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By Steve Mollman
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is facing renewed scrutiny over the political support he has received from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or AIPAC, as he seeks to become the next speaker of the House.
The New York Democrat announced his candidacy for speaker after Democrats won control of the House in Tuesday's midterm elections. But some incoming progressive lawmakers have stopped short of backing him, while a petition urging House Democrats to choose a different candidate has attracted hundreds of thousands of signatures.
Jeffries' support for Israel has emerged as one of the issues dividing him from parts of the Democratic Party's progressive wing. Campaign finance data compiled by OpenSecrets shows that Jeffries has received substantial support from pro-Israel donors over his congressional career, although figures for the wider pro-Israel donor network should not be conflated with contributions specifically associated with AIPAC.
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Newsweek has contacted Jeffries' office, AIPAC and OpenSecrets for comment.
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Did Hakeem Jeffries Meet with Jared Kushner?
Jeffries met privately with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law, in August, a meeting that drew criticism from some progressives. The two discussed areas including housing, immigration and the cost of living.
Kushner does not hold a formal government position but has represented the Trump administration in international negotiations, including over Gaza.
The meeting became one of the complaints cited by Nicole Whitted, the creator of a petition urging House Democrats not to elect Jeffries as speaker. Whitted told Newsweek that Jeffries' relationships and political decisions raised questions for her about "transparency, political influence, and whose interests Democratic leadership is ultimately serving."
There is no evidence that Jeffries' meeting with Kushner was connected to AIPAC or campaign contributions, and the reported subjects of their conversation were domestic policy issues.
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How Much Has AIPAC Donated to Hakeem Jeffries?
The answer depends on what is being counted.
For the 2025-2026 election cycle, OpenSecrets lists $49,565 in contributions associated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee among the organizations supporting Jeffries. AIPAC ranked third on that list, behind Capital Group Companies and the Mortgage Bankers Association.
OpenSecrets told Newsweek on Friday that the roughly $49,000 attributed to AIPAC represents money from individual donors whose contributions were facilitated via the organization, rather than money donated directly by AIPAC. It said it groups those contributions under the AIPAC umbrella because AIPAC facilitated them. Jeffries separately received $11,700 in direct contributions from AIPAC's PAC, according to OpenSecrets.
The amount becomes considerably larger when the definition is expanded beyond AIPAC.
OpenSecrets lists $314,810 from the broader pro-Israel category among the industries contributing to Jeffries during the 2025-2026 election cycle. That made pro-Israel interests his third-largest industry source, behind Democratic/liberal interests and lobbyists and public-relations interests.
A separate OpenSecrets historical table puts Jeffries' total from pro-Israel PACs and individuals at $1,741,230 through the 2024 election cycle. That placed Jeffries 11th among the top 20 recipients listed and slightly ahead of fellow New York Democrat Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, at $1,727,974.
However, the $1.74 million figure is not an AIPAC-only total. OpenSecrets says the historical figures cover contributions from PACs and individuals associated with the broader pro-Israel category, and warns that the money does not simply represent contributions directly from organizations themselves.
Sludge reported that AIPAC PAC sent two payments totaling $149,300 to Jeffries' joint fundraising committee, the Jeffries Battleground Protection Fund, in May. Both were earmarked by hedge fund billionaire Daniel Och, and Sludge described the combined payments as the largest earmarked donation in AIPAC PAC's history.
The AIPAC-associated broader pro-Israel and joint fundraising committee figures measure different streams of political money and should not be added together to produce a single total that AIPAC donated directly to Jeffries.
Hakeem Jeffries Approval Rating
Jeffries' standing with the public has been mixed, even as he has emerged as the overwhelming favorite to lead the new Democratic House majority.
A Civiqs national tracking survey, with data through November 4, found that 23 percent of registered voters viewed Jeffries favorably and 56 percent unfavorably, while 21 percent were unsure.
Jeffries has nevertheless retained support from prominent Democrats across the party, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, one of the country's best-known progressives and a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
At the same time, Jeffries has faced resistance from some incoming progressive House Democrats. When asked whether she would support him, Colorado Representative-elect Melat Kiros, a democratic socialist, said she would not support “anyone for leadership who takes corporate PAC money,” describing that as a rule she would apply to Democratic leadership generally. William Lawrence, a progressive elected to represent Michigan's 7th Congressional District, said before the election that he hoped to have an alternative to Jeffries.
Hakeem Jeffries Stance on Israel: What He Has Said
Jeffries has been a consistent supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship and of American security assistance to Israel while also supporting a two-state solution and criticizing aspects of the Israeli government's policies.
That position has increasingly put him at odds with a substantial number of House Democrats as attitudes toward Israel within the party have shifted.
In July, Jeffries opposed an amendment from Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky that would have removed roughly $3.3 billion in Foreign Military Financing for Israel from a State Department spending bill. Jeffries described the amendment as "overly broad," arguing that its impact would extend beyond military assistance.
But in a July letter to Democratic colleagues, Jeffries said that "for the good of Israel and the Palestinian people, American policy in the Middle East must change." He argued that there were "more decisive ways to achieve the urgent change necessary when it comes to the far-right Netanyahu government."
The amendment failed 314-104, but more than half of House Democrats voted for it, underscoring the growing divide within the party over U.S. military support for Israel.
Jeffries has described the House Democratic Caucus as strongly pro-Israel and has opposed efforts to broadly eliminate U.S. assistance to the country. At the same time, he supports a two-state solution and has called for a change in U.S. policy toward Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.
Those divisions could become more consequential if Jeffries becomes speaker in January, when Democratic control of the House will give the party greater power over spending and foreign policy oversight.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Kate Nalepinski and Dave Siminoff.
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