F-35 for Turkey? Trump says ‘certainly, we’ll consider’ reversing ban

US President Donald Trump has indicated his support for allowing Turkey to rejoin the F-35 program, setting the stage for a potential reversal of a policy from his first administration. Speaking next to Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, Trump said bringing Turkey back into the fifth-generation fighter program is "something certainly we'd consider" and said it's "a decision we're going to make." Turkey was an early partner in the F-35 program and planned to buy 100 of the conventional F-35A model, but in July 2019, the first Trump administration removed Turkey from the program after Erdogan decided to procure the Russian-made S-400 air defense system. In a follow up question about legal sanctions applied to Ankara through the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), Trump was more direct, saying "We're going to be taking the sanctions off." However, Congress will have a say, as the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act prohibits the Pentagon from transferring F-35s to Turkey as long as Turkey still possesses the S-400. Congressional opposition to giving Turkey the F-35 has been bipartisan in the last five years, meaning that Trump may need to convince key lawmakers that Turkey has ameliorated security concerns before moving forward.