Overview
- Rep. Thomas Massie’s amendment to the State Department appropriations bill would bar the $3.3 billion in annual U.S. military assistance to Israel but has not received a floor vote because intra‑GOP procedural rebellions have blocked consideration of the bill.
- House Democrats are sharply divided with progressive leaders urging support and senior appropriators and committee Democrats warning they will oppose the measure.
- Appropriators and committee Democrats say Massie’s blanket language — banning any funds in the bill for Israel — could force the State Department to halt nonmilitary programs such as scientific cooperation grants, people‑to‑people exchanges and longstanding refugee resettlement funding.
- Legislative maneuvering has already limited related votes: the House Rules Committee blocked a bipartisan Massie–Khanna bid to remove a U.S.–Israel defense‑technology cooperation provision from the NDAA, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s revised Lebanon war‑powers resolution was defeated by the House on June 30.
- Advocacy groups on both sides have launched heavy lobbying, the outcome could reshape U.S.–Israel defense ties and regional diplomacy, and congressional watchers are focused on whether Speaker Mike Johnson will secure floor time to schedule the State Department bill before the July recess.