Top House Democrats vow to oppose bid to cut US military aid to Israel | US-Israel war on Iran
Upper House Democrats on Tuesday said they would oppose an effort to cut funding for Israel’s military, amid a voter revolt over U.S. support for its Middle Eastern ally that roiled recent primaries.
The party is debating how to vote on an amendment that would halt $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel, which Republican congressman Thomas Massie has proposed adding to the appropriations bill for the State Department and related agencies. Democrats were discussing the amendment, which could come to a vote in the House of Representatives this week, in the context of several primaries won by candidates promising to take a tough stance against Israel.
This trend has led to Democratic sweeps in New York and Colorado and could play a role in deciding contentious House and Senate primaries in Michigan and Missouri in the coming weeks.
House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter to House Democrats, reported by the New York Times, that he would oppose Massie’s amendment, saying it was “overbroad” and warning that it could cut off funding from humanitarian programs and complicate efforts to counter militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
“In my view, there are more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change required in the case of a far-right Netanyahu government,” Jeffries wrote. He also accused the House’s Republican leaders of “trying to weaponize an amendment they do not support for purely partisan reasons.”
Pete Aguilar, the third-ranking Democrat in the House, later joined him in opposing the amendment.
“It’s clear that the Netanyahu administration is doing everything it can to isolate Israel, and we must make sure we build more friends in the region, not fewer,” he said at a news conference.
Both lawmakers argued that the United States should rethink its approach toward Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose government faces genocide charges from international commissions for its attack on Gaza following the Oct. 7 attacks.
Jeffries called for a “great reset” in relations between the two countries that both recognizes Israel’s right to exist and leads to the establishment of a Palestinian state. With the 10-year memorandum of understanding signed with Israel signed under Barack Obama soon to expire, Jeffries said the next agreement must “strictly adhere to our human rights laws and values” and recognize Israel’s ability to afford its own weapons.
Joe Biden’s support for Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7 attack shook up his aborted bid for a second term and dogged some incumbent Democratic candidates seeking re-election this year. In Colorado, longtime congresswoman Diana DeGette lost her party’s nomination last month to Democratic socialist Melat Kiros, while in New York, incumbent lawmakers Dan Goldman and Adriano Espaillat lost to primary rivals from Democratic socialists who were critical of their stances against Israel.
The issue looms large in Missouri, where freshman Rep. Wesley Bell faces a challenge in the Democratic primary from former congresswoman Cori Bush, whom he ousted in 2024 with the help of heavy spending by pro-Israel groups. It’s also a factor in the primary to replace retired Democratic senator Gary Peters in Michigan, where former public health official Abdul El-Sayed criticized his opponent, Haley Stevens, for her support for Israel.
Asked whether this dynamic affected the House Democratic leadership’s stance on Massie’s replacement, Aguilar acknowledged that “there needs to be a change in the relationship with Israel going forward,” but downplayed the impact of the views of lawmakers who could win the election in November.
“We’re not thinking about what a Democratic candidate is going to say after being sworn in in December … that’s not part of the calculations,” he said.
