The House Wednesday shot down an amendment to a State Department spending bill that would have blocked billions in U.S. military aid to Israel, but a substantial number of Democrats voted to cut off Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war machine.
The chamber defeated Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie’s amendment, 104-314, which would have stripped out $3.3 billion proposed for an Israeli security aid account in the chamber’s fiscal 2027 National Security-State appropriations measure. Among Democrats, 103 supported the amendment, 98 opposed it and 10 voted present. Massie was the lone Republican to support the amendment.
The final vote result showed how many in the Democratic Party have soured on how Netanyahu has used American-made weapons in Gaza, Iran and southern Lebanon. It also revealed new splinters in the party over U.S. aid to Israel just as analysts predict Democrats are on track to take the House and have an outside shot at taking the Senate.
The number of Democrats who support zeroing out the Israel security assistance account going into November’s midterm elections was another example of how much of the political energy in the party is in its most progressive plank.
