Twilight for AOC: Leftist Darling Under Fire for Bucking MTG's Anti-Iron Dome Amendment

In a rare twist that flipped the usual partisan script, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) found herself under fire from her own radical base last week after siding against an amendment introduced by conservative firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

The amendment, aimed at cutting $500 million in funding for Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system from the 2026 Department of Defense Appropriations Act, was defeated in a landslide vote — 422 against, with only six in favor.

Among those few standing with Greene were Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), Al Green (D-TX), Summer Lee (D-PA), and libertarian-leaning Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY). Surprisingly absent from that coalition: AOC.

Despite her opposition to the final defense bill — which passed narrowly 221–209 — Ocasio-Cortez’s refusal to support Greene’s amendment sparked a storm of backlash from her own side. The fury reached a boiling point when her Bronx district office was vandalized by left-wing activists.

The Democratic Socialists of America — once one of AOC’s strongest allies — issued a searing rebuke. “An arms embargo means keeping all arms out of the hands of a genocidal military, no exceptions,” the group said in a July 19 statement. “This is why we oppose Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’ vote against an amendment that would have blocked $500 million in funding for the Israeli military’s Iron Dome program.”

They didn’t stop there. “While the Congresswoman voted against the defense appropriations bill itself… we were further deeply disappointed by her clarifying statement on her position on the Iron Dome,” DSA continued. “Along with other US-funded interceptor systems, the Iron Dome has emboldened Israel to invade or bomb no less than five different countries in the past two years.”

Notably, the DSA had already rescinded their endorsement of AOC last year after she hosted a panel that, in their view, failed the progressive purity test by “conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism” and opposing boycotts of “Zionist institutions,” according to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

In response to the escalating criticism, Ocasio-Cortez posted a defensive thread on X (formerly Twitter), downplaying the amendment’s impact. “Marjorie Taylor Greene’s amendment does nothing to cut off offensive aid to Israel nor end the flow of US munitions being used in Gaza. Of course I voted against it,” she wrote.

She added, “What it does do is cut off defensive Iron Dome capacities while allowing the actual bombs killing Palestinians to continue… I remain focused on cutting the flow of US munitions that are being used to perpetuate the genocide in Gaza.”

When criticism persisted, AOC snapped, posting: “Google is free. If you’re saying I voted for military funding, you are lying. Receipts attached. Drag me for my positions all you want, but lying about them doesn’t make you part of the ‘left.’”

Then came the kicker: “If you believe neo-nazis are welcome and operating in good faith, you can have them!” — a likely jab at Greene and her supporters, despite no evidence linking Greene to neo-Nazism.

It’s a surreal moment when AOC, long the standard-bearer for America’s socialist left, is now being labeled a sellout by the same radicals who once lifted her into office. As President Donald J. Trump continues restoring American leadership abroad, the left can’t even decide who’s pure enough to speak.