Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Republicans were teeing up bills "designed purposefully to increase the likelihood of a deadly regional war."
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to condemn Iran's recent missile and drone attack on Israel.
13 progressive House Democrats voted against the resolution along with Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, a non-interventionist libertarian who often opposes these types of resolutions.
The attack, the first-ever launched from Iranian soil, came in response to an Israel's bombing of an Iranian consular facility in Syria on April 1. The attack was largely foiled as a result of both American forces and Israeli missile defense systems.
In response to Sunday's attack, House Republicans teed up a barrage of resolutions and bills this week that took aim at Iran while affirming US support for Israel.
That included a series of bills to ratchet up sanctions on Iran and its proxies in the Middle East, as well as a resolution condemning the pro-Palestinian slogan "from the river to the sea" as antisemitic, which 44 House Democrats voted against.
Most of those bills garnered broad bipartisan support, but a small cohort of progressive Democrats opposed most or all of them.
In a statement on Tuesday, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York accused Republicans of attempting to "distract from their own incompetence" by bringing bills "designed purposefully to increase the likelihood of a deadly regional war."
"I will oppose any cynical effort to further inflame tensions, destroy a path to peace in the region, and further divide the American people," said Ocasio-Cortez. Other progressives issued statements calling for de-escalation in the region more broadly.
Thursday's resolution also included a clause affirming the US's "commitment to Israel's security, including through security assistance and defense sales."
As the death toll from Israel's war in Gaza has mounted, progressives have increased called for conditioning — or outright refusing — further military aid to Israel. Democrats are also increasingly likely to view Israel's actions in Gaza as a genocide.
Here are the 13 House Democrats who voted against the resolution:
Jamaal Bowman of New York
Cori Bush of Missouri
Greg Casar of Texas
Jonathan Jackson of Illinois
Pramila Jayapal of Washington
Hank Johnson of Georgia
Barbara Lee of California
Summer Lee of Pennsylvania
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
Ilhan Omar of Minnesota
Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts
Delia Ramirez of Illinois
Rashida Tlaib of Michigan
