More than half of the Democrats serving in the U.S. House of Representatives voted Wednesday, July 15, to eliminate $3.3 billion in American military financing for Israel, marking the largest recorded break by House Democrats from the longstanding congressional consensus supporting annual security assistance to the country.

The amendment failed by a vote of 104–314 and was not added to the broader national-security spending legislation under consideration. The proposal received support from 103 Democrats and its sponsor, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky. All other Republicans who voted opposed it, along with a substantial group of Democrats.

Massie, a libertarian-leaning lawmaker who has consistently opposed foreign military assistance, proposed removing the full amount of foreign military financing designated for Israel. During the House debate, he said the money should instead be used for roads, bridges, veterans and other needs inside the United States.

“I think we should stop it — we should put them on a diet,” Massie said.

He also said American-supplied weapons had frequently been used in operations that harmed civilians. The amendment would have removed the military financing without replacing it with a narrower restriction tied to particular weapons, military units or Israeli government policies.

The vote divided the Democratic leadership. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York opposed the amendment, although he told colleagues before the vote that American policy toward the Israeli government needed to change.

Jeffries said there were more decisive ways to pursue changes involving the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu without eliminating the entire annual military financing package.

House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the second-ranking Democrat in the chamber, voted for the amendment. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California also supported it, joining a large group of Democrats who favored withholding the aid even though the measure was introduced by a Republican.

Democratic Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, a former majority leader and a longtime supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship, opposed the amendment. Hoyer said eliminating the financing would weaken American national security and reduce Israel’s ability to confront organizations including Hamas and Hezbollah.

“I rise in strong opposition to this amendment, which would dangerously undermine American national security,” Hoyer said during the floor debate.

The United States provides Israel with approximately $3.3 billion annually in foreign military financing under a long-term security-assistance agreement. The financing is largely used to purchase American weapons, equipment and defense services, meaning much of the money ultimately flows to U.S. defense manufacturers.

The Wednesday vote was not enough to alter the aid package, but it produced a public record showing how individual House members now approach the issue. More than 100 Democrats supported eliminating the full military-financing allocation, while nearly as many Democrats joined Republicans in preserving it.

The debate came as Democratic lawmakers faced pressure from competing advocacy groups and voters ahead of the November midterm elections. AIPAC, the major pro-Israel advocacy organization, urged supporters to contact members of Congress and oppose Massie’s amendment.

J Street, a liberal organization that describes itself as pro-Israel and supportive of a negotiated two-state solution, also opposed the amendment. The group said it was too broad and poorly drafted, although it acknowledged that some Democrats viewed the vote as one of the few available opportunities to register opposition to the use of American weapons by Israel.

J Street President Jeremy Ben-Ami said the organization understood why lawmakers wanted to express concern about Israeli military operations in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and elsewhere, even while opposing the complete elimination of military financing.

The vote followed nearly three years of conflict since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. Israel’s extended campaign in Gaza has generated increasing criticism among Democratic voters and lawmakers, while Israel and its supporters maintain that continued American assistance is necessary to defend the country from Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran and other regional threats.

Republican leaders used the vote to emphasize divisions among Democrats over Israel, although Massie’s sponsorship also reflected continuing opposition to foreign aid among a smaller group of Republicans aligned with a more noninterventionist approach.

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana and the overwhelming majority of Republicans supported retaining the assistance. Jeffries did not direct Democratic members to vote as a unified bloc, allowing lawmakers to take individual positions on the amendment.

The result leaves the military financing intact as the larger spending measure advances. It does not change existing aid, impose new conditions on weapons transfers or alter the underlying U.S.-Israel security agreement.

The final tally nevertheless produced the clearest congressional measure to date of the declining Democratic consensus around unrestricted military assistance to Israel. The amendment failed by more than 200 votes, but a majority of House Democrats voted to remove funding that had historically passed Congress with broad bipartisan support.

JBizNews Desk | Washington

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