The exchange began after Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., criticized the growing influence of democratic socialists within the Democratic Party. He stated that the DSA are not Democrats, but socialists who want to hijack the party, in an X post on Monday.
Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., responded by accusing Gottheimer of being among the Democrats who "sign bombs and vote to drop them," apparently confusing him with Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro. Shapiro signed an artillery shell bound for Ukraine during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's visit to Pennsylvania.
Gottheimer pointed out the mistake, saying "You know that's the other Jewish guy named Josh, right?" The exchange then escalated with Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., defending Lee and accusing Gottheimer of voting to drop the bombs.
However, Gottheimer turned the accusation back on both lawmakers by pointing out that they had voted for a $60.8 billion Ukraine aid package, while Shapiro signed the Ukraine-bound artillery shell. He included a screenshot of the "Official House Roll Call" for the April 2024 vote on H.R. 8035.
The exchange comes as Gottheimer has accused his own party of applying a double standard to antisemitism. In a recent opinion piece, the Jewish congressman argued that Democrats condemn antisemitism from the right but are often silent when it emerges from the far left.
The intraparty divide has also widened over support for Israel. Reps. Lee and Omar were among 103 Democrats who voted for a failed amendment that would have prohibited funds in the underlying bill from being used for Israel and reduced the foreign military financing account by $3.3 billion. Gottheimer voted against the amendment.
