MAGA Republican's Fight With Pro-Israel Group Heats Up

Representative Thomas Massie hit out at a pro-Israel lobbying group running advertisements criticizing his opposition to providing Israel military aid.

Massie, a Kentucky Republican, is among a handful of lawmakers opposing military aid to Israel amid its war with Hamas, citing his concerns about the economic impact Republican leadership's $14.5 billion aid package would have on Americans. His opposition sparked pushback from the pro-Israel lobby, including the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), a major political donor that has donated tens of millions of dollars into elections in recent campaign cycles.

The AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project is running advertisements targeting Massie in his northern Kentucky Congressional district. The advertisement compares his votes to progressive Democratic Representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, members of the so-called "Squad," calling his record on Israel a "disgrace."

Massie responded to the advertisement Thursday night in a post X, formerly Twitter, writing: "Why does Israel historically get more foreign aid than any other country? Because they have the most aggressive lobbyists working for them. I voted NOT to send another $14.3 billion overseas, so now they're running ads on radio, TV, and [F]acebook. I won't vote to give them your $."

A spokesperson for AIPAC responded to Massie in a statement to Newsweek.

"It is a simple fact that Representative Massie is aligned with the most extremist fringe in Congress by refusing to stand with Israel in its fight against Hamas. We will not be deterred by his malicious attacks in our work as citizen activists supporting America's ally, Israel," the statement reads.

A spokesperson for the United Democracy Project told Newsweek in a statement that Massie is "crazily out of step with even his own party" on the issue of Israel aid. Newsweek reached out to Massie's campaign via email for comment.

Massie downplayed the significance of the PAC targeting him in an interview with The Guardian.

"I don't think [the pro-Israel] lobby can beat me, and they definitely can't beat me with this topic," he said.

AIPAC has spent millions of dollars on lobbying and direct campaign contributions in recent election cycles. It donated more than $13 million ahead of the 2022 midterms alone, according to OpenSecrets, an organization that tracks campaign finance.

The lobbyist group directly donated $4,766,099 to Republicans and $7,932,728 to Democrats in 2022, according to OpenSecrets. Their spending on Congressional races skyrocketed that year, and the group has gone back and forth between donating more to Democrats and Republicans over the years.

It also gave $10.5 million to the United Democracy Project, which spent more than $32 million ahead of the midterms.

Massie has not been a recipient of AIPAC's donations.

He previously explained his opposition to Israel aid in an October statement to Newsweek.

"My position of 'no foreign aid' might sound extreme to some, but I think it's extreme to bankrupt our country and put future generations of Americans in hock to our creditors," Massie said.

United Democracy Project is a Super PAC, meaning it can legally raise an unlimited amount of funds but may not donate to individual candidates. It states that its mission is to elect candidates who believe the United States' allyship with Israel "benefits both countries."

The Super PAC is also running advertisements against progressive Democratic Representatives Summer Lee of Pennsylvania and Jamaal Bowman of New York, both of whom have called for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. AIPAC has also pledged to spend $100 million to defeat Democrats they view as anti-Israel.