(CNN) President Donald Trump said Thursday he wants to move forward with major arms deals with Saudi Arabia, but senators from both parties are warning that Congress may block these accords from going forward.

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, announced in June he would place a hold on a proposed arms sale on thousands of precision-guided munition kits that would be used by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. On Thursday, Menendez warned he would not back off in light of the disappearance of journalist Jamal Khashoggi

"Right now, it's not moving forward because I've stopped it through our procedures," he told reporters in the Capitol. "If I were to clear it and it were to move to the floor, I think there's a growing sense that there has to be a message to the Saudis."

Menendez's hold is significant because the chair and ranking members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Foreign Affairs Committee have the power to derail foreign arms sales under the congressional notification process. One of the four members can place a hold on an arms sale and effectively extend a 40-day informal review process the administration affords to Congress.

If Menendez were to lift his hold, then a 30-day formal review process begins when any member can file a resolution of disapproval to seek to block the arms sale. Congress would then vote on the resolution of disapproval. And with tensions high with Saudi Arabia, members from both parties say that any arms deal with the Saudis almost certainly would be rejected by Congress.

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