The July 15 vote was considered mostly symbolic and in the end the effort failed, but 103 House Democrats and one Republican (Congressman Thomas Massie from Kentucky) voted for an amendment to cutoff all aid to Israel. This was a one sentence amendment written by Rep. Masssie to cut $3.3 billion from the Foreign Military Financing Program which is the amount currently allocated to Israel in the form of grants and loans to purchase American weapons and related defense services. It would also prohibit any funding in the annual spending bill for the U.S. State Department programs for Israel. There were 98 Democrats who voted to keep the aid flowing, and 10 Democrats who simply voted “present.” All other voting House Republicans also voted to fully support Israel.
This vote is seen mostly as a growing rebellion by Democrats against much of the Party leadership. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) sent an email to all House Democrats arguing against the amendment, Rep. Jefferies admitted that a major “reset” is needed in U.S.-Israel relations, but wrote that the measure was “overly broad” and argued that in addition to cutting off military aid, this amendment would also eliminate humanitarian aid, defund diplomatic efforts, and even cut out funds for basic operations in the U.S. Embassy.
There were some Democratic leaders who also split with Minority Leader Jeffries, such as Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts who said that “the status quo is not tenable.” Rep. Clark wrote in a statement, “I will be voting yes, not because I agree with the entirety of the amendment, or the GOP’s cynical motivations for its consideration, but because I believe we must change course.” Also supporting the amendment was the chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX), who posted on X, “I am aware that the amendment as written may cut off both military weapons (~$3.3 billion) and some diplomatic funding (~$50 million). While I would prefer to vote on an amendment that stripped just military funding, I think opposing the billions in military funding is what’s most important here.” Congressman Casar added, “The Israeli government committed war crimes in Gaza and helped drag America into war with Iran. Americans should not be financing more weapons for Netanyahu.” This is the same Congress that gave nearly 50 standing ovations for an address in a joint session of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on July 24, 2024.
