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More than a dozen House Democrats have signed a letter urging the Trump administration to officially recognize a Palestinian state, according to a draft seen by The Washington Post.
Addressing President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the lawmakers write that such recognition is necessary to fulfill the "legitimate national rights" of Palestinians and "ensure the state of Israel's survival." They also express support for removing Hamas, the militant group that controls Gaza, from power.
The letter, which had been signed by 13 House Democrats as of early Tuesday, builds on mounting international pressure to recognize a Palestinian state, after three major U.S. allies recently signaled willingness to do so, joining 140-plus U.N. member states that already do so.
"This is the moment for the United States to officially recognize a Palestinian state. All 22 states in the Arab League called for a non Hamas Palestinian state that recognizes Israel," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-California), who is leading efforts to gather signatories, said in a statement shared by email Tuesday morning. "We just started outreach this past week and plan to send the letter in September timed with the UN convening. The response has been overwhelming."
The letter was previously reported by Jewish Insider. Khanna said in a town hall video shared on social media that his letter had been leaked and that he suspected the leak was intended to keep other members of Congress from publicly endorsing the proposal.
Co-signatories, according to a list shared by Khanna's office, include Greg Casar (Texas), Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Veronica Escobar (Texas), Maxwell Frost (Florida), Al Green (Texas), Jared Huffman (California), Pramila Jayapal (Washington), Jim McGovern (Massachusetts), Chellie Pingree (Maine), Mark Pocan (Wisconsin), Nydia M. Velázquez (New York) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (New Jersey).
The letter is unlikely to alter the White House's position. Last week, Trump said he was "not in that camp," when asked about the prospect of recognizing Palestinian statehood. "You're rewarding Hamas if you do that. I don't think they should be rewarded," he told reporters.
As a political issue, the conflict is far more fraught among Democrats, who have been frequently divided since Hamas's Oct. 7, 2023, attack, than among Republicans.
Last year, the party's leadership largely staved off threats of disruption from pro-Palestinian delegates at the Democratic National Convention, but divisions within the party have continued to smolder.
In June, some Democrats expressed dismay - as others celebrated enthusiastically - when their party nominated Zohran Mamdani, an outspoken critic of Israel, for mayor of New York.
At a state level, bitter debates at party meetings point to a growing internal rift between the party's voters and its leaders on the issue. Last month, a Gallup poll found that the share of Democrats who support Israel's military actions in Gaza had dropped to 8 percent, down from 24 percent in September.
In December 2023 and January 2024, six Democrats co-sponsored a resolution supporting Palestinian statehood.
The letter comes after French President Emmanuel Macron said that Paris will recognize an independent Palestinian state in September at the U.N. General Assembly, writing in a post on social media that "the urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and to bring relief to the civilian population."
Days later, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said London will also recognize a Palestinian state in September - unless Israel agrees to a ceasefire and commits to a two-state solution.
Canada followed, with Prime Minister Mark Carney saying his country would recognize a Palestinian state at the U.N. General Assembly if the Palestinian Authority, which administers parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and is seen by most Western and Arab countries as the only viable alternative to Hamas, agrees to certain democratic reforms, including elections in 2026.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said recognizing a Palestinian state under the current geopolitical conditions risks creating another Iranian proxy in the region. He has indicated he plans to expand military operations to occupy the entire Gaza Strip as ceasefire negotiations appear to have reached an end, The Post reported.
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