33 Democrats Break Ranks, Join GOP in Major House Vote

Thirty-three House Democrats broke with leadership Thursday and joined Republicans to pass a bill aimed at colleges that take part in boycotts of Israel. The vote was 237-169.

All but two Republicans backed it. Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Warren Davidson of Ohio voted no. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and 167 other Democrats opposed it.

The bill would cut federal funding to colleges that join a non-expressive commercial boycott of Israel. Schools that take federal money would also have to affirm that students are not unreasonably blocked from studying abroad in Israel.

Republicans say the point is protecting Jewish students from discrimination and intimidation. Opponents call it a First Amendment problem.

The split tracks a wider fight inside the Democratic coalition. Moderates worried about campus antisemitism are colliding with a left flank, including DSA activists, that treats hostility to Israel as a loyalty test.

The tension is not confined to the House. California Democrat Scott Wiener said anti-Israel protesters accused him of having “Israeli handlers” at a transgender-rights march — a classic antisemitic smear.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey co-led the bill against his own leadership. “The goal of the BDS movement is the destruction of the democratic State of Israel, America’s critical ally in the global fight against terror,” he said. “BDS has no place on college campuses or anywhere in our country.”

He pointed to students “facing death threats, being physically assaulted, and blocked from going to class simply for who they are.”

Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York said he opposes BDS but still voted against the bill. “The First Amendment right to free speech does not apply only to agreeable speech,” he said. “No matter how much I may disagree with BDS, and find it strategically stupid and morally repugnant, I will always fight to protect Americans’ right to speech with which I disagree.”

Rules Chairwoman Virginia Foxx of North Carolina rejected that framing. “They are discriminating against people of the Jewish faith,” she said. “Now is not the time for talk. It is the time for action.”

Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan called the measure “an attack on free speech and academic freedom, all in the name of defending a genocidal apartheid state.” She said a yes vote was “a betrayal of those promising young students.”

The midterms now have a clean split to campaign on: 33 Democrats walked away from Jeffries and helped put the bill through.