Fetterman says he'd leave Democratic Party if it becomes anti-Israel. A majority of House Democrats voted to end aid

Andrea Padilla, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jul 16, 2026

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Only one House Democrat from Pennsylvania voted against an amendment on Wednesday that would have ended aid to Israel.

The rest backed the measure along with the majority of Democrats in the chamber, highlighting shifts and factions within the party. The vote also inches closer to crossing a line that Democratic Sen. John Fetterman says could cause him to abandon the party.

The amendment, which would have provided $3.3 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Israel, was offered by U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who has clashed with President Donald Trump and was the only member of his party to support the measure.

Massie’s amendment failed 104-314 vote, but it showed shifting sentiment around Israel in the Democratic Party.

U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, who represents parts of Philadelphia, was the Pennsylvania Democrat to vote against the amendment.

Boyle said that the U.S. should push back against the actions of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, but that the amendment was too broad to present a viable solution.

“This amendment would have forced the closure of the U.S. Embassy in Israel, ended refugee resettlement programs, cut off vital humanitarian and diplomatic efforts, and weakened our ability to combat terrorist organizations,” Boyle wrote in a statement to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “The United States must change course in response to the far-right Netanyahu government’s conduct, the settler violence, and the devastating suffering of Palestinian civilians. But this sweeping amendment was not the answer.”

The six other Pennsylvania Democrats supported the measure, while all Republicans present from the state voted no — while U.S. Reps. Scott Perry and Ryan Mackenzie missed the vote.

The share of Democrats voting for the amendment showed a striking difference from two years ago when a similar amendment from U.S. Rep. Summer Lee, a progressive from Pittsburgh, garnered only 37 Democratic votes and 21 GOP votes.

“Thousands and thousands of Palestinians have been killed using our tax dollars,” Lee wrote on X. “This shift in the party is a testament to the movement but it’s still unconscionable for any member of Congress to justify sending any aid to fuel Israel’s genocide.”

The Israel-Hamas war started in October 2021 after a Hamas-led attack killed 1,200 Israelis. Since then, the Palestinian death toll has surpassed 73,000, the Associated Press reported.

Fetterman, a staunch supporter of Israel, saying that though he has no current plans to leave the Democratic Party, ending support for Israel is a line that could push him out of the party.

“If our party ever becomes — and just makes it official — the anti-Israel party, that’s when I would leave because that’s been a moral clarity for me,” Fetterman said to The Hill Wednesday.

Fetterman has been insistent that he is still a Democrat, publishing an opinion piece in the Washington Post in May, emphasizing he is still “pro-choice, pro-weed, pro-LGBT, pro-SNAP, pro-labor and even pro-rib-eye over bio slop.”

But recently, more and more of Fetterman’s support has been coming from across the aisle.

According to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday, 77% of surveyed Republicans said they approve of Fetterman, while only 19% of Democrats do.

The poll also found that more than half of registered Pennsylvania voters want Fetterman to leave the Democratic Party altogether — a number that reflected from voters of both parties.

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