Daily Kickoff
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The Knesset overwhelmingly approved preliminary legislation to dissolve, the first step to setting up new elections in Israel this fall.
Bret Stephens is out with a new exit interview with outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. “In a world where domestic polarization is becoming almost the single biggest challenge, the experiment succeeded,” Bennett said of his government.
In Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser won the city’s Democratic primary, beating out two primary challengers and all but guaranteeing a general election victory in the heavily Democratic city.
In Virginia, state Sen. Jen Kiggans won the GOP primary in the 2nd Congressional District, and is set to face Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) this fall. In the 7th District, Republican Prince William County Supervisor Yesli Vega will face off against Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA).
In the Alabama Senate primary runoff, Katie Boyd Britt, a former staffer for Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), defeated Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), whom former President Donald Trump endorsed before switching his support to Britt.
Today on Capitol Hill, the House Armed Services will hold its marathon annual markup of the National Defense Authorization Act; Barbara Leaf, the assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs, will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell will testify before the Senate Homeland Security on Government Affairs Committee. The House Appropriations subcommittee on state, foreign operations and related programs will mark up its newly released budget proposal.
The State and Foreign Operations bill draft proposes $225 million for humanitarian aid to the West Bank and Gaza, $6 million above the 2022 funding level and $40 million above the Biden administration’s budget request. It also further increases conditions on security aid to Egypt.
At the fourth public hearing of the House Select Committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol yesterday, the committee heard testimony from state officials who were pressured to cooperate with Trump’s efforts to overturn the election results, and who detailed efforts by Trump and allies to assemble alternate slates of electors in states the campaign had contested.
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U.S. reassures Israel of support amid political turmoil in Jerusalem

State Department spokesman Ned Price speaks during a news conference at the State Department, March 10, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Amid political turmoil in Israel, the Biden administration sought to reassure Israel on Tuesday that support for the U.S.-Israel relationship remains strong — and that President Joe Biden’s planned trip to the country next month will proceed as planned, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports. The recent dissolution of Israel’s Knesset and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s ruling coalition set off the country’s fifth elections in three years, which could lead to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s return to power.
Fellow democracy: “I don’t expect political developments in Israel will have implications for what we are seeking to accomplish together with our Israeli partners, or with our Palestinian partners, for that matter,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters. “That’s because Israel is a strategic partner of the United States. It’s a fellow democracy. We respect its democratic processes.”
On schedule: Biden, who is planning to visit Israel on July 13, said on Monday that his trip to the country will proceed. Secretary of State Tony Blinken spoke with both Bennett and Lapid on Tuesday, reiterating to both of them Washington’s “unwavering commitment to the strong U.S.-Israel strategic relationship.” Blinken also shared that Biden “looks forward to his visit to Israel next month,” according to State Department press releases.
Iran agenda: Blinken and Lapid also discussed the visit’s implications for “the fight against Iran,” an Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesperson said. “I’m not aware that there will be a meeting specifically focused on Iran this trip,” Price said, “but I will say it’s my strong suspicion.”