A majority of House Democrats on Wednesday voted to block all U.S. security aid to Israel, escalating a contentious debate that has exposed deepening divisions within the party over America’s relationship with the Jewish state.
The legislative amendment, which Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) introduced, would have cut $3.3 billion in security assistance that the U.S. has pledged to Israel.
The amendment ultimately failed on the House floor in a 104-314 vote. All Republicans except Massie, joined by 98 Democrats, voted against the measure, while 10 Democrats voted present.
Internal Democratic divisions were on full display leading up to the vote. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), who opposed the measure, urged his members to follow their conscience.
“In my view, there are more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change necessary when it comes to the far-right Netanyahu government,” Jeffries wrote in a letter to his fellow Democrats. “Republican leaders are desperately trying to weaponize an amendment they do not support for nakedly partisan reasons.”
“However, given the strongly held views throughout the Caucus in this important area of foreign policy, we are not whipping this vote,” he added.
Whipping a vote is a conventional practice in which party leaders work to ensure they have enough support from rank-and-file members to pass or defeat a measure. Trying to thread the needle, Jeffries, without giving specifics, said the status quo has to go.
“Moving forward, it is my strongly held view that for the good of Israel and the Palestinian people, American policy in the Middle East must change,” he said.
Jeffries’ argument was not persuasive enough to win over his deputy, Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA), the number two House Democrat.
“I think that this is a cynical effort with this amendment to divide people,” Clark said in an interview with Politico. “But it is also a chance to say clearly that the status quo is not acceptable.”
“There is no country that should be given a blank check for military aid that is not in line with our interests and values as Americans,” she added.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) also voted to strip Israel of U.S. military aid, describing the amendment as “ill-conceived” but saying she supported “the message that it sends.”
Some Democrats couldn’t help but tie the vote to President Donald Trump.
“Benjamin Netanyahu, like Donald Trump, is a corrupt authoritarian who should face criminal courts — not receive billions more for weapons,” Representative Robert Garcia (D-CA) said. “The American people want lower housing costs and more affordable groceries, not more bombs and foreign wars.”
No matter how symbolic, the fissures exposed by Wednesday’s vote underscore the extraordinary shift underway in a Democratic Party that was once broadly supportive of military aid to Israel. The vote comes just weeks after three Democratic incumbents lost primary challenges, in part over their positions on Israel.
In April, a record number of Senate Democrats voted to block weapons sales to Israel. On Tuesday, Democrats also blocked an annual defense policy bill, citing objections to the war in Iran and drawing the ire of Republicans.
“For the first time in U.S. history, every Senate Democrat, led by Chuck Schumer, voted against starting debate on the overwhelmingly bipartisan National Defense Authorization Act,” Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) said on X.
“It’s discouraging to see Senate Democrats caving to the far-left of their party.”
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