In a rare display of widespread bipartisanship, the Senate voted 100-0 to cease aid to Azerbaijan for the next two years amid concerns that the country might soon invade neighboring Armenia.
All senators unanimously approved the Armenian Protection Act through unanimous consent. Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) introduced the legislation.
The measure’s passing follows the departure of over 100,000 Armenians from the contested Nagorno-Karabakh region due to an ongoing Azerbaijani siege that has endured for more than nine months. Armenia has levied accusations of ethnic cleansing against Azerbaijan.
“We must send a strong message and show our partners around the world that America will enforce the conditions that we attach to military aid,” Peters, who sits on the Armed Services Committee, said on the Senate floor. “If we do not take action when countries willfully ignore the terms of our agreements with them, our agreements will become effectively meaningless and toothless.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev had previously called on Armenia to open a “corridor” along its southern border, linking mainland Azerbaijan to an exclave that borders Turkey and Iran. Aliyev has threatened to solve the issue “by force.”
Meanwhile, Democrats are still dealing with the fallout in their party after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer allowed the government to be funded by a Republican-crafted continuing resolution.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not mention her Senate counterpart by name, but she shredded the legislation and those who supported it in a post on X.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk have offered the Congress a false choice between a government shutdown or a blank check that makes a devastating assault on the well-being of working families across America,” the former Speaker said.
“Let’s be clear: neither is a good option for the American people. But this false choice that some are buying instead of fighting is unacceptable,” she added.
“I salute Leader Hakeem Jeffries for his courageous rejection of this false choice, and I am proud of my colleagues in the House Democratic Caucus for their overwhelming vote against this bill,” Pelosi continued in a thinly veiled criticism of those who voted in favor of the legislation.
“Democratic senators should listen to the women. Appropriations leaders Rosa DeLauro and Patty Murray have eloquently presented the case that we must have a better choice: a four-week funding extension to keep government open and negotiate a bipartisan agreement,” she said.
“America has experienced a Trump shutdown before – but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse. Democrats must not buy into this false choice. We must fight back for a better way. Listen to the women, For The People,” Pelosi concluded.
Her critique came after House Minority Leader and New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries refused to answer a question about Schumer staying on as leader in the Senate.
“Is it time for new leadership in the Senate?” a reporter asked Jeffries on Friday.
He dismissively replied: “Next question.”
Former Obama administration official Van Jones said on CNN that he has never seen this kind of anger at a fellow Democrat before.
“We can be grumpy. We can be frustrated with each other, there is a volcanic eruption of outrage at Leader Schumer because we want a Mitch McConnell. I remember when Obama had all the cards, Mitch McConnell drove Obama nuts, twisted his pinky, broke his kneecaps, and got stuff done for Republicans when they shouldn’t have gotten an inch, they got miles,” Jones said.
“We have a Senate majority leader who is beloved in this party, but we want somebody who’s gonna stand up to this bully. Stand up to this bully. Do something. And if you shut the government down and it gets a little bit crazy, at least some politics is about the rationality. There’s an emotional need to stop Donald Trump and Elon Musk from running over this party. And I think Chuck Schumer has radically misread the room,” Jones continued, completely sidestepping the fact that Democrats in the past have roundly criticized Republicans for wanting to shutdown the government.
New York Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also showed her frustration with Schumer when she spoke to CNN host Jake Tapper on Thursday.
“He is going to vote to allow there to be a simple majority vote,” the host said. “You think that’s wrong?”
“I believe that’s a tremendous mistake,” the representative said. “It is almost unthinkable why Senate Democrats would vote to hand the few pieces of leverage that we have away for free when we’ve been sent here to protect Social Security, protect Medicaid, and protect Medicare.”
