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?
Hi Steve:
Yes, Trump is THE worst US president (and that’s saying something) regarding Turkey.
If I may, below are my 3 WELL-DOCUMENTED articles on that very topic.
They contain more than enough proof (with links) that others can use.
Moreover, I think that readers will find them very, very enjoyable.
Thank you.
1) Will President Trump Again Put Turkey — Not America — First?:
https://countercurrents.org/2025/02/will-president-trump-again-put-turkey-not-america-first/
2) The Day(s) That Turkey’s Erdogan Humiliated America:
https://jihadwatch.org/2024/05/the-days-that-turkeys-erdogan-humiliated-america
3) Trump’s Turkish Problem:
https://countercurrents.org/2022/10/trumps-turkish-problem/
Thank you very much for the articles. Whenever Erdogan and related articles about Turkey come up, you should post these links to your articles in the comment sections of Armenian Weekly and in other Armenian Diaspora media outlets.
Trump’s collusion with Erdogan is the most extreme example of such an appeasement by a US president and will likely remain in a league of its own. The problem is that Trump is not the only US president who has supported and appeased a tyrant like Erdogan and a rogue regime like Turkey; previous US presidents have also turned a blind eye to Erdogan’s provocations and appeased him.
The Turks have the second largest army in Nato.
All that the Americans care about is their base in Incirlik, which is their forward base to attack Russia.
Above all, the Turks control access to the Black Sea.
Nothing can leave or enter the Black Ses without their say so.
And Armenia can offer the Americans what exactly?
The Americans will give the Turks the F35s that they want.
Wake up, people!
The Americans will always side with the Turks.
Just FYI:
1) Incirlik air base was built (by US taxpayers in the early 1950s) on farms stolen by Turkey from Armenians during the Genocide:
Key U.S. Air Base in Turkey Sits on Property Stolen from Armenians during the Genocide:
https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/op-ed/article250783979.html
Imagine if the US built and uses an air base in Germany stolen by Nazis from Jews during the Holocaust.
Moreover, the US has bases all over the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Turkey’s value is vastly overrated.
Most people, including Armenians, are taken in by Turkish propaganda.
2) What is Armenia offering to the US, Europe, and Turkey?
Unfortunately, EVERYTHING, since Pashinyan is an anti-nationalist traitor, namely:
Easy Western penetration (while avoiding Russia and Iran) to Azerbaijan, the Caspian, and Central Asia — for little in return.
Not to mention the West is gaining further marginalization of the Russian footprint in the Caucasus and region due to Armenia’s Pashinyan.
More on that in: Crisis in the Caucasus: Two Facts You Aren’t Being Told:
https://countercurrents.org/2023/01/crisis-in-the-caucasus-two-facts-you-arent-being-told/
The Americans don’t care about the provenance of Incirlik.
They just care that they have it and can use it to attack Russia.
Trump is very transactional.
The Turks have a lot to offer.
What can Armenia do?
Nothing but live in the power politics of the real world and stop chasing after American approval as the Americans will always choose the Turks.
It is abhorrent that the United States (with Trump leading the way) and Europe appease and support a tyrant who aids jihadist terrorist organizations and is himself a war criminal (Artsakh and Syria). Ironically, when the Islamic Republic of Iran engages in the same activities, it is rightly labelled a “terrorist state” and became a pariah, and is subjected to heavy sanctions; when Turkey under Erdogan does the same things, the West turns a blind eye and is on top rewarded! That such a rogue regime like Turkey is part of NATO and of other Western organizations, which were supposedly founded during the Cold War to “safeguard democracy and liberties” is obscene and an affront!