One day before the election to report axios He claimed that the Biden administration – which was somewhat overshadowed by the vote – was making a final push for a scaled-back defense agreement with Saudi Arabia that would include new security ties without completing the long-sought normalization between Israel and Saudi Arabia.

The prospect of such a deal has been met with a cold reception by some leaders on Capitol Hill, although it is unclear whether such an effort is still underway following the re-election of former President Donald Trump.

A more comprehensive agreement also appears difficult to reach in the remaining few months under the Biden administration, especially as there is no resolution yet to the war in the Middle East, and some lawmakers continue to believe that reaching a normalization agreement in the meantime remains critical.

Co-chairman of the Abraham Accords Group, Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) rejected a reported effort to reach a more limited agreement with Saudi Arabia.

“The Biden administration’s push for a security agreement with Saudi Arabia, excluding Israel, ignores the important role of our most powerful ally in the region,” Lankford said. Jewish Insider. “Last peace requires active efforts to integrate Israel into regional partnerships. “The true path to peace must prioritize relations between Israel and its neighbors.”

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), co-chair of the Abraham Accords Caucus in the House, told JI before the election that his focus and priority is to build on the Abraham Accords and find a path to normalization between Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia. Israel. Pressed on whether a bilateral US-Saudi deal could win congressional support, he said his preference was for a broader regional agreement.

“Without seeing it – and I’ve seen the headlines – we’ll cross the bridge when they get there,” Schneider said. “My hope is that we can reach a comprehensive or broader agreement that will bring security and peace to all people in the region.”

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the most aggressive advocates of a regional normalization agreement in the Senate, has argued that it needs to happen before the end of the Biden administration to get enough Democratic support. The Senate will approve elements of the agreement with Saudi Arabia that require Congressional approval.

A week before the election, he told JI that he still believed a deal was both possible and should happen within a few months before Inauguration Day.

“There is no substitute for this,” Graham said, arguing that the deal would unlock the only viable path to stability through Arab leadership in Gaza and the West Bank. “All the interests (of regional players) are aligned.”

Despite the short time remaining, Graham said he thought it was “increasingly likely” that a deal would be reached before the end of the year, “because the alternatives are becoming more and more real, and that means constant conflict.”

When asked about the short time frame left for the Senate to consider and approve such a deal, Graham replied: “‘Do you want to change the Middle East or not?’ “Just a few days are enough to say that.”

“If Saudi Arabia and Israel can come up with a plan for the Palestinians that Israel can live with, that gives the Palestinians dignity, sovereignty, and the security of Israel, and if Saudi Arabia is willing to make sure Hamas doesn’t come back, and they will rebuild Gaza,” Graham said. “I think you will get 67 votes if you change the education system,” he said.

At least some seem to agree: Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) wrote on X on Thursday: “Now is the time to include Saudi Arabia in the Abraham Accords.”

A. A sizeable contingent of Democratic senators It was before October. On December 7, he expressed doubts about the reported terms of the Saudi deal, expressed concerns about strengthening military ties with Saudi Arabia, and demanded significant guarantees from Israel regarding the Palestinians.

Aaron White, a spokesman for Senator Peter Welch (D-VT), one of the leaders of this effort, said in a statement: “Senator Welch supports normalization between Israel and its neighbors and is strong that such agreements should also ensure normalization between Israel and its neighbors.” somehow he believes. a viable Palestinian state.”

William Wechsler, senior director of the N7 Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told JI that “lame duck periods are often not marked by diplomatic initiatives.”

“Count me skeptical” about progress on a major or more limited deal in the final months of President Joe Biden’s term, Weschler said. “There are a lot of dominoes that have to fall for the conditions to be right for that, and some of those dominoes involve war.”

He added that regional governments, many of which “secretly or not-so-secretly welcomed the return of the Trump administration,” “may be reluctant to hand the outgoing Biden administration a diplomatic victory if they think there is a risk of backlash.” the incoming Trump administration.”

Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told JI that a limited Saudi security agreement might be “a modest gain that the administration would like to achieve in the remaining time,” but that the Saudis “have to make it through in the remaining time.” . “I wonder if they will get more from Trump,” and there are questions “about whether the Saudis want to give the Biden team a win,” given Biden’s sometimes acrimonious relationship with Riyadh.

He said both Saudi Arabia and Israel might be interested in finding ways to curry favor with the Trump team rather than the outgoing Biden government.

But Schanzer also said he didn’t think there was “anything particularly controversial” within the country — other than “certain segments of the Democratic Party” — about making a limited deal with Saudi Arabia. weaponry.

Schanzer added that given Israel’s recent victories in the war against Hamas and Hezbollah and the possibility of an end to the war in the coming weeks, “full normalization appears to be on the table again.”

He argued that Trump’s re-election could lead to a return to more enthusiastic negotiations with Saudi Arabia, and that both Saudi Arabia and Israel have a higher level of trust in the Trump team.

Weschler said it would be difficult to get congressional support if needed for a more limited agreement in a lame duck situation.

Wechsler said the administration could finalize some elements of a more limited deal without congressional approval, but Saudi Arabia’s core demands would require Senate approval and that could be difficult if not accompanied by normalization with Israel.

He said there was “clearly some truth to (Graham’s) logic” about reaching a deal before Biden’s term ends, but cautioned that other parties may not be ready to act with the same urgency. Wechsler said the United States appeared more willing to agree to the deal than Israel and Saudi Arabia, and the deal had become more difficult since Oct. 7.

Weschler acknowledged that it would be harder to garner enough Democratic votes under a Trump presidency to approve the normalization agreement, but said some Democrats might support the deal depending on its terms, “so I don’t think it’s completely rejectable to begin with.”

Schanzer said it was “feasible” to finalize and ratify a normalization agreement before the end of the year, but that it would “probably require significant political will (and) concessions to Republicans who already feel they don’t need to compromise.”

It also depends on whether the Saudis “want to make a deal.”

Under a Trump administration, Schanzer said he could envision a scenario in which enough Democrats would vote to approve the normalization agreement. “The devil will be in the details. If it’s a good deal for Saudi Arabia, if it’s a good deal for Israel, then I can imagine Democrats will vote yes on that, if “there are whatever concessions there are for the Democrats,” Schanzer said.

He also suggested that Democrats might “evaluate” their “stalwart anti-Israel sentiment” and “anti-Saudi sentiment” after Tuesday’s election push.

“I think this election could be kind of a wake-up call on certain policies, and opposing a regional peace agreement doesn’t seem like a very smart policy to me,” Schanzer said.