A lone House Republican and more than a dozen Democrats voted in opposition to a resolution celebrating the U.S.-Israel relationship and the expansion and strengthening of the Abraham Accords peace agreements.
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., joined 18 Democrats in voting nay on the resolution Tuesday night, which passed after receiving 401 votes in favor. Fifteen representatives chose not to vote.
“Ultimately it didn’t make sense for me to vote for a bill that praises the foreign aid that I’ve voted against for the past ten years.” Massie told Fox News Digital in a statement.
The resolution, H. Res. 311, is aimed at “Encouraging the expansion and strengthening of the Abraham Accords to urge other nations to normalize relations with Israel and ensure that existing agreements reap tangible security and economic benefits for the citizens of those countries and all peoples in the region.”
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Rep. Thomas Massie, shown here at a House Rules Committee meeting at the U.S. Capitol in June 2022, was the only House Republican to vote against the Israel resolution Tuesday night. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)
The historic Abraham Accords, brokered by the Trump administration in 2020, saw Israel sign peace deals with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco and Sudan.
May 14 this year marks the 75th anniversary of the establishment of the state of Israel, with Wednesday being the corresponding date on the Hebrew calendar. In 1948, the U.S officially recognized Israel as a state.
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From left to right, Reps. Ayanna Pressley, D-Massachusetts, Ilhan Omar, D-Minnesota, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, were among the Democrats who voted against the resolution. (Alex Wroblewski/Getty Images)
The resolution “encourages the United States and Israel to continue to deepen and expand bilateral cooperation across the full spectrum of economic, security, and civilian issues” and “expresses continued support for security assistance to Israel as outlined in the United States-Israel Memorandum of Understanding to ensure that Israel can defend itself by itself.”
It also calls for support of “Israel’s robust involvement as an active member of the community of nations to benefit Israel and the United States as partners who share common values and a commitment to democracy.”
People watch an air show during Israel’s Independence Day celebrations in Tel Aviv on Wednesday, April 26. (AP/Oded Balilty)
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The Democrats who voted nay on the resolution alongside Massie were Reps. Jamaal Bowman of New York, Cori Bush of Missouri, Andre Carson of Indiana, Mark DeSaulnier of California, Jesus Garcia of Illinois, Summer Lee of Pennsylvania, Betty McCollum of Missouri, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, Rashida Tlaib of Michigan, and Nydia Velazquez of New York.
All the Democrats besides McCollum are members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
Fox News’ Ben Evansky contributed to this report.
