A group of a dozen Senate Democrats, led by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), wrote to House and Senate leaders on Tuesday urging them to remove provisions on U.S.-Israel military and intelligence cooperation from the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.

The lawmakers said that the provisions would “constrain the administration’s ability to independently determine how best to protect U.S. national security and would lock in long-term commitments despite our serious concerns with the Israeli government’s actions in Gaza, the West Bank, and other parts of the region.”

The Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia blasted Rep.-elect Chris Rabb (D-PA) in a statement to Jewish Insider on Tuesday for his continued silence about the antisemitic bicycle rally that targeted Jewish- and Israeli-owned businesses in the heart of Philadelphia last weekend.

The federation said it is “deeply troubled” by Rabb’s continued silence when officials up and down the state had spoken out against the antisemitic nature of the event. “His silence is therefore not simply a missed opportunity to comment on a troubling incident. It raises a fundamental question about how he intends to represent and stand up for all of his constituents, including Philadelphia’s Jewish community,” the federation said.

Rep.-elect Adam Hamawy (D-NJ), an outspoken critic of Israel, repeatedly declined on Tuesday to describe Iran as an adversary of the United States, arguing that Washington had pushed Tehran into the ongoing conflict and suggesting that both countries bear responsibility for the hostilities.

During an appearance on CNN’s “Situation Room,” anchor Pamela Brown repeatedly pressed Hamawy on whether he considered Iran an American adversary. Rather than answering directly, Hamawy argued that the United States had contributed to the conflict.

David Axelrod, the longtime Democratic strategist and former senior advisor to President Barack Obama, downplayed concerns on Tuesday that the Democratic Socialists of America could take over the Democratic Party, arguing that progressive candidates such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani won primarily on economic issues rather than opposition to Israel.

Speaking at the Jewish Federations of North America’s annual General Assembly in Washington, Axelrod said the newly elected Democratic congressional caucus would give House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) sufficient room to prevent the party’s progressive wing from dominating its agenda.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that the Trump administration’s economic pressure campaign against Iran has proved so effective that renewed major military operations are unnecessary for now, signaling a continued focus on sanctions enforcement and the naval blockade while asserting that the U.S. remained ready to act if needed.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the G7 summit in France, Rubio said he had told U.S. allies that “at this point, the economic campaign and the pressure and the devastation that our economic campaign is having on the Iranian regime is working so well that the president really doesn’t have any need to conduct major combat operations.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attacked Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) on Tuesday in response to the outgoing lawmaker’s efforts to impeach him over his handling of the war with Iran and broader U.S. military operations. 

Hegseth called the effort a personal vendetta, while mounting a robust defense of the administration’s national security record.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a rising star in the GOP, says she believes President Donald Trump was right to launch the U.S. war against Iran, rejecting the argument made by Vice President JD Vance that the GOP’s midterm losses were a sign of voters’ desire for the party to end the war and rethink its relationship with Israel.

Sanders, whose name is being floated as a possible 2028 Republican presidential contender, made the comments in an interview with Jewish Insider ahead of the Tuesday release of her book, Unapologetic: Clarity and Conviction in a World Gone Crazy, after being asked about voters’ economic concerns outweighing their support for the president’s war on the Iranian regime.  

A policy platform released by J Street on Monday calls for the U.S. to pause arms transfers to Israel and to place conditions on any future defense and technology cooperation programs with the Jewish state.

The policies largely aren’t new for J Street, but they represent a unified agenda for the group in the coming Congress and are likely to be influential within the substantial Democratic majority coming to Capitol Hill. The group’s president, Jeremy Ben-Ami, declared after last week’s midterms that the election results were a “resounding victory” for the group and place it at the “center” of the party’s approach to Israel policy.