
Daily Kickoff: Netanyahu inches closer to a coalition
👋 Good Monday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu’s efforts to form a coalition, and spotlight an initiative by the American Jewish Historical Society to preserve records on Jewish philanthropy. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Steven Spielberg, Ivanka Trump and Naftali Bennett.
Through the midterm cycle, the general expectation for the new Congress among pundits and Hill watchers was that Republicans would pick up anywhere from a couple dozen to 60 seats, boosting House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to the speakership.
In the lead-up to November, Democrats were locked in a generational debate, questioning if it was time for a new class of leaders to take the party into the next Congress. But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had not yet shared her plans for her political future, which were further impacted by a home break-in and assault on her husband by an assailant looking for the octogenarian House leader less than two weeks before the midterms.
But as House Democrats choose the next class of leaders in the coming days, the opposite has happened. McCarthy now faces a challenge by the far-right flank of his party in his effort to procure the requisite 218 votes. House Republicans are still predicting McCarthy will be the next House speaker, despite those hurdles. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), a vocal opponent of McCarthy’s bid for the speakership, yesterday called the prediction “irresponsible,” saying that the California Republican “doesn’t have the votes.” Gaetz called for a review of other potential speaker candidates from the GOP. “If chaos ensues Jan 3,” when the new House elects a speaker, Gaetz warned, “it will be a result of this denialism.”
Democrats will meet this weekto select their next leaders, widely expected to be Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Katherine Clark (D-MA) and Pete Aguilar (D-CA). In an address announcing her departure from leadership earlier this month, Pelosi said, “the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic Caucus that I so deeply respect.” A day later, Jeffries launched his bid to succeed Pelosi.
Jeffries’ candidacyhas drawn some criticism from far-left activists in his home state, whose policies and candidates Jeffries has kept his distance from, going so far as to say last year that “There will never be a moment where I bend the knee to hard-left democratic socialism.” Tensions between the New York City-area representative and the progressive wing go back several years; just weeks after her 2018 victory, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who had not yet taken office, was rumored to already be recruiting a challenger to primary Jeffries for the 2020 cycle.
clock ticking
Israeli coalition coming together – very slowly

Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu inched closer to forming a coalition government this weekend, following the inking on Thursday of an agreement between his Likud party and Otzma Yehudit (Jewish Power), the faction headed by far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir, who will take on the role of national security minister, overseeing the country’s police, and gain a seat on Israel’s security cabinet. On Sunday, Netanyahu met individually with the leaders of the five other factions expected to form the new government: long-time ally and Shas chairman Aryeh Deri, Religious Zionist Party head Bezalel Smotrich, United Torah Judaism chairman Yizhak Goldknopf, Noam party chief Avi Maoz and Ben-Gvir.
Maoz tsuris: The incoming prime minister struck a deal with Maoz to establish a National Authority for Jewish Identity in the Prime Minister’s Office; Maoz, who is his party’s sole representative, will also serve as a deputy minister. Axios’ Barak Ravid described Noam, which was established in 2019, as “a radical religious party that focuses on opposing LGBTQ & women’s rights.”
Still to come: Netanyahu has yet to reach an agreement with Smotrich, whose party has criticized Netanyahu for his reluctance to give the Religious Zionism party head his desired posts, but the two reportedly made progress during an hours-long meeting yesterday and are scheduled to reconvene today. Smotrich had asked for either the Defense or Finance portfolio; Netanyahu has appeared more open to giving him the latter, which had also been sought by Shas’ Deri. Smotrich is also pushing to be given control over the Civil Administration, which oversees Area C in the West Bank.
Waving a red flag: Outgoing Prime Minister Yair Lapid warned today that Netanyahu’s intentions for the legal system are personal, tied to the ongoing corruption trial against him. “Netanyahu wants to decide who the prosecutor in his trial will be. Netanyahu wants to decide the identity of the judges who will hear his appeal. Netanyahu wants to pass a law that bans filing indictments against a prime minister because he is a prime minister who has been indicted. This is not a legal reform, this is not ideology, it is criminality taking advantage of an opportunity.”
Ticking clock: Netanyahu has until Dec. 11 to form his coalition; he is able to request a two-week extension, but has indicated he hopes to have the government finalized well before the 28-day mandate expires.