Dozens of House Democrats voted against an amendment from Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, to cut annual United States military assistance to Israel on Wednesday.
The amendment to eliminate $3.3 billion in annual U.S. military assistance to Israel did not garner enough support to pass. But the vote, which split Democratic leadership and the party, with 103 in favor and 98 against, highlights divisions within the Democratic Party over Washington’s support for its longtime ally amid Israel’s war in Gaza.
Public opinion among Democratic voters has moved against additional U.S. assistance to Israel. A New York Times/Siena College poll conducted in May found that 74 percent of Democrats opposed providing further military and economic aid to Israel, while just 8 percent said they strongly supported additional assistance.
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A separate Quinnipiac University poll in August 2025 found that 75 percent of Democrats opposed sending more military aid to Israel, highlighting growing divisions within the party over U.S. support for Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
Massie’s amendment would bar funds in the fiscal 2027 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs appropriations bill from being used for Israel and reduce the Foreign Military Financing account by $3.3 billion. That amount represents the annual military aid Congress typically provides under the U.S.-Israel security assistance agreement.
What To Know About Massie’s Amendment
Massie’s amendment would eliminate the $3.3 billion in annual Foreign Military Financing (FMF) for Israel included in the FY2027 State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs appropriations bill. Massie, a vocal critic of America’s support for Israel, introduced the amendment to H.R. 8595, the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Appropriations Act for fiscal 2027, in late June.
The U.S. provides Israel with about $3.8 billion in military assistance annually under a 10-year agreement signed in 2016. The package includes $3.3 billion in FMF grants and $500 million for missile defense cooperation, making Israel one of the largest recipients of U.S. military aid. The U.S. has authorized billions in emergency military assistance, particularly following Hamas‘ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, which killed about 1,200 people and took around 250 hostages. Israel responded with an intense military campaign in Gaza, which has killed over 73,000 Palestinians and caused mass displacement.
In April 2024, Congress passed supplemental appropriations that provided $8.7 billion to Israel.
The Kentucky Republican has long opposed foreign aid and has become one of the most outspoken Republican critics of continued U.S. military assistance abroad, as well as foreign interventions including the Iran war.
On Wednesday afternoon, 103 Democrats voted for the amendment and 98 against. Ten Democrats voted “present.” Only one Republican, presumably Massie, voted for the amendment, with 215 voting against. In total, the amendment received 104 yeas and 313 nays and did not pass.
Jake Sherman, founder of Punchbowl News, reported on X that the 10 Democrats who voted “present” were: Representatives Ami Bera, Shontel Brown, Janelle Bynum, Sarah Elfreth, Jared Huffman, Betty McCollum, Kelly Morrison, Chris Pappas, Linda Sánchez and Mike Thompson.
The amendment comes nearly two months after Massie lost his Republican primary following repeated clashes with President Donald Trump over issues including U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts and the administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
What Democrats Said Ahead of the Vote
Ahead of the Wednesday vote, some Democrats announced their opposition to the amendment, including Representative Sam Liccardo, who called the amendment “flawed and overbroad.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a letter obtained by The New York Times that there were “more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change necessary” regarding Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He also said that House Republican leaders are “trying to weaponize an amendment they do not support for nakedly partisan reasons.”
However, several Democrats expressed their support for the amendment, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said in a statement, “The United States must be a force for security and stability. The American people are rightly demanding an end to a perpetual cycle of war, and the Netanyahu government cannot maintain its current course. Therefore, while this amendment is ill-conceived, I vote yes for the message that it sends.”
Representative Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat, said ahead of the vote that Israel is “acting against America’s national security interests” and against “its own long-term interests as well.” Therefore, continuing unconditional assistance would be condoning an unacceptable status quo.”
“Withholding these funds would not leave Israel defenseless. Israel has a nearly $50B defense budget and Congress also gave Israel an additional $9B over and above annual appropriations in 2024,” Moulton added.
Another Massachusetts Democrat, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, who voted for the measure, said ahead of the vote that America shouldn’t give any country a “blank check” if they aren’t complying with American laws, interests and values.
“The Netanyahu government has failed to meet that standard,” Clark said.
U.S. Changing Views on Israel
The U.S. is a close ally of Israel, providing billions in military aid and diplomatic support for years. Public opinion in the U.S., however, has shifted since October 7, 2023.
Recent polling shows that America has become much more divided over U.S. support for Israel, which has historically had significant support.
A June AP-NORC poll found that 58 percent of Democrats said the U.S. is too supportive of Israel, up from 45 percent in January 2024, while 60 percent of Republicans said the current level of U.S. support is “about right.”
Overall, 31 percent of U.S. adults said they believe Israel’s military actions in Gaza constitute genocide, while 49 percent said they did not know enough to say and 20 percent said they did not believe they constitute genocide.
The survey also found Democrats have become increasingly supportive of Palestinians while support for Israel has declined within the party. Sixty-two percent of Democrats said the U.S. is not supportive enough of Palestinians, up from 49 percent in January 2024.
The survey of 3,040 adults was conducted between June 11-17, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.
A smaller subset of the AP-NORC poll looked into Jewish Americans’ views. Among Jewish Americans, the poll found that Netanyahu’s favorability among Jewish adults is 32 percent compared to a 59 percent unfavorable rating.
The poll also shows that 38 percent of respondents think the United States is too supportive of Israelis versus 24 percent who feel the U.S. is too supportive of Palestinians. When asked if they think Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians, 30 percent of Jewish adults say yes, compared to 49 percent who say no, while 21 percent say they don’t know enough to render an answer.
The study was conducted from June 11 to June 17 among 1,022 Jewish adults, with a margin of error of 5 percent.
A Pew Research survey of 12,574 Americans conducted May 4-17 found that Americans’ view of the Israeli government has significantly decreased since 2022, when 65 percent of Republicans had a favorable view of the Israeli government compared to 35 percent of Democrats. The latest survey found 51 percent of Republicans do and 16 percent of Democrats.
A May Reuters/Ipsos poll found Israel’s favorability rating among Democrats had fallen from 59 percent in 2018 to 22 percent.
Wednesday’s vote shows that at least some Democrats, particularly progressives, are increasingly willing to break with their party’s traditional support for Israel.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Jason Lemon and Sam Wilson.