Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Tuesday morning!
Happy new year! Welcome back and we hope you enjoy the first 2023 edition of the Daily Kickoff. In today’s edition, we talk to hip-hop artist Mahogany Jones about her recent trip to Israel with the State Department, and look at joint Israeli-Jordanian efforts to address climate change. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff, outgoing Rep. Elaine Luria, Art Spiegelman and former Rep. Steve Israel.
The new Congress will convene at noon today in Washington, ushering in a slate of 74 newly elected House members and seven new senators. The two big items on our radar this week: the election for House speaker, and how the new Congress will address lingering allegations that Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY) fabricated extensive portions of his biography. The two are intrinsically connected, at least for the first few days of the new Congress, as House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) works to shore up support from the handful of Republican legislators critical to his bid for the speakership.
McCarthy spent the holidays trying to secure the necessary votes among GOP legislators, including granting some concessions to the conservative faction of the party. He met with several dozen congressional Republicans last night in Washington, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who had previously said he would not back McCarthy for speaker. As he walked into the speaker’s office last night, Gaetz was accompanied by Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) and Scott Perry (R-PA) — both of whom are opposing McCarthy’s bid — and teased, “We may be on the verge of a New Year’s miracle.”
If McCarthy does not win the speakership outright, House members will move to a second ballot — the first time in a century that has happened. It’s also unclear who might emerge as the speaker if McCarthy is unable to muster the necessary 218 votes. Republican Majority Leader-designate Steve Scalise (R-LA) is one potential fallback, but Republican moderates have floated the idea of working with Democrats to elect retiring Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI). Santos, for his part, has pledged to back McCarthy for speaker.
While House GOP leadership — including McCarthy — has remained muted on the Santos allegations, the heightened scrutiny of the New York Republican’s business dealings and background has drawn criticism from some members of the state’s congressional delegation. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) said Santos deployed “a colossal lack of judgment that has now put the conference in a very difficult position.” Rep.-elect Nick LaLota (R-NY), who won Long Island’s other congressional race, said that “New Yorkers deserve the truth and House Republicans deserve an opportunity to govern without distraction.” Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) went further, calling for Santos’ resignation in an appearance on CNN over the weekend. “As far as I’m concerned,” Torres said, “he’s a sociopath who has essentially defrauded the voters of New York State.”
Santos, meanwhile, spent the holidays attempting damage control in a series of interviews, including one with Fox News in which he again said that his “heritage is Jewish” — despite having no familial links to the community. The heightened scrutiny isn’t limited to the U.S. — Brazilian officials are planning to revive fraud charges against Santos, who in 2008 was accused of using checks stolen from his mother’s employer.
In Israel on Thursday, the Knesset ratified the new government under the leadership of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s longest-serving premier, bringing Netanyahu to power for an unprecedented third time. Sixteen of the 30 ministers in the new government are from Netanyahu’s Likud party, including Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Justice Minister Yariv Levin and Education Minister Yoav Kisch. Likud MK Amir Ohana became Israel’s first openly gay Knesset speaker.
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Ron Dermer is also joining Netanyahu’s government, where he will helm the Strategic Affairs Ministry, which had been dissolved by the previous government. Under Dermer, who served in Washington from 2013-2021, the ministry will shift its focus to working with the White House and expanding the Abraham Accords, a departure from its previous iteration, which was led by now-U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan, who focused his efforts on combating the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. That mantle will be taken up by Diaspora Affairs Minister Amichai Chikli, who announced yesterday that the ministry will change its name to the Diaspora Affairs and Combat Antisemitism Ministry.
The transitions come weeks after a meeting between U.S. Jewish leaders and Shuli Davidovich, who heads the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s diaspora bureau, at the Israeli Embassy in Washington. Jewish leaders, according to Axios, raised concerns about some of the floated policies of the incoming Israeli government.
Finance Minister and minister in the Defense Ministry Bezalel Smotrich, head of the Religious Zionist Party, penned an op-ed in the Wall Street Journal last week in a bid to allay fears about the new government, while National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir (Jewish Power) stoked tensions with a visit to the Temple Mount this morning, after Palestinian Authority officials warned that the trip could lead to an escalation in the area. Shortly after the visit, Ben-Gvir called the area “the most important site for the Jewish people” and said Israel will preserve “freedom of movement” at the site. Jordanian King Abdullah II told CNN last week that he is prepared for conflict should the status of Jerusalem’s holy sites change.
Despite the holiday season, top Israeli and U.S. officials connected to discuss a range of issues. Cohen called Secretary of State Tony Blinken yesterday, the Israeli foreign minister’s second day on the job. Blinken congratulated Cohen on his appointment and underscored the United States’ abiding commitment to the U.S.-Israel partnership and to Israel’s security, according to statements released by both offices. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is expected to travel to Israel in mid-January for meetings with members of the new government.
In his first speech to Foreign Ministry staff, Cohen stressed that Israel’s relationship with its closest ally, the U.S., is a priority, while saying that the new Israeli government will be more muted about Ukraine issues, though it will continue humanitarian aid to the country. Cohen is scheduled to speak today to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.
Cohen’s comments were met with criticism from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who tweeted that the “idea that Israel should speak less about Russia’s criminal invasion of Ukraine is a bit unnerving. I hope Mr. Cohen understands that when he speaks to Russia’s Lavrov, he’s speaking to a representative of a war criminal regime that commits war crimes on an industrial scale every day.”
postmortem
Elaine Luria looks back

In two terms in Congress, Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) established herself as one of the House’s most prominent defenders of the U.S.-Israel relationship, as well as a vocal opponent of antisemitism, including among members of her own party. Luria, who lost reelection in November, spoke to Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod midway through one of her final days of House votes about her tenure in Congress.
Positive outlook: Luria’s departure from Congress is set to deprive the House Democratic caucus of another of its most consistent pro-Israel voices. Luria emphasized that the vast majority of the Democratic Party continues to be supportive of Israel, except for “a very small number of people who happen to be very loud and who have had contrary voices.” She added she has been encouraged by her conversations about the issue with incoming Democratic leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), emphasizing his “very strong support” for the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Antisemitism angle: Luria voiced frustration that Congress has sometimes struggled to produce condemnations of antisemitism that do not also include other forms of hate and bigotry, citing a 2019 vote to condemn antisemitism whose language was broadened to include “Islamophobia, racism, and other forms of bigotry.” “My level of concern [about antisemitism] has continued to grow over the course of my time in Congress,” she continued, pointing to issues among both House caucuses, as well as on college campuses and elsewhere.
Election postmortem: Despite an overall better election cycle for Democratic candidates than most prognosticators had anticipated, Luria lost her election in southern Virginia by 3.4 percentage points. The Cook Political Report rated the district as R+3, a rating Luria claimed understated the actual Republican advantage in the district. “The biggest factor was the redistricting,” she argued. “Looking back, I just think that the district [leaned] heavily to the other party. It’s a red district under the new lines.” Luria said she has “no regrets about the way I ran the campaign,” including her emphasis on her service on the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
What’s next: As for her next steps, Luria is “leaving all doors open… [There are] a lot of possibilities out there. I’ve talked to quite a few folks about different opportunities,” she said, “but I’m going to take some time to make a decision.”