(CNN) — More than 100 House Democrats voted to block billions of dollars in military aid to Israel — an ultimately unsuccessful effort that highlighted the growing division in their party on the issue.
On Wednesday 103 Democrats voted in support of an amendment to block aid that had been proposed by GOP Rep. Thomas Massie, a persistent critic of President Donald Trump who has been skeptical of US support for Israel. One Republican also signed on. But the measure ultimately failed 104-314. 98 Democrats voted against it and 10 voted present, meaning they did not weigh in on the issue.
Even the top three lawmakers in House Democratic leadership split on the issue. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar voted against it, while House Minority Whip Katherine Clark voted for it.
Progressive Democrats celebrated the seismic shift in their party where, for the first time, the majority of House Democrats voted to block billions in military aid to Israel. Two years ago, only 37 Democrats voted to block aid to Israel when presented with a similar vote.
“Think about this just for a moment. Starting today, a majority of Democrats in this building refused to vote to send billions of dollars in weapons to the Israeli military,” Democratic Rep. Greg Casar, the leader of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said following the vote. “That sends a strong message to Netanyahu that the days are over of an unaccountable blank check to his wars and his war crimes, at least from the Democratic Party”
He added: “Nothing will be the same on this issue ever again I think after this vote.”
Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar said that as the vote was occurring, she reflected with fellow progressive Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian member of Congress, about what the moment meant.
“When we got here, a day like today, the kind of vote that was taken today, did not seem possible,” Omar said.
Knowing that their caucus would be divided on the issue, House Democratic leadership intentionally did not whip ahead of the vote, and Jeffries instead encouraged members to vote their conscience. For weeks, Democratic lawmakers have been meeting privately to have “family discussions,” as multiple members described it, about how to approach the vote.
Even Democrats who voted for Massie’s amendment, like Clark, argued it was deeply flawed because it also blocked humanitarian funding for Palestinian refugees and civilians in Gaza. Some argued the measure was designed to drive a wedge among Democrats.
“This is not an attempt to have a serious and necessary debate about offensive military aid to Israel. It’s more stunts from Congressional Republicans who would rather score cheap political points than lead,” Clark said in a statement announcing her vote. “However, it is clear that the status quo is not tenable. We should not provide a blank check for military aid to any country that does not comply with U.S. law, interests, and values.”
Some Democrats sought to downplay the divisive vote and pin the issue back on Republicans.
“We’ve allowed ourselves to tie ourselves up in knots about something that was never, ever going to advance anyway. But to Hakeem’s credit, he said vote your conscience,” Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan, who voted for the measure, told CNN.
But this vote also signals that the ground is shifting for House Democrats as the party grapples with its position on US foreign policy towards Israel. Many on the left are demanding a dramatic change in course.
“There is a tremendous pent-up desire among most Democrats to signal a change in policy towards Israel and in the region,” said Democratic Rep. Jared Huffman, who voted present, meaning he did not take an official position on the matter. “For many of my colleagues this Massie amendment is an appropriate vehicle to make that statement.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
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