Jeffries opposes Massie bid to cut military aid to Israel, but says ‘change in direction is needed’
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries said he will vote against Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie’s amendment to cut military funding to Israel.
But, in a letter to Democratic House colleagues on Tuesday, he wrote, “American policy in the Middle East must change.”
Jeffries, the New York congressman and Minority House Leader, wrote that Massie’s proposed amendment, which would cut $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel and is expected to reach a floor vote on Wednesday, is “overly broad” and would restrict the ability to “confront Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations in the region” who oppose both the United States and Israel.
The letter also indicated that Jeffries, whose more moderate, pro-Israel stance has sparked some left-wing Democrats to call for his replacement as leader, is listening to shifting sentiment on Israel among Democratic voters and politicians.
“A meaningful change in direction is needed,” Jeffries wrote.
Jeffries, ‘good faith reasons that will result in Members voting in a variety of ways’
Jeffries said he would not be telling his colleagues how to vote, and wrote that “there are good faith reasons that will result in Members voting in a variety of different ways with respect to the amendment.”
The $3.3 billion targeted by Massie, an anti-Israel Republican who lost his primary in May, is part of the $3.8 billion that the US sends to Israel annually under its 10-year memorandum of understanding, which was signed by Barack Obama and expires in 2028. That aid is then used by Israel to purchase American-made weapons and equipment. Massie’s proposed amendment would strip Israel of all of the allocated aid, except the $500 million designated for missile defense programs such as the Iron Dome.
“Minority Leader Jeffries opposes the Massie-Khanna amendment to cut $3 billion of aid to Israel, but leaves members of his party to vote their conscience,” Massie wrote on X. “My conscience is clear. I will vote against using American tax dollars to fund genocide.”
Though Jeffries opposes Massie’s amendment, his letter suggested that the next MOU beginning in 2028 not include any military subsidies.
“Israel has an advanced economy and is capable of paying for its own sophisticated weapons, as the Prime Minister recently acknowledged,” Jeffries wrote. Indeed, calls for the United States to end military aid to Israel have come from both a growing swath of the American left, as well as from the Israeli government and some American conservatives.
‘From aid to partnership,’ Netanyahu wants to reshape Israel’s military aid relationship with the US
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he wants to begin winding down US military aid to Israel over the last two years of the Trump administration, transitioning the US-Israel relationship “from aid to partnership.”
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who died suddenly this week, had been enthusiastically on board with the idea. He wrote in January that he’d like to “dramatically expedite the timetable” of Israel tapering off US military aid to become “more self-sufficient.”
Mike Huckabee, the US Ambassador to Israel, wrote on X last month that the next MOU between the two countries “ends aid & will be based on trade.”
Multiple progressive Democrats who are critical of Israel have said they plan to vote with Massie to cut aid, including New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Texas Rep. Greg Casar, despite concerns that the amendment will have an effect outside the bounds of military spending.
“I am aware that the amendment as written may cut off both military weapons (~$3.3 billion) and some diplomatic funding (~$50 million),” Casar wrote on X. “While I would prefer to vote on an amendment that stripped just military funding, I think opposing the billions in military funding is what’s most important here.”
The Institute for Middle East Understanding Policy Project, a pro-Palestinian advocacy group, said in a statement that Democratic leadership ignored voters whom the group says increasingly want its representatives to halt US military aid to Israel. “Yet again, they’ve missed the opportunity to stand with voters, and if they do not adjust course, they will repeat the disastrous mistakes of 2024 in 2028,” said Margaret DeReus, the group’s executive director.
Meanwhile, New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, who is Congress’ most senior Jewish member, told The Hill last month that he opposes the amendment and called it “poorly drafted.” He added that it would have unintended consequences such as eliminating funding for US Embassy operations in the country. Democratic Reps. Greg Meeks and Adam Smith have also said they would vote no.
Pro-Israel Democratic reps. commended Jeffries for standing up to the party’s growing pro-Palestinian wing
After Jeffries announced his intention to vote no during a closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday, pro-Israel Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Richard Neal commended Jeffries for standing up to the party’s growing pro-Palestinian wing, Axios reported.
Brian Romick, CEO of the pro-Israel group Democratic Majority for Israel, wrote in a statement to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he disagreed with some of the points Jeffries made in his letter, but was pleased by Jeffries’ opposition to the amendment and urged other Democrats to follow suit.
“While we do not agree with every policy outlined in Jeffries’ letter, we appreciate his commitment to ensuring that America’s support for Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state remains ironclad,” Romick wrote. He did not clarify where he specifically disagreed with Jeffries.
AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group that has endorsed Jeffries and has become widely unpopular among Democrats, wrote to JTA that it supports Jeffries’ vote against “Massie’s reckless amendment” but did not address his remarks on the next MOU.
Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal group J Street, which also endorsed Jeffries, wrote that J Street backs Jeffries’ decision and said the amendment is “being used by Republican leadership to divide Democrats rather than advance a serious debate about US policy.” But he also offered support to members who plan to vote in favor of the amendment, saying that this is “one of the few opportunities to cast a recorded vote” expressing opposition to how the Israeli government is utilizing American military assistance.
