A group of Democrats are demanding answers from Secretary of State Antony Blinken on the Biden administration’s “highly unusual” decision to approve two arms sales to Israel without congressional authorization.

The 19 lawmakers, led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), penned a letter to Blinken on Friday requesting additional information on President Joe Biden’s two emergency arms sales to Israel last month. Biden has faced criticism from within his party for using emergency declarations to circumvent the congressional approval process.

“It is highly unusual for the president to bypass congressional oversight through an emergency declaration,” the group wrote of the Arms Export Control Act. “In fact, since the AECA was passed into law, an emergency declaration authority has only been used 18 times in nearly 50 years.”

“In addition to the civilian harm risks inherent to the nature of these weapons, we are concerned that the weapons the U.S. provides could be used in a manner that violates U.S. policy and international law,” they added. 

The U.S. State Department approved the $106 million sale of nearly 14,000 tank shells in mid-December. Two weeks later, it used the same emergency declaration to approve a $147 million sale of primers, fuzes, and charges for Israel’s 155 mm artillery shells. 

Lawmakers wrote in their Friday letter that, “It is essential for Congress to be able to conduct oversight of these arms transfers and determine whether they are consistent with humanitarian principles and U.S. law, and whether they advance or harm U.S. national security.”

Along with Warren and McGovern, those who signed the letter include Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), and Peter Welch (D-VT), as well as Reps. Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), Joaquin Castro (D-TX), Judy Chu (D-CA), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ), Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Betty McCollum (D-MN), Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), Mark Pocan (D-WI), Delia Ramirez (D-IL), Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), Jill Tokuda (D-HI), and Maxine Waters (D-CA).

While Biden and his top officials have publicly and privately pushed Israel to do what it can to limit civilian casualties in its military operations in Gaza, the efforts have been insufficient to progressive Democrats who frequently criticize Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his prosecution of this war. 

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The Oct. 7 massacre and Israel’s military offensive highlighted divisions within the Democratic Party. Most in the party have emphasized Israel’s right to defend itself, even as some call for restraint. A vocal minority in the House and Senate Democratic conferences, however, have opposed Israel’s response to the attack, which marked the largest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust.

Representatives for the State Department did not respond to the Washington Examiner’s request for comment on the letter.