Bipartisan group of House lawmakers urges Trump against selling F-35s to Turkey

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers wrote to President Donald Trump on Thursday to "express deep concern about any effort to sell F-35s to Turkey."

The letter comes after Trump and Vice President JD Vance publicly discussed plans to push the sale ahead at the White House last week, in spite of continued legal restrictions prohibiting such a sale, and ahead of a NATO summit in Ankara next week.

"With [Turkish] President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan's continued aggression toward our greatest partners along with his troubling defense partnerships with our adversaries, it is not in the best interest of our country to sell them F-35s," the lawmakers, led by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Brad Sherman (D-CA), wrote. "While Turkey has been a NATO ally since 1952, they have hardly been a reliable partner in the present day."

They emphasized that the first Trump administration removed Turkey from the advanced F-35 fighter jet program for its purchase of a Russian S-400 air defense system in spite of warnings from the U.S. and other NATO allies, describing the S-400 as a "major security threat" to the critical military asset.

They noted that Congress also sent a clear message codifying the ban on F-35 sales to Turkey while it maintains possession of the S-400. There have been no public reports of Turkey disposing of the S-400 system.

"Since 2019, President Erdogan has only further antagonized the U.S. and our NATO allies," the lawmakers continued, pointing to Turkey's continued occupation of northern Cyprus, its aggression toward Greece and its "constant and growing anti-Israel rhetoric, all while Turkey maintains bilateral relations with Iran."

The lawmakers said that reversing course now "would send the wrong message to President Erdogan and to our allies and partners both in Europe and the Middle East."

The letter was co-signed by Reps. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Jeff Hurd (R-CO), Max Miller (R-OH), Young Kim (R-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), Gabe Amo (D-RI) and Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).

Other lawmakers are currently working on additional efforts to oppose the F-35 sale and other military sales to Turkey, including the White House's recently announced sale of fighter jet engines to Ankara. Some House members reportedly plan to introduce legislation aimed at blocking that sale, though the administration will likely ultimately be able to proceed if it wishes to do so.

https://jewishinsider.com/2026/07/bipartisan-lawmakers-lawler-sherman-trump-turkey-f35-sale/