WASHINGTON — A majority of House Democrats cast votes Wednesday in favor of cutting $3.3 billion in U.S. military funding to Israel, sending the clearest signal yet that long-standing bipartisan backing for the country is fracturing in the wake of its war in Gaza, which has claimed thousands of Palestinian lives.
The amendment was defeated 104-314 and will not be added to a broader national security spending bill. Even so, the outcome laid bare a dramatic realignment of opinion within the Democratic Party — and across the country — regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s military strategy, which is now entering its third year.
Democratic leaders in the House were themselves divided on the measure, which many observers viewed as a test of where the party stands before this fall’s midterm elections that will decide control of Congress. More than 100 Democrats voted to strip the foreign military aid, while nearly as many voted to preserve it. Republicans largely sided with keeping the Israel funding in place.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries announced his opposition to the amendment but acknowledged that change is needed. “For the good of Israel and the Palestinian people, American policy in the Middle East must change,” he said.
In a letter sent to fellow Democrats ahead of a closed-door caucus meeting where the Israel debate took center stage, Jeffries wrote that he believes “there are more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change necessary when it comes to the far-right Netanyahu government.”
The widening rift over Israel policy poses a serious threat to Democratic unity, as the party contends with a more energized progressive wing that has backed self-described democratic socialists in several high-profile House races, including last month in New York.
While more centrist Democrats have maintained their support for U.S. assistance to Israel, a growing number have pulled back from Netanyahu’s approach since the Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Democratic Whip Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts announced she would vote in favor of withholding the funds.
Republicans have used the internal Democratic disagreement to argue that the party is being pulled too far left — even as House Speaker Mike Johnson navigates his own divisions, with President Donald Trump’s most committed America First allies pushing for reduced foreign military spending.
A poll conducted this month by AP-NORC found that roughly one-third of American adults — including about half of Democrats — believe Israel has carried out genocide against Palestinians during the Gaza conflict, a charge that has been made by some human rights groups but is strongly rejected by both Israel and the U.S. government.
The amendment to cut Israel’s aid was introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican from Kentucky who recently lost his own reelection bid after President Trump endorsed his opponent.
On the House floor, Massie argued the $3.3 billion would be better directed toward domestic needs such as roads, bridges, and veterans’ services, particularly as the national deficit continues to grow. He also said U.S.-supplied weapons had been used on “oftentimes innocent civilians.”
“I think we should stop it — we should put them on a diet,” Massie said.
On the other side of the debate, Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, a former party leader, spoke out strongly in defense of continued U.S. support for Israel.
“I rise in strong opposition to this amendment, which would dangerously undermine American national security,” Hoyer said. He warned that cutting aid would hamper the United States’ ability to stand against terrorist groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, which he said “expressly target American citizens and military personnel.”
Lawmakers faced pressure from multiple directions as they look toward the fall midterm elections.
The pro-Israel lobbying organization AIPAC urged its members to reach out to Congress and push for the amendment’s defeat. “We must ensure his dangerous amendment is defeated,” AIPAC said in a statement released before the vote.
Meanwhile, the progressive advocacy group J Street gave members more room to vote their conscience — even as the organization itself opposed the amendment, calling it poorly written and too sweeping in scope.
J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said in a statement that the group understands “that, for many Democrats, this is one of the few opportunities to cast a recorded vote expressing opposition to the way American military assistance and American-supplied weapons have been used by the Israeli government in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and elsewhere.”
Ben-Ami added that what brings most Democrats together “is far more significant” than any single vote as they work toward supporting “the security and rights of both Israelis and Palestinians.”
