Daily Kickoff
TOP TALKER — Iran Bill Passes Senate Side Of The Hill 98-1: “Q: What does the bill do? The legislation would require President Obama to submit any deal with Iran to Congress within five days, and would prevent the president from waiving sanctions on Iran for 30 days while Congress initially reviewed a final agreement to diminish Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Lawmakers would then be able to vote on whether to disapprove of the deal, or they could take no action. If Congress passed a resolution rejecting any agreement, Mr. Obama would have 12 days to veto the measure. If he vetoed it, Congress would have 10 days to try to override his veto, which requires a two-thirds majority.” [WSJ]
“House conservatives target Iran nuclear bill” by Lauren French and Jake Sherman: “Picking up where Sens. Tom Cotton and Marco Rubio left off, House conservatives plan to press House GOP leaders to allow a series of hard-to-oppose amendments to the Iran nuclear review bill. The roughly 30-member Freedom Caucus plans to press Boehner and House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on the Iran bill when the House returns from recess Tuesday, sources said. Boehner and the Republican leadership will decide how many amendments to allow votes on, if any.” [Politico]
White House’s Statement: “We have been clear that the bill passed out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last month was the kind of reasonable and acceptable compromise that the president would be willing to sign. We were pleased to see that what just overwhelmingly passed the Senate stayed true to that bipartisan compromise and we are hopeful that the House will similarly protect this compromise bill, which constitutes a straightforward, fair process for Congress to be able to evaluate a final comprehensive deal.”
The One No Vote – Sen. Tom Cotton: “A nuclear-arms agreement with any adversary—especially the terror-sponsoring, Islamist Iranian regime—should be submitted as a treaty and obtain a two-thirds majority vote in the Senate as required by the Constitution. President Obama wants to reverse this rule, requiring opponents to get a two-thirds vote to stop his dangerous deal. But Congress should not accept this usurpation, nor allow the president any grounds to claim that Congress blessed his nuclear deal.” [PressRelease]
Bill Kristol: “Corker-Cardin passes 98-1. Corker & AIPAC have their way. Will Corker now begin fighting a bad deal? Will AIPAC be able to deliver Dems?” [Twitter]
Carol Giacomo: “In theory, the legislation creates new and potentially dangerous uncertainties for the nuclear agreement… But a letter sent to Mr. Obama by 150 House Democrats on Thursday was a welcome hint that Congress may not be able to kill a nuclear deal after all, no matter how hard the opponents are trying. The number and nature of the signatories is key, representing one-third of the members of the House and including Jewish members and Democratic leaders.” [NYTimes]
Greg Sargent: “The 150 Democratic signatories — which include Dem leaders like Nancy Pelosi and Chris Van Hollen — are significant. Here’s why: If a deal is reached that looks like the recently-announced framework, and the GOP-controlled Congress votes to disapprove of it, it’s now more likely that there will be enough House Democrats to sustain Obama’s veto of that disapproval legislation, allowing the deal to move forward.” [WashPost]
“Winners and Losers” by Ben Geman: “Winners: Bob Corker, Ben Cardin, Congress. Losers: The White House, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz, Mitch McConnell” [NationalJournal] • “Iran Legislation Is Win-Win For GOP, Obama” [AP]
“With U.S. Eyes on Iran, North Korea’s Nuclear Arsenal Expanded” by David E. Sanger: “While the Obama administration spent the past two years getting within striking distance of a deal to delay Iran’s race for a nuclear bomb, North Korea went on an atomic spending spree: an expansion officials here fear Washington has little hope of stopping.” [NYTimes] • “Saudi Arabia Considers Nuclear Weapons to Offset Iran” [WSJ] • “Iran Is Lying, and We Know It” [NR]
2016 WATCH: “One of Jeb Bush’s top advisers on Israel: George W. Bush” by Robert Costa and Matea Gold: “After spending months distancing himself from his family’s political legacy, Jeb Bush surprised a group of Manhattan financiers this week by naming his brother, former president George W. Bush, as his most influential counselor on U.S.-Israel policy. The remark came as part of an answer to a question about Bush’s political aides and their policy views, and whether he relies on the guidance of former secretary of state James Baker, guests said.”
“Tuesday’s session was organized by GOP mega-donor Paul Singer and his advisers so their associates could hear from Bush. Similar meetings have been held with Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and former Hewlett-Packard chief executive Carly Fiorina, three of Bush’s potential Republican rivals in the 2016 race. Participants said the reception at the club was mostly encouraging, but one attendee said he was “stunned” to hear Jeb Bush specifically mention George W. Bush as his go-to adviser.” [WashPost]
“Paul Singer’s hedge fund freezes bank accounts in push for Argentina debt deal” by Hugh Bronstein: “The government of Argentina steadfastly refuses to sit down with creditors and negotiate,” NML Ltd, an affiliate of hedge fund Elliott Management, said in a statement. Elliott is the lead fund suing Argentina. “In the absence of a negotiated settlement, our recourse includes locating and attaching Argentine assets wherever we can find them,” the statement said.” [Reuters]
“Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner last month linked Jewish leaders to an international conspiracy against the government and railed against the late AMIA prosecutor Alberto Nisman on Twitter to her more than 3.7 million followers. In her tweet, Kirchner accused Nisman of saying during meetings with Jewish community leaders that Paul Singer would provide billions of dollars to prevent Argentina from signing a memorandum of understanding with Iran. Last week, a lawsuit alleging treason against Argentine Jewish leaders and Singer was sent to a prosecutor, who said he will investigate.” [JTA]
2016 Angle: Marco Rubio introduced a Senate resolution this week, “Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding the courageous work and life of Argentinian prosecutor Alberto Nisman, and calling for a swift and transparent investigation into his tragic death in Buenos Aires on January 18, 2015.” [Senate]
“Scott Walker’s First Israel Trip To Include Helicopter Tour” by Scott Bauer: “Walker has no public events planned for the Israel trip that runs from Saturday to May 14. Walker has billed it as a “listening tour,” where he plans to meet with government officials and others to learn more about the Middle East.Walker said he expects to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The visit is being funded by Our American Revival and the Republican Jewish Coalition.” [AP]
“Lindsey Graham looking at June 1 to announce White House run, sources say” by Katie Glueck: “Graham’s hawkish views would almost certainly be a central feature of an announcement speech as he weighs a bid premised on his experience on defense and foreign policy. While the three-term senator is a long shot to win the GOP nomination, he could play an important role in driving foreign policy and national security issues to the forefront of the primary debate.” [Politico]
“Hillary Clinton’s Big Donor Paradox” by Jennifer Epstein: “One of Hillary Clinton’s biggest applause lines in her early days on the campaign trail has come when she talks about getting big money out of politics—even when she’s talking to the big-money donors. It’s one of the paradoxes of a campaign that regularly employs populist rhetoric while courting plutocrats.” [Bloomberg]
“Hillary caps L.A. fundraising at home of Haim Saban” by Ted Johnson: “Hillary Clinton capped a day of fundraising for her 2016 presidential bid at the Beverly Park home of longtime supporters Haim and Cheryl Saban, as she appeared before a crowd that included such industry figures as Casey Wasserman, Stevie Wonder, Peter Chernin and Clarence Avant. Clinton devoted most of her time to domestic issues, but when it came to foreign policy said that any deal needed to “make sense,” according to one attendee. In her remarks before the crowd, Clinton did not specifically mention the recent framework of an agreement for a deal over Iran’s nuclear program.” [Variety] • Raises $3 Million In One Day[HollywoodReporter]
NYPost on Saban + Clintons: “Bill Clinton will speak at an upfront for Spanish-language network Univision on Tuesday, and political insiders say the speech could be part of a strategy with Univision owner Haim Saban to try to deliver key votes to Hillary Clinton.” [PageSix; Politico]
UK 2015: “British PM David Cameron confounds polls to win second term” by Michael White: “This time Cameron looks set to be free from the constraints of coalition with the centrist Liberal Democrats. The Lib Dems, Cameron’s partners in office since 2010, were almost wiped out, and their leader, deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, resigned on Friday morning. Cameron’s victory in Thursday’s general election obliterated opposition leader Ed Miliband’s hopes of eking out a small win for Labour. Miliband also resigned in the wake of the defeat.” [TheGuardian] • “Messina trounces Axelrod” [Politico] • “Anti-Israel firebrand Galloway loses seat in UK vote” [ToI] • Infographic: Outcomes in constituencies with the largest Jewish communities [TheJC]
“Dueling elections: a look at Israeli, UK electoral systems” by Dan Perry: “To help navigate the awkwardness, Britons need look no further than to Israel, a former colony where fractured politics, post-election horse-trading and permanent campaigning have become the norm. Both countries are wrestling with the imperfections of their electoral systems — how to make democracy not just the least bad system, but one that most people think works well. Here’s a comparison of the two systems, and what might happen if they switched.” [AP]
Bibi Reserves Foreign Minister Post for Herzog — by Jodi Rudoren: “A spokesman for Mr. Netanyahu’s Likud Party said Thursday that the prime minister was indeed reserving the post of foreign minister for Isaac Herzog of the center-left Zionist Union in hopes of building a broad national-unity government. But Mr. Herzog said his faction had “no intention of saving Mr. Netanyahu from the hole he has dug for himself” and promised instead to lead “a fighting, consolidated, strong opposition.” [NYTimes] • Spotlight on Shaked [ForeignPolicy; Forward]
White House on Israel’s New Government: “The President congratulates the Israeli people, Prime Minister Netanyahu and the new governing coalition on the formation of Israel’s new government. President Obama looks forward to working with Prime Minister Netanyahu and his new government… We also look forward to continuing consultations on a range of regional issues, including international negotiations to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and the importance of pursuing a two-state solution.” [WhiteHouse]
David Ignatius: “Netanyahu has been a dominating political figure in the United States this year, seemingly invincible as he hurled thunderbolts at President Obama and other adversaries. But here in Israel, not so much.” [WashPost]
**Good Friday Morning! Enjoying the Daily Kickoff? Please share us with your friends & tell them to sign up at [JI]. Have a tip, scoop, or op-ed? We’d love to hear from you. Anything from hard news and punditry to the lighter stuff, including event coverage, job transitions, or even special birthdays, is much appreciated. Email [email protected]**
POWER PROFILE: “Meet the President of Israel’s Chief of Staff Rivka Ravitz” [YouTube]
BUSINESS PROFILE: “How Jonathan Steinberg Made Good on a Second Chance” by Landon Thomas Jr: “From his earliest days as a 20-something chief executive, Jonathan L. Steinberg had a weekly lunch with his father, Saul, the corporate raider whose brazen tactics and lavish displays of wealth came to define Wall Street in the 1980s. Have the courage of your convictions and be sure that you can shoulder pain, the late Mr. Steinberg, whose own financial decline attracted wide scrutiny, would tell his son. It was good counsel, because the younger Steinberg would come to know pain too,… But because he stuck to his guns, the tiny stock indexing division that Mr. Steinberg pulled from the ruins of his old firm — now called WisdomTree Investments — has become one of the fastest-growing fund companies around.” [DealBook]
BUSINESS BRIEFS: “Sumner Redstone: No Decision Has Been Made About The Fate Of Viacom And CBS” [Deadline] • “Glencore chief Ivan Glasenberg blames rivals’ overproduction for share price fall” [FinancialTimes] • “Mark Pincus Is Back — And His Vintage Management Style Might Be, Too” [TechCrunch]
STARTUP NATION: “Container security startup Twistlock launches out of Israel with $2.5M” by Jordan Novet: “An Israeli startup called Twistlock is launching today, with the words “containers” and “security” on the brain and $2.5 million in funding.Twistlock has a long list of things in mind to make it easier for enterprises to adopt containers — a technology for storing up application code that can be easily moved from one server environment to another.” [VentureBeat] • “Israeli billionaire Teddy Sagi has acquired Israeli e-commerce platform Stucco Media for $34.5 million” [Globes]
REAL ESTATE ROUNDUP: “Sam Zell selling $750 million in office buildings” [ChicagoBusiness] • “Big Names in New York Real Estate Figure Into Skelos and Silver Cases” [NYTimes] • “Ziel Feldman’s HFZ Capital has closed on the acquisition of a $870-million High Line development site after securing $1 billion in financing” [RealDeal] • “Nakash family takes out $17M mortgage for Setai units” [SFRD]
WSJ EDITORIAL: “The IRS Goes to Court: It isn’t every day that judges on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals declare themselves “shocked.” But that happened this week when an animated three-judge panel eviscerated the IRS and Justice Department during oral argument in a case alleging the agency delayed the tax-exempt application of a pro-Israel group due to its policy views. In December 2009, Pennsylvania-based Z Street applied for 501(c)(3) status to pursue its pro-Israel educational mission. In July 2010, when the group called to check on what was taking so long, an IRS agent said that auditors had been instructed to give special attention to groups connected with Israel.” [WSJ; Video]
LongRead: “Dodging swastikas and Israel hate, Jordan’s secret Jews slip beneath the radar: The untold story of the Jewish-American aid workers living, studying and traveling in the Hashemite Kingdom” by Avi Lewis [ToI]
“Remember Gaza” by Matthew Duss: “A visit to Gaza City, for the latest from Hamas, Fatah, Benjamin Netanyahu—and Marine Le Pen” [TabletMag]
Free gift idea: Know anyone who might enjoy receiving the Daily Kickoff? Share us with them and they’ll probably love you for it!