US House vote exposes deep Democratic split over military aid to Israel

Washington,UPDATED: Jul 16, 2026 03:48 IST

A vote in the US House of Representatives has highlighted a widening divide among Democrats over American support for Israel, with more than half the party's members voting to remove USD 3.3 billion in military aid from a broader national security spending bill. The amendment was defeated 104-314 on Wednesday, but the result was the clearest sign yet of shifting political attitudes after Israel's war in Gaza, which has killed thousands of Palestinians.

The vote also exposed differences within the Democratic leadership ahead of the US midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress. More than 100 Democrats backed the amendment to end the aid, while almost as many opposed it. Most Republicans voted to keep the funding in place.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he opposed the measure that would have reduced the aid to zero, but added that "for the good of Israel and the Palestinian people, American policy in the Middle East must change". In a letter to colleagues before a private caucus meeting this week, where Israel was the main issue of debate, Jeffries said he believed "there are more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change necessary when it comes to the far-right Netanyahu government".

The issue has become a major fault line within the Democratic Party, with an energised left wing backing self-described democratic socialists in several high-profile House races, including in New York last month. While more traditional Democrats have continued to support US backing for Israel, a growing number have distanced themselves from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's strategy since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Democratic Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts said she would support withholding the funds. Republicans, meanwhile, have used the divide to argue that Democrats are being pushed by the far left, even as House Speaker Mike Johnson faces his own internal differences, with some of President Donald Trump's strongest America First supporters favouring lower foreign military spending.

An AP-NORC poll this month found that about one-third of US adults, including roughly half of Democrats, believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza. The allegation has also been made by some human rights organisations and has been strongly denied by Israel and the US government.

The amendment was introduced by Representative Thomas Massie, a libertarian-leaning Republican from Kentucky who lost his own re-election bid after Trump backed his challenger. During the debate, Massie said the USD 3.3 billion could be better spent in the US on roads, bridges and veterans' needs, especially as deficits rise. He said American weapons were being used on "oftentimes innocent civilians" and added, "I think we should stop it - we should put them on a diet." Democratic Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland, a former party leader, argued against the proposal. "I rise in strong opposition to this amendment, which would dangerously undermine American national security," Hoyer said. He said cutting the aid would reduce the United States' ability to confront groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah, which he said "expressly target American citizens and military personnel".

Lawmakers were under pressure from different sides as the midterms drew closer. The pro-Israel group AIPAC urged supporters to contact members of Congress and said before the vote, "We must ensure his dangerous amendment is defeated." At the same time, the advocacy group J Street, while opposing the amendment as poorly drafted and overly broad, gave lawmakers more room to express their views, as Jeffries did. Its president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, said J Street recognised "that, for many Democrats, this is one of the few opportunities to cast a recorded vote expressing opposition to the way American military assistance and American-supplied weapons have been used by the Israeli government in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon and elsewhere." He added that what unites most Democrats "is far more significant" as they work to support "the security and rights of both Israelis and Palestinians." Overall, the vote underlined how support for Israel has become a sharper and more complicated issue inside the Democratic Party and across American politics.

With PTI Inputs

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