The growing anti-Israel faction in the Democratic Party came into view Wednesday when nearly half of the House Democratic Caucus voted to cut off military aid to the Jewish state.
The chamber shot down the measure on a 104-314 vote, with 10 Democrats voting “present.” The only Republican voting yes was the author of the legislation, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who recently lost his primary election to a challenger backed by President Trump.
Voting to cut off U.S. aid to Israel were 103 of 201 House Democrats.
Longtime establishment Democrats such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts joined far-left firebrands such as Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts in supporting the measure.
The outcome underscored the dramatic anti-Israel shift in the Democratic Party since 2024, when 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans voted against a package that included $14.3 billion in military aid for Israel.
This time, the legislation was an amendment to a national security and State Department funding bill. The Massie amendment would have prevented any of the bill’s funds from going to Israel.
Opposition to Israel has grown throughout the United States. Polls show more people now support Palestinians over the Jewish state, which has been accused of wanton destruction in the Gaza Strip after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attack. Some prominent right-wing figures, such as political commentator Tucker Carlson and former White House strategist Steve Bannon, have pivoted against Israel as part of the isolationist “America First” agenda.
The turnaround has been particularly dramatic among Democrats.
Ahead of the vote, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, New York Democrat, announced his opposition but said leadership was not whipping individual members on how to vote.
In a letter, Mr. Jeffries accused Republican leaders of “desperately trying to weaponize an amendment they do not support for nakedly partisan reasons.”
A House leadership aide said the vote speaks for itself.
“It is not House [Republican] leadership’s fault that Hakeem Jeffries is out of step with the radicals who run his caucus. He should worry less about Republicans and more about why he’s being rebuked by his own whip and former speaker,” the aide told The Washington Times.
The amendment split Democratic leadership: Mr. Jeffries and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar of California voted against it, while House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts voted for it.
Five House Republicans did not vote on the Massie amendment.
Republicans advanced the measure to a vote, apparently to expose divisions among Democrats.
The House Rules Committee, a Republican-controlled panel that sets the rules for debate, voted along party lines to allow Mr. Massie’s amendment to advance to the floor.
Mr. Jeffries criticized the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but said America must remain committed “to Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state and homeland for the Jewish people.”
The anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian sentiment has been building among Democrats for years. What was once the realm of activist protesters now permeates a party that was once staunchly pro-Israel.
“The Democratic Party needs a new approach to Israel and Palestine,” Rep. Greg Casar, a Texas Democrat who leads the Congressional Progressive Caucus, wrote in a letter to colleagues. “I hope you will join me in beginning that process by voting yes on this amendment.”
Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a rising star in the Democratic Party, told The Times that he hoped the vote would send a message that “more and more Democrats are recognizing the genocide in Gaza and the illegal occupation in the West Bank.”
Rep. Randy Fine, a Florida Republican who does not hide his support of Israel, accused Mr. Massie of trying to “exact his hatred” for Israel and Jews and Democrats of supporting “Muslim terror.”
Mr. Fine told The Times that the funding “gives America leverage over Israel” and benefits American manufacturers because it goes to the purchase of American munitions.
In exchange for the investment, he said, Americans “get intelligence sharing, we get [research and development], and we get them to be the beta test for many of our latest weapons.”
A Massie spokesman said that the amendment was not about punishing Israel.
“Like most of his constituents, Rep. Massie is opposed to all foreign aid. He offered amendments to defund aid to Egypt and Jordan, but he believes aid to Israel is particularly problematic now in light of the genocide they’ve undertaken in Gaza,” John Kennedy, the spokesman, said in a statement.
The Israeli Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
