The Menendez F-16 amendment has been removed from the Senate, as it was not included in the National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA). 

According to reports, all amendments that did not secure consensus were removed and a new text was drafted by the Chairman of the Senate Defence Committee, which includes only those for which there was no disagreement. The corresponding amendment by Chris Papas remains in the version of the House, as it has been upvoted.

This practically means that the final text of the defence budget will be formed through negotiations that will take place between the two legislative bodies upon the completion of the mid-term elections.

According to APA MPA, a special role in the developments regarding the F-16 amendments, in addition to the reservations expressed by the Republican co-chairs of the Committees on International Relations and Defence in the Senate, was also played by the behind-the-scenes pressure exerted by the White House, which does not want its options to be limited by such binding amendments.

However, regardless of the NDAA bill, Senator Menendez retains the right as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to veto the approval of defence contracts.

An #NDAA amendment is only one tool at our disposal to advance US interests in the Eastern Med.
Let me be clear: as #SFRC Chairman, I will not approve any F-16 case for Turkey until Erdogan halts his campaign of aggression across the region. Full stop. https://t.co/lMkKaMatuN

— Senate Foreign Relations Committee (@SFRCdems) October 12, 2022

Senator Menendez issued a statement in response to the withdrawal of the amendments he jointly filed with Senator Chris Van Hollen in the Senate.

“An NDAA amendment is only one tool at our disposal to advance US interests in the Eastern Med. Let me be clear: as SFRC Chairman, I will not approve any F-16 case for Turkey until Erdogan halts his campaign of aggression across the region. Full stop.”

In this way, the US senator made it clear that even if no amendment is adopted, he reserves the right to veto the approval of any future contract to upgrade the Turkish F-16s.

Also read: USA | New Senate Amendment puts additional conditions on Turkey for F-16s