A social media attack by two far-left House Democrats on moderate Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey backfired after one confused him with another Jewish Democrat named Josh, and a New Jersey centrist used their votes for Ukraine aid to turn the exchange back on them. The clash erupted after Gottheimer criticized the growing influence of democratic socialists within the Democratic Party.
“The DSA are not Democrats. They’re socialists, who want to hijack the Democratic Party,” Gottheimer wrote in an X post Monday. “The Democrats have a big tent. That’s our strength. We embrace a range of ideas — but there’s no room for anti-American bomb-throwers who oppose our ideas, values, and leaders.” The next day, Representative Summer Lee of Pennsylvania fired back by accusing him of being among the Democrats who “sign bombs and vote to drop them,” apparently confusing Gottheimer with Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro. Shapiro, not Gottheimer, signed an artillery shell bound for Ukraine during President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s 2024 visit to Pennsylvania, as Fox News Digital reported in September 2024.
“You know that’s the other Jewish guy named Josh, right?” Gottheimer said in response to Lee. “Squad” Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota then jumped in to defend Lee, writing that Shapiro had signed “the bombs you voted to be dropped.” Neither Omar nor Lee identified a specific vote, but Gottheimer turned the accusation back on both lawmakers by pointing out that they had voted for a $60.8 billion Ukraine aid package before Shapiro signed the Ukraine-bound artillery shell. “Ilhan, you know who else voted for it?” Gottheimer said in response, including a screenshot of the “Official House Roll Call” for the April 2024 vote on H.R. 8035. “You.”
The exchange comes as Gottheimer has increasingly accused his own party of applying a double standard to antisemitism. In a May New York Times opinion piece, the Jewish congressman argued that Democrats routinely condemn antisemitism from the political right but are too often silent when it emerges from the far left, calling the disparity a “glaring double standard.” That intraparty divide has also widened over support for Israel. According to the official House roll call, Lee and Omar were among 103 Democrats who voted last week for a failed amendment from Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky 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.
This incident highlights ongoing tensions within the Democratic Party between its moderate and progressive wings, particularly on issues related to Israel and foreign policy. The “Squad,” a group of progressive House Democrats including Lee and Omar, has frequently clashed with more centrist members over U.S. support for Israel and military aid to Ukraine. Gottheimer, a co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, has positioned himself as a vocal critic of the far left within his party, often calling for a more unified stance against antisemitism and for stronger support for Israel.
Fox News Digital reached out to the offices of Gottheimer, Lee, and Omar for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication. The episode underscores the deepening fractures among House Democrats as they navigate internal debates over foreign policy, party identity, and the role of progressive activism in the 2024 election cycle.
