More than 100 House Democrats voted to block billions of dollars in military aid to Israel — an ultimately unsuccessful effort that highlighted the growing division in their party on the issue.
On Wednesday 103 Democrats voted in support of an amendment to block aid that had been proposed by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, a persistent critic of President Donald Trump who has been skeptical of US support for Israel. One Republican also signed on. But the measure ultimately failed 104-314. 98 Democrats voted against it and 10 voted present, meaning they did not weigh in on the issue.
Even the top three lawmakers in House Democratic leadership split on the issue. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar voted against it, while House Minority Whip Katherine Clark voted for it.
Progressive Democrats celebrated the seismic shift in their party where, for the first time, the majority of House Democrats voted to block billions in military aid to Israel. Two years ago, only 37 Democrats voted to block aid to Israel when presented with a similar vote.
“Think about this just for a moment. Starting today, a majority of Democrats in this building refused to vote to send billions of dollars in weapons to the Israeli military,” Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said following the vote. “That sends a strong message to Netanyahu that the days are over of an unaccountable blank check to his wars and his war crimes, at least from the Democratic Party”
