Jeffries Says He’s Voting Against Measure to Cut Aid to Israel by $3.3 Billion
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-New York) announced to colleagues on Tuesday that he is planning to vote against an amendment to a 2027 State Department funding bill that would reduce the amount of direct military funding the U.S. will send to Israel in the next fiscal year, despite growing opposition to the U.S.’s backing of Israel within his own party.
In a “dear colleague” letter on Tuesday, Jeffries wrote that he will be voting against a measure introduced by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) that would cut $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing to Israel included in the National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs Appropriations Act.
Jeffries, a longtime backer of Israel, said the measure is “overly broad” and “would restrict our country’s ability to confront Hamas, Hezbollah and other terrorist organizations in the region who are sworn enemies of both the United States and Israel.”
He said that Democratic leaders aren’t whipping the vote against the amendment, but said that the caucus has had “extensive conversations” about the measure and that members will vote in a “variety” of ways with regard to Massie’s amendment. The caucus has indeed held meetings about the amendment in recent weeks, despite extremely........
