Netanyahu's massive problem with Democrats

IN THIS EDITION

Israel losing Dem support amid Gaza crisis

Big Tech woos China hawk influencers

The Vault: Republicans icy to tariff checks

GOP super PACs outraised Dem groups – and a new ad buy in Maine

Stevens presses DHS for answers on anti-terrorism official

THE TOP

Israel losing Dem support amid Gaza crisis

Happy Friday morning. Welcome to August.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s prosecution of the war against Hamas in Gaza is driving an unprecedented number of Senate Democrats to support measures blocking weapons sales to the longtime U.S. ally.

Once backed by just a handful of progressives, Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-Vt.) months-long effort to block the transfer of certain offensive weapons to Israel now has the support of more than half the Senate Democratic Caucus. It’s also a position that’s more aligned with the Democratic base.

The Democratic shift comes amid international condemnation of Israel’s handling of the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza. There are widespread reports of children dying from starvation due to what Palestinians describe as an Israeli blockade of humanitarian aid corridors.

“I think members of the Democratic Caucus are catching on,” Sanders said Thursday.

The newcomers. On Wednesday night, 27 Senate Democrats voted to block the sale of 20,000 fully-automatic assault rifles to Israel’s national police. In a subsequent vote, 24 Democrats voted to block the sale of heavy-grade munitions.

All Republicans opposed both resolutions.

Sanders’ previous bids to cut off weapons sales to Israel netted less than 20 Democratic votes. Sanders can force such votes whenever the Trump administration notifies Congress of a new arms sale.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), who’s long backed these resolutions, said many of his Democratic colleagues didn’t want their votes to be “misinterpreted” as a vote against Israel, but added they now believe it’s necessary to send a message to Netanyahu’s government.

“There’s such a strong historical commitment the Senate has made to Israel that is being challenged now by what the Netanayhu government is doing and how appalling it is,” Welch told us. “All of us are appalled at what Hamas did. All of us want the hostages home.”

For some Democrats, it’s not necessarily that they support the underlying policy of cutting off weapons, but rather they see a “yes” vote as a way to register opposition to Netanyahu’s conduct of the now nearly 22-month conflict. It’s also a warning shot as other close U.S. allies are responding to the Gaza crisis by threatening to formally recognize an independent Palestinian state.

“You have to start making it clear that this is not OK anymore,” said Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who previously opposed Sanders’ push but voted “yes” this week.

More from Klobuchar:

Klobuchar said she brought up the deteriorating humanitarian situation with Netanyahu during a recent meeting in the Capitol, but “it didn’t work very well when I said it.”

“At some point, you’ve got to seek change. And I think this is one way you can do it,” Klobuchar added of the disapproval resolutions. “I have supported Israel’s right to defend itself, I always will. But they aren’t changing.”

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), another first-time supporter, said that while the resolution was “imperfect,” the Senate must tell Netanyahu and President Donald Trump that “we’ve got to bring this war to an end, we’ve got to bring those hostages home, we’ve got to surge food and other supplies into Gaza.”

At least one politically vulnerable Democrat backed the push, too. Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.), who supported a disapproval resolution in November 2024 but opposed another in April, voted in favor of one of the resolutions Wednesday. Ossoff is the most at-risk Democrat in 2026.

“I think there’s overwhelming public concern, sadness and outrage at the starvation of children,” Ossoff said when asked what he’s been hearing from constituents after his vote for Sanders’ resolutions.

Ossoff has drawn heat from local Jewish community leaders over his past support for Sanders’ anti-Israel resolutions as he’s trying to walk a fine line running for reelection in a purple state. The NRSC went after Ossoff following his votes Wednesday night.

Long time coming. Polling has shown that Democratic voters are aligning more with Palestinians than Israelis. The shift is especially dramatic among younger Democrats, who overwhelmingly oppose Israel’s actions.

In New York, where Democratic voters just nominated Zohran Mamdani for mayor, a vast majority of primary voters say they believe Israel is committing genocide in Gaza.

But many top Senate Democrats are still uncomfortable voting to cut off offensive weapons sales.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer helped lead an effort of more than 40 Senate Democrats calling on the Trump administration to do more to alleviate the suffering in Gaza.

Schumer, however, opposed Sanders’ resolutions, arguing that “security assistance to Israel is not about any one government but about our support for the Israeli people.”

GOP response. Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso touted Republicans’ unity on the issue. Barrasso said it’s a “sad state of affairs for the world that the Democrats continue to show how extreme they are.”

Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Steve Witkoff, Trump’s top diplomatic negotiator, are scheduled to be in Gaza today. The senior officials are expected to tour aid distribution centers.

Some Senate Republicans are interested in hearing from Huckabee and Witkoff following today’s tour. Both men are regularly in touch with GOP senators.

“I’d like to see if they can bring back ground truths about the children in Gaza,” said Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Roger Wicker (R-Miss.).

— Andrew Desiderio, Max Cohen and Anthony Cruz

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The Vault: Republicans icy to tariff checks

President Donald Trump’s pitch for a new round of government checks is falling flat on the Hill.

Republican lawmakers across the political spectrum aren’t jazzed about the idea of sending Americans a “rebate check” from fresh tariff revenue, which could surge thanks to Trump’s trade wars. Trump signed an executive order Thursday slapping a slate of countries with new tariffs ahead of today’s trade deal deadline.

The lack of enthusiasm for the rebate checks underscores just how hard it would be for the GOP to unite around another reconciliation push soon, though Speaker Mike Johnson keeps talking it up.

Debt-focused skeptics. The biggest problem for the new Trump idea is it goes against the ethos of conservatives who are already itching to slash more federal spending.

“No. We’re $37 trillion in debt,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said. “We’re running deficits about $2 trillion. Once we have the budget balanced, fine.”

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) echoed that sentiment, saying it’s a “great idea” but only once the budget is balanced.

“It’s one idea,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) said. “I’d like to see the increased revenues applied towards reducing our debts.”

There’s skepticism in the House, too.

“As we are seeing benefits of our economic decisions and growth in the economy or additional revenue from sources that we didn’t necessarily expect, I would like to see a lot of that paying down the debt,” said Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-Texas), a Ways and Means Committee member.

More concerns. Debt worries aren’t the only factor.

GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski pointed to takeaways from her home state of Alaska’s decades-old fund that distributes money stemming from oil and mineral royalties.

Here’s Murkowski:

There were also Republicans hesitant about some of Trump’s campaign-trail tax cut ideas, like no tax on tips. When it became clear those were the White House’s priority in the tax bill, resistance eventually washed away.

So the GOP mood could shift if Trump makes a bigger push for rebate checks. Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) already backed up Trump’s idea with a bill for checks of $600 or more. But the push isn’t going anywhere for now.

“I don’t think there’s been conversation around that just yet,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said this week.

Subscribe to The Vault for more tax and financial services coverage.

— Laura Weiss

THE CAMPAIGN

GOP super PACs outraised Dem groups – and a new ad buy in Maine

The main House and Senate Republican super PACs both outraised their Democratic counterparts in the first six months of 2025.

It’s Aug. 1, which means super PACs and various other political vehicles were supposed to file their mid-year reports.

Here are the toplines:

The Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC endorsed by Speaker Mike Johnson, raised $32.7 million and has the same amount in the bank. Elon Musk gave $5 million at the end of June. Paul Singer gave $2 million. Mountaire Farms Chairman Ronald Cameron gave $1 million. Banking heir Timothy Mellon gave $1 million, as did Occidental Petroleum. American Action Network, an affiliated nonprofit, transferred $1.5 million.

House Majority PAC, the Democratic leadership-aligned group, raised $21.2 million and has $22 million in the bank. House Majority Forward, an affiliated dark-money group, transferred $6 million. Reed Hastings gave $1.7 million and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker gave $1 million.

Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC linked to Senate Majority Leader John Thune, raised $26.5 million and has $29.8 million on hand. The group has no outstanding debt.

SLF got $1 million from Warren Stephens, a big-time GOP donor who has bankrolled Republican super PACs for years. Stephens is now ambassador to the United Kingdom. The American Petroleum Institute gave $1 million, as did ConocoPhillips. Venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz both gave $125,000.

Senate Majority PAC, a super PAC endorsed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, raised $17.4 million and has $13.6 million on hand. It also has $20.8 million in debt. Majority Forward, a nonprofit aligned with the group, transferred $2 million. Real estate broker George Marcus gave $1 million.

Also: MAGA KY, the Trump-backed super PAC targeting Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), raised $2 million: $1 million from Singer, $250,000 from John Paulson and $750,000 from Miriam Adelson’s PAC.

Backup for Collins in Maine. Stronger America, a 501(c)(4), is running a new $2 million ad in Maine supporting Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine). The spot highlights Collins’ work on Social Security. The ad is running in Portland, Bangor and Presque Isle on broadcast, cable and digital. The C4 is blessed by Collins political world.

More Senate ads: Senate Opportunity Fund, a 501(c)(4) affiliated with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, launched an ad on streaming services slamming Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) for voting to raise taxes. The spot is backed by a $250,000 buy.

The group also aired a spot touting Sen. Dan Sullivan’s (R-Alaska) work on Medicaid and border security. The group has shifted its focus to issue advocacy and plans to air ads in several key states during 2025 touting top policy issues ahead of the midterms.

— Ally Mutnick and Jake Sherman

HOUSE DEMS

Stevens presses DHS for answers on anti-terrorism official

Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.) is continuing to press the Department of Homeland Security for answers on why a 22-year-old was appointed to a top anti-terrorism post.

Stevens sent an initial letter in mid-July asking why DHS tapped Thomas Fugate, a former Trump campaign aide and recent college graduate, to lead the Center for Prevention Programs and Partnerships.

Some news: DHS Secretary Kristi Noem responded to Stevens on Monday and sidestepped any mention of Fugate. Instead, Noem invited Stevens to take advantage of $2.6 billion in federal grants “for enhancing our collective security and emergency preparedness.”

Stevens hits back: Stevens replied in a new letter sent Friday that upbraids Noem for dodging her inquiries. Stevens is setting a deadline of Aug. 8 to receive information, arguing it’s vital for her constituents to know more about how the White House is combating “the growing threat of political violence.”

Stevens is running for Senate in Michigan and is the only federal lawmaker in the Democratic primary.

— Max Cohen

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