Senate Votes 100-0 To End Aid to Azerbaijan As War Concerns Grow

In an uncommon show of bipartisan unity, the Senate unanimously voted 100-0 to halt aid to Azerbaijan for the next two years, citing concerns that the nation may soon launch an offensive against neighboring Armenia.

All senators gave their approval to the Armenian Protection Act through unanimous consent. The bill was introduced by Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.).

The passage of this legislation follows the mass exodus of over 100,000 Armenians from the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, which has been under an Azerbaijani blockade for more than nine months. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of engaging in ethnic cleansing.

“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 declared 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 has previously urged Armenia to open a “corridor” along its southern border to connect mainland Azerbaijan with an exclave that borders Turkey and Iran. Aliyev has warned that if this demand is not met, he would resolve the issue “by force.”

Meanwhile, Democratic leaders continue to grapple with internal tensions following Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decision to allow government funding through a Republican-backed continuing resolution.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi did not directly name Schumer, but she strongly criticized 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,” Pelosi stated.

“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 continued.

“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 added, subtly criticizing those who supported the resolution.

“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 argued.

“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 remarks came after House Minority Leader and New York Representative Hakeem Jeffries avoided addressing a question regarding Schumer’s leadership in the Senate.

“Is it time for new leadership in the Senate?” a reporter asked Jeffries on Friday.

He tersely responded: “Next question.”

Former Obama administration official Van Jones weighed in on CNN, stating that he had never witnessed this level of outrage among Democrats toward one of their own.

“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 remarked.

“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, notably avoiding the fact that Democrats have previously criticized Republicans for advocating government shutdowns.

New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also voiced her dissatisfaction with Schumer during an interview with CNN host Jake Tapper on Thursday.

“He is going to vote to allow there to be a simple majority vote,” Tapper noted. “You think that’s wrong?”

“I believe that’s a tremendous mistake,” Ocasio-Cortez replied. “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.”