The American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC, will stop endorsing candidates, donating directly to PACs, and allocating donations to candidates. The shift is a reversal of the strategy adopted five years ago by influential pro-Israel groups in the face of growing political resistance.
The changes were announced Wednesday in a letter to members obtained by CNBC. According to the letter, AIPAC will continue to operate its super PAC, the United Democracy Project, while focusing on mobilizing individual donors to donate directly to candidates.
Jewish Insider was the first to report the change.
“We aim to dramatically expand our political engagement as a community and increase the direct impact of our activists. That will be our focus over the next two years,” AIPAC spokesperson Delin Souza told CNBC in a statement.
But in a letter, the group called 2026 “one of the most challenging environments in recent memory” and warned that those challenges “will continue to grow.”
The overhaul would remove some of AIPAC’s most visible political activities, while retaining its ability to mobilize large sums of money. It is also possible that AIPAC’s influence will be less visible in campaign finance records. Donations sent through the group are currently disclosed as AIPAC-designated donations, but direct donations from its members do not receive the same label.
The distinction is important because AIPAC support has become a heavy liability in some Democratic primaries amid the Gaza war, with candidates attacking rivals for accepting AIPAC aid and some lawmakers pledging to reject funds tied to AIPAC.
A Pew Research Center survey this year found that 80% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents have a negative view of Israel, up from 53% in 2022.
AIPAC deployed about $105.1 million this quarter through traditional PACs and affiliated super PACs, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings. Its United Democracy Project reported $53.4 million in independent spending through the end of September, according to FEC filings.
AIPAC’s traditional PAC became the nation’s largest PAC contributor to candidates and other political committees in 2025, contributing $26.8 million, according to FEC data. That was more than four times the $6.1 million given by the next largest donor, the National Association of Realtors PAC.
AIPAC’s biggest intervention of the cycle was also a major defeat. Its United Democratic Projects super PAC spent more than $30 million supporting Rep. Haley Stevens in the Michigan Democratic Senate primary against Abdul El-Sayed, who narrowly won the nomination, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings.
Super PACs also spent millions of dollars in House primaries against Democrats Cori Bush and Tom Malinowski and Republican Thomas Massey. He spent more than $3 million on Mr. Bush’s campaign, about $2.3 million against Mr. Malinowski and more than $4 million in the Kentucky primary, which Mr. Massie lost, according to a CNBC analysis of FEC filings.
According to the letter, the United Democracy Project will continue to operate even as AIPAC ends candidate endorsements, direct PAC contributions, and allocations, while preserving AIPAC’s ability to raise unlimited funds for independent political spending.
