More than half of Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to withdraw $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel, highlighting deepening divisions within the Democratic Party over the war in Gaza and U.S. support for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
The amendment, which was defeated 314-104, failed to secure enough votes to be added to a broader national security spending bill.
However, the outcome marked the strongest indication yet of waning bipartisan consensus on U.S. military assistance to Israel.
The vote exposed growing differences within Democratic ranks, with lawmakers increasingly split over Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, now nearing its third year.
While more than 100 Democrats supported ending the aid, nearly as many voted against the proposal. Most Republicans backed continued assistance.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who opposed the amendment, acknowledged that U.S. policy toward the Middle East should change.
“For the good of Israel and the Palestinian people, American policy in the Middle East must change,” Jeffries wrote to colleagues, adding that he believes there are more effective ways to pressure Netanyahu’s government than ending military aid.
The issue has become a major fault line within the Democratic Party as progressive lawmakers and activists push for a tougher stance on Israel, while more moderate Democrats continue to support the longstanding U.S.-Israel alliance.
House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark broke with party leadership by backing the amendment, underscoring the growing divide.
Republicans have seized on the disagreement, accusing Democrats of moving further left on foreign policy, even as some conservative Republicans aligned with President Donald Trump’s “America First” agenda have questioned continued foreign military spending.
The amendment was introduced by Representative Thomas Massie, a libertarian Republican from Kentucky, who argued that the $3.3 billion would be better spent on domestic priorities such as infrastructure and veterans’ services.
“I think we should stop it we should put them on a diet,” Massie said, arguing that U.S.-supplied weapons had been used in attacks that killed civilians.
Opposing the proposal, veteran Democratic lawmaker Steny Hoyer warned that cutting military aid would weaken U.S. national security and undermine efforts to counter militant groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.
“I rise in strong opposition to this amendment, which would dangerously undermine American national security,” Hoyer said.
The vote comes as lawmakers face mounting political pressure ahead of the U.S. midterm elections.
Pro-Israel lobbying group AIPAC urged members of Congress to reject the amendment, while the progressive advocacy group J Street, despite opposing the measure as overly broad, acknowledged that many Democrats viewed the vote as an opportunity to express concern over how U.S. military assistance has been used in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon.
An AP-NORC poll released this month found that about one-third of American adults, including roughly half of Democrats, believe Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians during the war in Gaza an allegation Israel and the U.S. government strongly reject.
