House Democrats remain divided over a push by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to slash $3.3 billion in military aid the U.S. is set to provide Israel in the 2027 State Department funding bill, and top Democratic leaders are continuing to keep their own positions vague. 

But when that vote comes to the floor is still uncertain, as a handful of hard-line Republican rebels have pushed normal House business to a halt. Some senior House Democrats indicated that, even if they don’t support this particular effort, they still seek changes to the U.S.-Israel relationship.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) continued to withhold his position on the amendment, after saying a day prior he might have more to share on the subject after a caucus meeting on Tuesday morning.

“Those conversations are ongoing,” Jeffries said. “We had a very productive meeting today, and as I’ve indicated, there’s a lot that needs to happen differently to get to a place where there’s a just and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, and we all need to focus on actually achieving a two-state solution once and for all.”

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), the No. 3 House Democrat, said at a press conference on Tuesday that Democrats had continued to air a variety of views on the issue at the caucus meeting. But he again declined to offer Democratic leadership’s view on the subject, pending whether the amendment would actually come up for a vote.

“Whether you are supportive or in opposition to the Massie amendment, that doesn’t mean that we feel everything is going well in that region, and that doesn’t mean that [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu has a blank check,” Aguilar — generally viewed as one of the more staunchly pro-Israel members of Democratic leadership — said. “It also doesn’t mean that our aid and support will go on forever, and we will continue to work through that.”

He said that Democratic leaders would have more to share if and when the amendment comes up for a vote. Pressed on how and whether Democrats can explain their decision on the issue, Aguilar called it “tough and emotional for the American people,” before pivoting to criticize GOP policies.

The timing of the vote on the amendment remains in question, as right-wing Republicans have stalled the House floor for the second week in a row, blocking the procedural measure that would advance consideration of the State Department funding bill, as well as the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.

Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT) — the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee — joined his counterparts on the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees in opposing the amendment, putting the top Democrats on each national security committee in agreement. But he said he would support conditioning U.S. aid to Israel.

“The Massie amendment is way too overbroad,” Himes told Jewish Insider. “I am all in favor of making sure that the Israelis don’t get weapons that can find their way into settlers’ hands in the West Bank, [and] put some conditions on the way they conduct their wars in Gaza and in Lebanon. But this proposal is way overbroad.”

Rep. Greg Landsman (D-OH) criticized Republicans for allowing the amendment to come to the floor at all. Republicans blocked another Massie-led amendment aiming to strip U.S.-Israel cooperation provisions out of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act from coming to the House floor.

“I still hope that [House Speaker Mike] Johnson (R-LA) pulls it,” Landsman told JI. “The other side allowing this to come to the floor is truly a mystery to me. My hope is that ultimately Johnson appreciates how terrible this is and the kind of conflict and division it creates. It hurts us, it hurts our partner [and] everything we’re working to do in the Middle East.”

He said he believes Republicans are allowing the amendment to move forward as a deliberate wedge to divide Democrats.

“You don’t play around with issues like this,” Landsman said. “This stuff can become very dangerous very quickly. … Why does he keep using Israel this way? It’s not right, and I think he’s getting a lot of calls from his supporters saying, ‘Stop doing this. Leave this issue alone unless you’re actually voting on something meaningful, but don’t give Thomas Massie airtimes for his grievances as it relates to an entire community of people.’”

Progressive Caucus Chair Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX) told reporters that he expects a “significant number of Democrats” to support the amendment. He said there’s a “growing number of members” that do not support providing additional weapons “for Netanyahu” but “I respect that others may have a different opinion.”

“What I think we’re all trying to get united around is the idea that everybody in the Democratic caucus should be working towards there being peace in the region, stability for Israeli and Palestinian civilians alike, and working to make sure that the Israeli government does not drag us back into war with Iran,” Casar said.

Asked about Democratic leadership’s silence on the issue, Casar said “the leadership should listen to our members, listen to our voters and do their best to provide guidance and information.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said that “after witnessing U.S.-funded weapons help perpetuate genocide of Palestinians,” the American people “want to see more accountability into where public taxpayer dollars are going.”