AIPAC, the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, appeared on Friday to have cut off contributions on its political web portal to House Democrats who voted this week to end U.S. aid to Israel, punishing them financially for a stance it strongly opposed.
That group included 15 House Democrats whom AIPAC had endorsed for re-election in November.
AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has long been a force on Capitol Hill, seemingly able to spend whatever it took to defeat lawmakers it viewed as hostile to Israel. After the vote earlier this week, AIPAC said in a statement that it was “disappointed by the 103 Democrats who voted with Massie to weaken America and our ally Israel,” referring to the Republican sponsor of the proposal, Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky.
The amendment, which sought to cut all $3.3 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Israel from a foreign affairs spending bill, was ultimately rejected. But more Democrats supported it than opposed it, demonstrating a dramatic shift within the party as it grapples with a groundswell of hostility in its ranks toward Israel and its conduct during the war in Gaza.
Support for the Jewish state has quickly become a major liability with young and left-leaning Democratic voters, who are important constituencies in the party, and polls show a broader decline in support among Democrats for continued U.S. aid to Israel. With its move to block donations to Democrats seeking re-election, AIPAC made it clear that lawmakers would also face a hit for casting votes that it views as hostile to Israel.
AIPAC’s political donation page displays the names and headshots of what the group describes as “pro-Israel” members of Congress and allows visitors to click on buttons displaying suggested contributions to them. While House Democrats who backed the Massie amendment were still listed on that page on Friday, the option of donating to them was unavailable.
That was the case for Representative Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 House Democrat, who had said she was voting for Mr. Massie’s measure despite her reservations about it.
The page already had shut down the donation option for lawmakers who had said they would no longer accept AIPAC donations, like Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey. Contribution buttons were also unavailable for lawmakers who are not seeking re-election, in most cases replaced by a short statement noting their impending departure and thanking them for their support of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
But for a handful of Democrats who are leaving Congress and supported the proposal to cut off aid, including former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is retiring, the group appeared to have removed the note of thanks.
Asked for a comment on the modifications, Deryn Sousa, a spokesperson for AIPAC, said, “AIPAC members are deeply appreciative of their representatives who stand on principle and are disappointed by those who don’t.”
It is not the first time that AIPAC has tried to financially punish lawmakers who do not vote the way it wants them to. In 2024, it pulled funding for 15 House Republicans after they voted against providing $14 billion in emergency military assistance to Israel. Some of those lawmakers, including Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, for instance, voted against the Massie amendment, and appeared to be back in the group’s good graces. Their donation pages were live on Friday.
The move marked the latest sign of a rupture between the Democratic Party and AIPAC, which has quickly become a toxic brand for many Democrats on Capitol Hill. The split is indicative of a larger realignment underway in Congress on Israel, as Democratic lawmakers turn away from a decades-old bipartisan consensus that favored unconditional support for the Jewish state.
Many Democrats who once relied heavily on AIPAC for donations have said they will no longer accept its donations. Even Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic minority leader who is on track to become speaker next year if Democrats win back the House and who has a long and close relationship with AIPAC, has recently appeared to be shifting.
Last year, for the first time ever, he accepted an endorsement from J Street, the center-left Israel lobbying group, even though AIPAC has, in the past, discouraged lawmakers it backs from aligning themselves formally with a group that holds a different stance on Israel.
