Yet Democrats such as Haley Stevens, Angie Craig, Wesley Bell, and Greg Stanton are still voting for blank checks. Their primary rivals have something to say about that.
Nancy Pelosi, puts her ballot envelope in a ballot box during a “Get Out the Vote” rally in San Francisco, on Friday, May 29, 2026.(Gabrielle Lurie / San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, long one of the most ardent defenders of US aid to Israel, voted Wednesday to slash that aid. And she was not alone; 103 House Democrats and Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie voted for Massie’s amendment to slash almost $3.3 billion in funds for Israel – and their number included House Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Massachusetts, and the ranking Democrats on a number of key committees.
It was the latest measure of the evolution of the Democratic Party’s stance regarding aid to Israel, which had changed dramatically as the party’s base voters signaled that they cannot accept continued aid to the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, which has been widely accused of committing genocide with a multi-year assault on Palestinians in Gaza.
“For the good of the Israeli people and the Palestinian people, it is clear that US policy must change,” said Pelosi, who explained that, “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. “
A bipartisan House majority of 314 still opposed the amendment to block the foreign military aid money from a broader national security spending bill. But the size of the “yes” vote was described by Politico as a “seismic shift” on issues related to Israel and Palestine.
Congressional Progressive Caucus chair Greg Casar agreed, noting Wednesday that, “It used to be that just a small number of House Democrats would vote against sending taxpayer dollars to weapons for the Israeli military. Then, two years ago, 37 House Democrats voted for a measure to not send billions of dollars to the Israeli military. Today, over 100 House Democrats voted for a measure to block billions of dollars in weapons to Netanyahu. That is enormous progress. That is a victory for our movement for security, peace and justice for all people.”
“That,” added Casar, “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.”
But not all Democrats embraced that progress.
And that is going to be an issue in upcoming Democratic primaries.
Minnesota US Rep. Angie Craig, who is locked in a competitive August 11 Democratic US Senate primary, voted against the amendment. That prompted her primary rival, Minnesota Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan to declare, “A vote to send $3.3 billion of taxpayer money to fund additional weapons of war to Benjamin Netanyahu is unconscionable. Enough.”
Michigan US Rep. Haley Stevens, who is bidding in the August 4 Democratic US Senate primary against Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, also voted to continue aid to Israel.
“Today, Congresswoman Stevens had a choice: stand with the majority of Democrats who oppose unconditional military aid to Israel, or stand with the special interests funding her campaign,” said El-Sayed. “She chose to side with AIPAC and Republicans to fund a war machine that has taken the loved ones of Michigan families. She made her choice. You make yours.”
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In another Michigan race, State Rep. Donavan McKinney, a democratic socialist supporter of Palestinian rights, is mounting a serious Democratic primary challenge to incumbent US Rep. Shri Thanedar, who voted against cutting aid to Israel. “Once again,” argued McKinney, “Shri Thanedar proved he’d rather spend money dropping bombs on families overseas than help families here at home. It’s unacceptable.”
In Florida, August 18 Democratic primary challenger Oliver Larkin complained that US Rep. Jared Moskowitz “(voted) to continue funding genocide,” while Elijah Manley, who is mounting a primary bid against US Rep. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, said the incumbent “voted to continue to aid Israel, a genocidal regime killing Palestinians in Gaza. Democrats in FL-20 do not support sending funds and weapons to a regime engaged in genocide.”
In Missouri, Democratic US Rep. Wesley Bell voted “no” on the amendment and drew an immediate rebuke from former US Rep. Cori Bush, who is challenging Bell in the St. Louis-area district’s August 4 primary. “The people have spoken. They want to see their tax dollars spent on housing, healthcare, and education here at home, not war and genocide overseas,” said Bush. “Bell’s not listening.”
She also made a connection between the vote to send money overseas and the struggle to meet hometown needs. “For those counting along at home,” Bush said of the money Bell supported sending to Israel, “that’s $3.3 billion more than Bell brought home for St. Louis through HUD disaster recovery funding.”
In Arizona, where he is challenging Democratic incumbent Greg Stanton in a July 21 party primary, veteran activist Kai Newkirk is highlighting the incumbent’s “no” vote as an important issue in the primary. “Greg Stanton has taken over $300K from AIPAC. And today — as so many Americans in our district and across the country struggle to get by — he just voted to send billions more of our tax dollars to Israel to fund their war crimes and genocide,” said Newkirk. “Disgraceful.”
Track AIPAC, the grassroots effort to reveal and counter the influence of AIPAC in American politics and policy making, weighed in with a particularly blunt endorsement of the challenger: “AIPAC’s Greg Stanton voted against cutting aid to Israel today. He has a primary coming up in 6 days. Support Kai Newkirk for Congress to unseat this AIPAC stooge.”
John NicholsTwitterJohn Nichols is the executive editor of The Nation. He previously served as the magazine’s national affairs correspondent and Washington correspondent. Nichols has written, cowritten, or edited over a dozen books on topics ranging from histories of American socialism and the Democratic Party to analyses of US and global media systems. His latest, cowritten with Senator Bernie Sanders, is the New York Times bestseller It's OK to Be Angry About Capitalism.