A simmering intraparty fight among Democrats over Israel burst into the open on the House floor this week, pitting the party’s top two leaders against each other in a vote that exposed deepening divisions.
The flashpoint was an amendment offered by Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, that would have cut off all U.S. assistance to Israel. The measure was described as “overly broad” by critics, but it forced Democrats to take a public stand on an issue that has split the party for months.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York opposed the amendment, as did most of the Democratic leadership. But House Minority Whip Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 Democrat, voted for it. The split at the top mirrored a broader divide among rank-and-file members.
The amendment was rejected in a 104-314 vote, with 103 Democrats joining Massie in voting yes and 98 Democrats joining 215 Republicans in voting no. Ten Democrats voted “present.” The No. 3 House Democrat, Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar, and Vice Caucus Chairman Ted Lieu, both of California, stuck with Jeffries and voted against the amendment. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Assistant Minority Leader Joe Neguse of Colorado also voted no.
Some Democrats said they were wrestling with whether to support the amendment all the way up to the vote. Rep. Ami Bera of California said he ultimately voted no, explaining that he supports the U.S.-Israel relationship but does not “condone the Netanyahu government’s conduct of the war in Gaza and the resulting humanitarian crisis, its actions in Lebanon, its failure to confront escalating settler violence in the West Bank, and its role in drawing the United States into the current war with Iran.”
The vote underscores the challenge for Democratic leaders as they try to hold together a coalition that includes both a rising progressive wing calling for cutting off assistance to Israel, at least until the country’s government changes its approach to Gaza, and center-left Democrats who are reluctant to upend a decades-long alliance.
