Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Friday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we bring you the latest from the House floor, and interview Ukrainian-Israeli photographer Vera Vladimirsky about her new Tel Aviv exhibit. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Yair Lapid, Yossi Klein Halevi and Amb. Deborah Lipstadt.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, a curated print-friendly PDF featuring a selection of recent JI and eJewishPhilanthropy stories, including: How Hady Amr represents Biden to the Palestinians; Nachman Shai’s goodbye; Inside Israel and Jordan’s new bid to rehabilitate the Jordan River; A hip-hop artist in the Holy Land; British TV judge Rob Rinder’s crowded docket; A Jewish nonprofit is changing the way a Florida city responds to 911 calls; and How an emergency vehicle in Jerusalem came to be known as ‘Bikey McBikeface.’ Print the latest edition here.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s (D-MI) announcement yesterday that she will not seek reelection when her term ends next year marked the start of what’s likely to be one of the most closely watched primaries — and general elections — of 2024.
Several Democratic candidates are already mulling bids for the seat: An individual close to Rep. Haley Stevens’ (D-MI) campaign told Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod she’s “strongly considering” and is “feeling really confident” about a run. Reps. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and Debbie Dingell (D-MI) are also reportedly considering entering the race. Read more on Stevens’s thinking here.
Other possible Democratic candidates include state Rep. Mallory McMorrow and Secretary of State Joceyln Benson, Michigan political strategist Adrian Hemond told JI. He said he sees Lt. Gov. Garlin Gilchrist II and Attorney General Dana Nessel as possible but longer-shot candidates. Shortly after Stabenow’s announcement, some floated the possibility that Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who moved to Michigan last year, might enter the race. In a Fox News interview yesterday, Buttigieg said he is “completely focused on the job that I have.”
“To be blunt, Elissa Slotkin is the best general election candidate for Democrats in this race, if she can get the nomination,” Hemond said, noting that she’s won in three successive elections in a highly competitive district and has proven to be a strong fundraiser without corporate PAC support. “That’s not to say that some of the other names… would not be competitive or even reasonably heavily favored. But if Slotkin gets the nomination, she wins barring a toxic environment for Democrats nationally.”
Slotkin stands a strong chance in the primary as well, Hemond said, noting that moderates have done well in statewide Democratic primaries in recent cycles. The individual close to Stevens emphasized the Detroit-area representative’s high name recognition in the area, but Hemond noted that, in her 2018 and 2020 two runs, Slotkin also ran ads in the Detroit media market.
On the Republican side, Hemond said, “the high-quality get” would be moderate former Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), who lost a primary to a Trump-backed challenger in last year’s primary. But, he added, “the primary is going to be tough for any electable Republican here.”
Rep.-elect John James (R-MI), who delivered a nominating speech for Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) speakership bid on Thursday morning, is also being floated as a possible GOP candidate. But Hemond called another James candidacy at the statewide level — he has lost past gubernatorial and Senate bids — “a tall order.”
Other potential Republican contenders include Kevin Rinke, who largely self-funded a bid for governor last year; 2022 attorney general nominee Matt DePerno; Ryan Kelley, a 2022 gubernatorial candidate and Jan. 6 defendant; and former Rep. Fred Upton (R-MI). Tudor Dixon, the 2022 gubernatorial nominee, is also reportedly mulling a bid.
Another name being floated is former Rep. Andy Levin (D-MI), who lost his member-on-member primary to Stevens following redistricting in the state. Hemond argued that the “smarter play” for Levin, rather than a Senate run, would be running for Stevens’ seat if she runs for Senate — “and I think he would be a heavy favorite in that primary.”
on the hill
House speaker vote heads to 12th ballot

The House conducted an additional five speakership votes on Thursday without any further defections among supporters of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Some of the members opposing McCarthy, however, shifted their votes from Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL) to Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK) and former President Donald Trump, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports from Capitol Hill. Off the floor, some lawmakers from each side of the impasse seemed more upbeat, telling reporters Thursday evening that a draft compromise between McCarthy and some holdouts had been put on paper. “We feel really good about where we’re at in the process,” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), a close McCarthy ally, said. McCarthy declined to provide a specific timeline for the negotiations to reporters.
Let’s make a deal: Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), another McCarthy ally, said that the deal pertained to “our conservative agenda around spending and the nature of our Republican majority… a pledge on action on a foregoing basis around how we operate to achieve conservative reforms” — not reported demands from individual members for subcommittee chairmanships. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC), said the deal included some of the detractors’ demands, including giving members a guaranteed 72 hours to review legislation and holding a vote on term limits.
Holdouts: The deal is unlikely to win over all 20 of McCarthy’s detractors. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) told reporters after reviewing it that he remained opposed because “it results in Kevin McCarthy becoming the speaker.” Other lawmakers said they were not open to any deal with McCarthy. The California Republican’s supporters argued that winning over some defectors, even if not enough to secure the 218 votes he needs, is still a positive step. “You don’t eat a sandwich in one gulp. You need to take it one bite at a time… I think there’s a pretty good possibility we’re going to take a pretty big chunk out of that sandwich,” Johnson told JI. McCarthy also needs to avoid granting too many concessions and losing the support of moderates — a possibility his deputies dismissed on Thursday.
Read the rules: Other reported conditions in the deal include giving any single member the ability to call for a vote to oust the speaker, seats on the powerful House Rules Committee for members of the conservative Freedom Caucus or their allies and a promise that the House will vote separately on each of the 12 annual government funding bills — rather than combining them into a single omnibus — and allowing any lawmaker to offer amendments to the spending bills on the House floor. One specific name floated for the Rules Committee, which holds significant control over what legislation comes to the floor and the manner in which it is considered, is Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a libertarian McCarthy supporter who has butted heads with the Jewish community over his votes against measures such as Iron Dome funding and condemning antisemitism. Boris Zilberman, the director of public policy and strategy for Christians United for Israel tweeted that “Putting Massie on Rules is like putting Bin Laden on the FAA board.”
Spending bill changes: The appropriations-related conditions would significantly change the way Congress passes annual spending bills, which provide funding for any number of Jewish community priorities like aid to Israel and synagogue security. Final appropriations negotiations have, in recent years, increasingly become a complex negotiating game largely conducted behind closed doors among key leaders in the House and Senate. The combined appropriations packages have also become a vehicle for passing a wide range of legislative priorities without separate floor votes; this year, those included granting a Nuremberg prosecutor a Congressional Gold Medal and designating a Holocaust memorial as a national memorial site.