Two dollar figures now frame the debate over American support for Israel: the $4 billion President Donald Trump cited on Tuesday, and the roughly $3.8 billion a year written into an existing security agreement.
Trump raised the first number during a morning appearance on “Fox & Friends,” where he announced that the annual payments will end this year.
The statement came as polls were open across the country.
“We were giving them $4 billion – we are – but it gets cut off at the end of the year,” Trump said.
His explanation rested on Israel’s economic strength. Trump told the hosts the country no longer requires the money.
“They don’t need it,” Trump said. “Israel is a very thriving country.”
Trump named Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as the person who first floated the idea. According to the president, the two men have discussed ending the assistance for years.
Trump also tried to describe what the payments consist of. He called the assistance military aid, cash or “barter,” and said it included “things and money.”
The president did not close the door on future cooperation. Trump said Israel can continue buying American weapons, and he left open the possibility that the United States could help the country if a need arises.
A formal agreement already sets the terms of U.S. security assistance to Israel. That deal provides about $3.8 billion annually and runs through fiscal year 2028.
Trump did not explain on air how a year-end cutoff would work alongside that agreement. The mechanics of the deadline he described have not been spelled out.
Netanyahu has voiced support in the past for weaning Israel off American military aid. His earlier position called for a phased reduction.
Trump spoke on a day when voters decided the makeup of Congress. Republicans are defending their majorities, and Democrats are trying to gain the power to block the president’s agenda.
All 435 House seats are up for election, along with 35 seats in the Senate.
Democrats need a net gain of three seats to win the House. They need a net gain of four to win the Senate.
Republicans currently hold 53 Senate seats. They can lose three of them and still run the chamber, because Vice President JD Vance casts the tie-breaking vote.
Trump’s name does not appear on any ballot. The results will still shape how much of his agenda he can move through Congress during the last two years of his term.
If Republicans keep both chambers, they retain a route to advance his legislative priorities.
If Democrats win either chamber, they gain greater ability to obstruct those priorities and to investigate his administration.
On the Israel question, the only timeline Trump has offered is the one he gave on television: payments end at the close of the year. Specific details on how the change would take effect have not been released.
