House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has come out against an amendment to cut $3.3 billion in military aid to Israel from a State Department appropriations bill, just weeks after his fundraising committee received the largest earmarked disbursement in the history of AIPAC's political action committee.
In a letter sent today to Democratic colleagues, Jeffries said he opposes the amendment, from Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), because it is "overly broad" and would limit funding for humanitarian aid, refugee resettlement, peace-building and embassy operations. The amendment would not only eliminate the $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing designated for Israel but would also prohibit any other funds in the appropriations bill from being used for Israel.
AIPAC opposes the amendment and is urging its supporters to pressure members of Congress not to pass it. “Security assistance is critical to Israel’s security and the U.S.-Israel alliance,” the group says. Democratic representatives such as Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and Progressive Caucus Chairman Greg Cesar have come out in support.
On May 20, AIPAC PAC sent two earmarked payments—$87,500 and $61,800, totaling $149,300—to the Jeffries Battleground Protection Fund, a joint fundraising committee that splits proceeds between Jeffries' own campaign, the DCCC, and more than a dozen frontline House Democrats. FEC records list both payments as an "earmark of Daniel Och," the billionaire hedge fund investor and founder of Willoughby Capital.
