US House rejects bid to block funding for Israel

WASHINGTON, United States — WASHINGTON — The US House of Representatives on Thursday voted 314-104 to reject an amendment from Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky that sought to bar the use of any US funds for Israel. The amendment was offered to a State Department appropriations bill. Despite the lopsided outcome, 103 Democratic lawmakers and one Republican voted in favor of cutting off assistance to Israel, a break from the near-unanimous support pro-Israel legislation has historically received in Congress. The proposal would have also halted the roughly $3.3 billion in annual US security aid to Israel. Massie, a long-standing opponent of foreign aid broadly, cited civilian deaths in Gaza in arguing the United States should not be part of Israel's military campaign. During the floor debate, progressive Democrats pushed to end all aid ahead of the midterm elections, while moderate members of the party advocated limiting funding to defensive weapons only.