-hand'

Senator Tom Cotton harshly criticized in a letter on Thursday US President Joe Biden's claim that his administration had not delayed weapons shipments to Israel.

In the letter, Cotton claimed that Biden was intentionally misleading the American people and insulting a key ally.

He called the efforts of the Biden administration a "bureaucratic sleight-of-hand," aimed at withholding aid from Israel during a major war.

Cotton claimed that the administration was hiding attempts to delay shipments by withholding formal approval of shipments but claimed the weapons were still "in process" of being approved while never actually being delivered.

He highlighted that despite the Biden administration's previous use of the emergency exception to push through shipments, they seem to have stopped in this case. 

Cotton questioned whether the administration believed that the current war with Hamas was an emergency.

Playing politics

"You’re playing politics with the nation’s honor and our ally’s security. Worse still, your administration lacks the honesty to communicate its true policy to the American people, instead preferring to hide behind weasel words and bureaucratic process," he wrote.

He called the stoppage "blatant disregard" for Congress's bipartisan mandate to support Israel.

Cotton called for Biden to answer several questions, including which weapons and ammunition were withheld, clarification of why they were delayed, and how much of the congressional funding allocated for weapons for Israel has been used.

Cotton's letter was sparked by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's accusation that the Biden administration deliberately prevented the shipment of weapons to Israel.