The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) made more than $12.7 million in PAC contributions to members of Congress and federal candidates in the first half of this year, according to its new Federal Election Commission filing, as the group lobbied for the delivery of billions of dollars in military aid to Israel, including U.S. cooperation in the war in Gaza.
The PAC contributions were overwhelmingly earmarked donations, given by individual donors who used AIPAC as a conduit to pass their money along to candidates and other PACs. The PAC’s website touts that AIPAC will be credited in federal records as the conduit for donations.
The top recipient of AIPAC’s PAC donations in the first half of this year was House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), who received $625,000 given to a pair of his fundraising committees, according to a Sludge review of FEC data. AIPAC also reported making large PAC donations to several U.S. senators up for re-election in 2026, as well as Senate candidates Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) and Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.), and House members allied with AIPAC from both sides of the aisle. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) received $250,000 from AIPAC’s PAC to his joint fundraising committee in February, led by more than a dozen $15,000 earmarked donations.
On Monday, 28 countries including the U.K., Canada, and France called for Israel to immediately end the war in Gaza and allow the United Nations and other humanitarian aid organizations to provide famine relief in the region. Through the second quarter of this year, AIPAC has spent more than $1.8 million lobbying Congress and federal agencies on issues including defense appropriations, the War Powers Resolution and U.S. military stance toward Iran, and bills introduced to expand the U.S.-Israel defense partnership.
Also this year, AIPAC’s lobbying has pushed back against congressional resolutions to block the sale of $8.8 billion in specific weapons to Israel on humanitarian legal grounds, as proposed by Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vt.) in measures that were voted down in April. Last week, AIPAC applauded the House for overwhelmingly rejecting an amendment from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) that would strike $500 million in additional U.S. funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system.
AIPAC’s PAC skyrocketed to become—by far—the largest PAC contributor in the 2023-2024 cycle, giving more than $55.2 million to federal candidates. Its PAC’s total spending in the first half of 2025 represents an increase of more than 80% compared with the first six months of 2023, according to a review of FEC data.
On April 2, AIPAC CEO Elliot Brandt submitted testimony urging the House Appropriations Subcommittee on National Security, Department of State, and Related Programs to fully back $3.3 billion in military aid for Israel, as set forth in 2016’s 10-year memorandum on security assistance. The panel’s chair, Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-Fla.), has received $124,000 from AIPAC’s PAC so far this year.
