WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Dina Titus (D-NV) and 17 U.S. House colleagues urged House Majority Leader Steve Scalise and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to be prepared to lead legislation blocking any effort by the Trump Administration to readmit Turkey to the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. The Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA)-backed letter was sent on the eve of the NATO Summit in Ankara on July 7-8, which President Donald Trump is attending.
“Turkey has occupied Cyprus, threatened Greece, and armed Azerbaijan’s war against Armenia and Artsakh — and now the administration wants to hand Erdogan the keys to America’s most advanced fighter jet,” stated ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “This letter reflects a growing consensus in Congress, and a readiness to act to prevent Turkey’s F-35 reintegration.”
The Titus letter warns that admitting Turkey back into the F-35 program “would place the Administration in direct conflict with its own statutory obligations,” and cites Turkey’s “aggressive posture toward Greece and Cyprus” and its “material support to Azerbaijan in its military campaigns against Armenia” as evidence Ankara has not behaved as a good-faith NATO partner. The lawmakers request that House leadership introduce a Joint Resolution of Disapproval under CAATSA Section 216(c)(3) should the Administration move to readmit Turkey without a credible legal basis.
Joining Rep. Titus in co-signing the letter were Reps. Gabe Amo (D-RI), Jim Costa (D-CA), Daniel Goldman (D-NY), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), George Latimer (D-NY), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Stephen Lynch (D-MA), James McGovern (D-MA), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Grace Meng (D-NY), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Frank Pallone (D-NJ), Chris Pappas (D-NH), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Bradley Schneider (D-IL) and Brad Sherman (D-CA).
On June 24, standing alongside NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte at the White House, President Trump signaled his intent to bring what he called a “big gift” to Erdoğan ahead of the summit — a reference widely understood to mean Turkey’s readmission to the F-35 program. Vice President JD Vance said at the time that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s team was reviewing what would be required to certify Turkey’s compliance with U.S. law.
Turkey was expelled from the F-35 program in 2019 after purchasing the Russian-made S-400 air defense system, prompting CAATSA sanctions during President Trump’s first term that remain in effect today. The FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act bars F-35 transfers to Turkey so long as Ankara retains the S-400. Turkey has not disposed of the system.
Growing congressional momentum
The Titus letter adds to mounting bipartisan congressional opposition to arming Turkey. Last week, Rep. Titus introduced H.J.Res.200, a Joint Resolution of Disapproval to block the proposed $700 million sale of General Electric F110-GE-129E/F engines for Turkey’s KAAN fighter aircraft program. The resolution is cosponsored by Reps. Chris Pappas (D-NH), Bradley Schneider (D-IL), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Mike Quigley (D-IL), Jim Costa (D-CA), James McGovern (D-MA), George Latimer (D-NY) and Brad Sherman (D-CA).
On a separate, bipartisan track, Reps. Mike Lawler (R-NY) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) led a letter to President Trump opposing Turkey’s F-35 reintegration, 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). That letter warned that reversing the F-35 ban “would send the wrong message to President Erdogan and to our allies and partners both in Europe and the Middle East.”
The ANCA circulated policy memos to congressional offices in support of each of these efforts, and joined Hellenic American Leadership Council (HALC), the American Hellenic Institute (AHI) and the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association (AHEPA) in opposing the engine sale and Turkey’s F-35 reintegration.
The ANCA-led campaign to block the engine sale and F-35 reintegration continues at anca.org/noengines.
There has never been a US president as pro-Turkey as Trump. And of course, he envies dictators like Erdogan, with their unrestricted powers. But what is surprising is why Trump has so much sympathy for Erdogan, a fanatical Islamic fundamentalist and overt Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas supporter, and why he is so tolerant of his provocations, which clash with US foreign policy interests in the Middle East and North Africa region?