Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D.) voted against the bill.Image: keystone
July 16, 2026, 10:29July 16, 2026, 10:29
More than 100 Democratic members of the US House of Representatives have called for an end to billions of dollars in US military aid to Israel in the coming fiscal year. However, a corresponding amendment from Republican Representative Thomas Massie failed on Wednesday with 104 votes to 314.
The vote was seen as symbolic. Besides Massie, no other Republicans voted for the proposal. The decisive factor for the failure was the broad rejection by the Republicans. The proposal would have cut about $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel and was part of budget deliberations for the U.S. State Department and other security agencies.
103 of the 215 Democratic MPs voted for the motion, while ten others abstained. For the first time, almost half of the Democrats in the House of Representatives supported a move to cut military aid. In a comparable vote a good two years ago, only 37 Democrats voted for a cut in aid, report the US broadcaster CNN and the portal “Politico”.
Democrats divided
The vote highlights the growing differences within the Democratic Party over its foreign policy orientation towards Israel. While the party leadership continues to support military aid to Israel, the progressive wing of the party in particular is calling for an end to financial support. The Gaza war and the Israeli government’s actions have increased pressure on Democratic MPs to reconsider their stance on military aid, several US media reports.
The division was also evident in the party leadership of the House of Representatives. Vice Chairwoman Katherine Clark and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi supported the motion. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries voted against it.
The trigger for the Gaza war was the attack on Israel by the Islamist Hamas and other extremist groups on October 7, 2023. (nil/sda/dpa)