On September 4, 2026, the State Department notified Congress of a possible sale to Saudi Arabia of 5,000 2,000-pound bombs, 5,004 500-pound bombs and guidance kits for them; the “estimated total cost is $5.0 billion,” with Boeing as the principal contractor, according to the notification, Transmittal 26-35. Like the F-35 notification that followed two weeks later (see The Administration Clears a Possible $24.3 Billion Sale of 48 F-35s to Saudi Arabia, Over Warnings About Chinese Access to the Technology), it is an approval to proceed with a possible sale, not a completed one, and Congress can try to block it.
On September 16, Sens. Ed Markey, Bernie Sanders and Jeff Merkley introduced a joint resolution of disapproval, S.J.Res. 216, which was referred to the Foreign Relations Committee. It targets the bomb sale only, not the F-35s, and such resolutions rarely pass. The sale is moving while Saudi Arabia is under Houthi missile attack during the Iran war and, according to CNN, while the administration has so far declined the kingdom's request for American strikes.