Pete Aguilar
D · U.S. House, CA-33 · Tier 1/2
Tier 1/2, between “Firmly pro-Israel” and “Mainstream pro-Israel”
Chair of the House Democratic Caucus, who called the July 2026 Massie amendment “the wrong approach to U.S. policy in the Middle East” that, by “undermining the Obama-led Memorandum of Understanding,” would “sabotage our ultimate goal of a two-state solution” and risk “cutting off humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people,” adding: “In the future, we will have the opportunity to review the nature and scope of our direct security and diplomatic assistance to Israel, but we should not do it as part of a rushed response to a poorly-drafted amendment to one appropriations bill.” In April 2024 he pressed for “aid to Israel, humanitarian assistance for the people in Gaza and aid for Ukraine,” saying “our support for the safety and security of the Israeli people will never waver,” and voted for that package and the Antisemitism Awareness Act; he voted Present on H.Res.894 and against the bill to force the paused bomb shipment (H.R.8369), the 2024 ICC-sanctions bill and the September 2026 anti-boycott bill, and cosponsored the West Bank Violence Prevention Act (Jul 2026). He was one of three senior members on the American Israel Education Foundation’s August 2025 trip to Israel with 11 freshman Democrats, and on the October 2025 hostage release hoped for “a safer and more secure future for Israel and Gaza.”
A 1/2, open to a flat 2. He votes with his party’s leadership — the 2024 aid package and No on Massie, but Present on H.Res.894 and No on H.R.8369, ICC sanctions and the anti-boycott bill — and in September 2025 signed, with most House Democrats, the letter opposing unilateral annexation of the West Bank. His leadership post is the party’s, not an Israel caucus, so there is no leadership on the issue; accompanying the AIPAC-affiliated foundation’s 2025 trip is support, not leadership. What holds him short of a flat 2 is that his words on Gaza’s civilians come paired with arming Israel: in April 2024 he sought “humanitarian assistance for the people in Gaza” in the same breath as aid to Israel and support that “will never waver,” and his Massie statement lists lost humanitarian aid to Palestinians as one cost of cutting Israel’s military financing. Counter-case for a flat 2: his July 2026 cosponsorship of the West Bank Violence Prevention Act, which sanctions those behind violence against West Bank civilians, together with the Massie statement’s openness to reviewing security assistance — though he deferred that review to a later, unhurried process.
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elect26 places 2026 midterm candidates on a six-tier spectrum, from 1 (most pro-Israel) to 6 (most critical of Israel).