Senator James Risch (R-ID), the ranking Republican on the Foreign Relations Committee, placed a hold on an arms sale to Hungary last week to punish the country’s leadership for its refusal to approve NATO membership for Sweden. This is a rare move for the senator and shows the priority some are placing on expanding NATO before a major summit in July.

Risch is putting the brakes on a $735 million U.S. arms sale to Hungary. The sale includes 24 HIMARS rocket launcher batteries, and more than 100 rockets and pods, plus associated parts and support. Risch has grown impatient with Hungary. “

Simple enough. Hungary has buddied up with Turkey over the NATO membership of Sweden. Both are slow-walking approval of Sweden’s application to join NATO. Risch has the clout to make his move. The chair and ranking members of the Senate and House foreign affairs committees are tasked with giving clearance and approval before the sale is publicly noticed by the State Department. The State Department is unable to move forward in the sale process as long as Risch’s hold is in place.

Time is dwindling before the next big meeting. There is a NATO summit scheduled for next month in Lithuania. Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s government is dragging its feet in presenting Sweden’s membership to the Hungarian parliament for a vote of approval.

“For some time now, I have directly expressed my concerns to the Hungarian government regarding its refusal to move forward a vote for Sweden to join NATO,” the Idaho Republican said in a statement. “Given promises that were made to me and others last year that this vote would be done, and the fact that it is now June and still not done, I decided that the sale of new U.S. military equipment to Hungary will be on hold. Hungary should take the actions necessary to allow Sweden into the alliance, and soon.

Although not required, the executive branch usually respects an informal “hold” on weapons exports by any one of the four Democratic and Republican leaders on the Senate and House foreign affairs panels. The holds sometimes remain in place for months or even years.

Once a hold is lifted, the arms sale can be formally notified to Congress and — assuming no legislation is passed by the House and the Senate to block it — officially approved.

In order for a new member to be admitted to NATO, all members of the alliance must agree on the admission. Hungary and Turkey are the two hold-outs on Sweden. Finland and Sweden applied at the same time after Putin invaded Ukraine. Finland has been admitted. The White House is voicing its support to get the process completed.

“Sweden is a … strong capable defense partner that shares NATO’s values and will strengthen the alliance that NATO currently has and also contribute to European security,” said White House spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre Wednesday. “We believe Sweden should become a NATO member as soon as possible without delay and we’ll continue to be very, very public about that as the president has been for the past several months and continue to be very clear.”

There is hope that now that Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has won re-election, he will stop blocking Sweden’s NATO membership. He wants U.S. lawmakers to lift holds on his country’s request to purchase a large number of F-16 advanced fighter jets, a purchase currently on hold by Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Bob Menendez (D-NJ).

Hungary’s Orban has given several reasons for teaming up with Turkey’s Erdogan. Orban, for example, does not like Sweden’s criticisms of democratic backsliding in Hungary under Orban’s leadership.

“It’s not right for them to ask us to take them on board while they’re spreading blatant lies about Hungary, about the rule of law in Hungary, about democracy, about life here,” Orban said in a February interview with the Kossuth Radio Program, summarizing what he said were the arguments for not yet allowing Sweden into NATO. “How, this argument runs, can anyone want to be our ally in a military system while they’re shamelessly spreading lies about Hungary?”

Congress has not been formally notified of the details of the arms deal, since the hold is in place. Congress will be formally notified when the hold is lifted and will vote to approve the deal, assuming no legislation is passed in the House and the Senate to prevent it. In the meantime, there seems to be some confusion about some of the specifics – like the purchase of HIMARS. On Thursday, the Hungarian Defense Ministry said they have “no intention of purchasing HIMARS missile systems.”

“Hungary is one of many countries that is line to get HIMARS,” said Tyler Hacker, a research fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “I think we are currently trying to deliver them in the next couple of years to Poland, Romania. Obviously, Ukraine has gotten them and is getting more. Australia is getting some. Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are all in line for HIMARS.”

“In the previous government term, the Government Commissioner for Procurement sent a letter requesting information on HIMARS missile systems, with a March 2022 deadline. No reply was received from the U.S. side, and the ministry considered the matter closed,” the ministry statement said.

Sweden is vulnerable in the interim. Also, the delay and squabbling benefit Putin. It shows a divide among the NATO alliance and that is a sign of weakness. Risch is doing what Biden fails to do. It should be Biden who is stepping up in support of Sweden. Biden leads from behind, though, and remains an observer in his administration, not a strong agenda-setter. Remember that the next time he boasts about bringing NATO together to support Ukraine against Putin and Russian aggression. He follows, he does not lead on the world stage.