Several high-ranking congressional Democrats have denounced U.S. strikes on Iran and vowed to rein in the president’s ability to carry out further operations by invoking the War Powers Act. Their opposition to the attacks comes despite financial support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which has come out strongly in favor of toppling the Iranian regime.
Nine top Democrats — Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), Assistant Democratic Leader Rep. Joe Neguse (D-CO), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO), Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chairwoman Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE), Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), Democratic Caucus Chairman Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), and Minority Whip Rep. Katherine Clark (D-MA) — have issued stern criticisms of joint American-Israeli operations in Iran despite collectively accepting nearly $9 million from AIPAC in recent years, the Washington Examiner found.
Senior Democrats breaking with AIPAC, despite their strong financial ties to the organization, challenges widely held assumptions about the power AIPAC wields over the lawmakers it supports and sets the stage for a potential confrontation between Democrats and pro-Israel interests.
Most of the political contributions disbursed by AIPAC come from individual donors who use its website to select lawmakers endorsed by the group to support them financially. The interest group’s website makes clear that credit for the contribution goes to both the donor and AIPAC itself, thereby strengthening its ties with key officials by soliciting donations for them.
The chasm between some top Democrats and AIPAC is illustrated by their respective statements on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
“For years, the Iranian regime has posed a grave threat to the United States, to Israel, and to the world,” AIPAC’s statement on the strikes reads. “We commend President Trump’s determination in ensuring that the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism will never acquire a nuclear weapon.”
Clark, the second-highest-ranking Democrat in the House, meanwhile, insists that “families do not want another war” and that the “people of this country deserve better.” Clark, notably, faces primary challengers from people on the Left who are critical of Israel, highlighting her potential need for financial support from AIPAC.
AIPAC-funded Democratic critics of President Donald Trump’s intervention primarily criticize him for failing to obtain congressional approval beforehand, which they insist was legally required. While most agree that Iran is a malign actor on the global stage, many asserted that the choice to use military force against it was a mistake. Those that stopped short of categorically opposing military intervention, took issue with the way Trump carried out the strikes.
Hickenlooper even implied that Trump’s decision to attack Iran had a political angle.
“This unilateral action ignores most Americans’ desire to avoid endless foreign wars, creating the distinct impression of a calculated distraction from his domestic failures including the economy, [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] violence, and the unreleased Epstein files,” the senator said of the strikes.
Clark insists, alongside basically all of the AIPAC-funded Democratic leaders, that Congress should invoke the War Powers Act to curtail the president’s ability to command the military abroad.
Doing so, in the words of Jeffries, would “require that Donald Trump immediately terminate the use of any U.S. armed forces from any hostilities against Iran or any part of its government or military,” effectively hamstringing U.S. efforts.
“AIPAC has a longstanding policy of not taking positions on War Powers resolutions,” a spokesperson for the organization told the Washington Examiner. “We appreciate the many Republican and Democratic senators and representatives who have long worked to stop the Iranian regime’s nuclear and ballistic-missile programs and end its support for terror. As America and Israel work together to confront a shared enemy, we support our brave servicemembers and pray for their safety and success.“
The Washington Examiner included only House Democrats involved in leadership positions and senators in its analysis; however, a number of less senior AIPAC-funded Democrats also criticized the strikes on Iran.
Some Democrats who received AIPAC support were more receptive to the strikes.
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Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA), for instance, refrained from criticizing the operation on its merits in a statement released after the strike, instead offering stock criticisms of Trump and his administration. Lieu, who is a prolific critic of Trump on social media, has yet to mention the Iran strikes on his X accounts.
Warner, Neguse, Jeffries, Hickenlooper, DelBene, Coons, Booker, Aguilar, and Clark did not respond to requests for comment.