The Trump administration is planning to move forward with the sale of dozens of jet engines to Turkey that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars without congressional authority.

The sale involves $750 million worth of jet engines, which was placed on hold by the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, New York Rep. Greg Meeks, amid concerns over its role in the Middle East and the fact that Turkey continues to hold a Russian S-400 air defense system purchased roughly a decade ago.

“Late yesterday, the administration informed me it would once again bypass congressional review for more than $700 million in defense articles to the Turkish military in yet another deeply troubling example of this administration’s open contempt for Congress’s oversight authority,” Meeks said in a statement Wednesday. 

The engines are produced by General Electric and will power Turkey’s first domestically designed combat jet, Kaan, a project that was launched in 2016 as part of Ankara’s efforts as a NATO member to become more self-sufficient in defense.

President Trump has regularly praised Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, including remarks on Wednesday for staying out of the war in Iran.

“He was a prime candidate to go ... maybe on the Iran side because he’s not a big fan of Israel,” Trump said in the Oval Office where he met with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte. “I asked him to stay out. He stayed out."

Turkey had not given an indication that it would enter the U.S.-Iran war, though NATO defenses shot down four Iranian ballistic missiles in Turkish airspace during the war.

When Trump was asked in the Oval Office whether his visit to Turkey in July would include a “big gift bag” to Ankara which is seeking F-110 jet engines and F-35s, Trump responded, “Yeah, I think so. He’s a member of NATO. ... I’m going to probably do something that’s going to make him very happy,” referring to President Erdoğan.

However, the leaders’ relationship has also been challenged when Washington decided to remove Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program and imposed sanctions after Ankara acquired S-400 air defense systems made by Russia – which the U.S. said posed a security threat.

The sale also comes amid increasing tension between Ankara and Jerusalem. Israeli-Turkish relations have also soured significantly since Erdoğan became the president in 2014, with Turkey’s interior minister calling earlier this month for the country to “liberate” Jerusalem.

Despite the objection, the sale is still expected to be carried out in coming days, followed by the State Department’s formal notification to Congress. 

Under standard government procedure, the chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs and Senate Foreign Relations Committee committees must sign off before the executive branch can proceed with the sale. 

But the jet engines will be a direct commercial sale where U.S. companies can sell military equipment without government permission, according to sources familiar with the deal, as the Wall Street Journal reported.

On Wednesday, Vice President JD Vance also said that a review was in process to see how the U.S. could also sell F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, given its hold of Russian defense systems.

Turkey, which holds the second-largest army in NATO, is set to host NATO leaders on July 7 to 8, amid tensions over sharing the burden of defense among allies and the U.S.' complaint about the allies’ limited contributions to keep the Strait of Hormuz open during the U.S.-Iran war. 

Christina Park is a reporter for Just the News. Follow her on X for more coverage.