Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Wednesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at Democratic efforts this week to put pressure on congressional Republicans regarding Rep. George Santos, and talk to California politicos about Rep. Katie Porter’s just-announced Senate bid. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Frida Ghitis, David Friedman and Steven Spielberg.
U.S Ambassador to Israel Tom Nides will lead this April’s delegation of March of the Living alongside his predecessor, former Ambassador David Friedman. The trip was announced by Friedman at last night’s March of the Living Gala in Aventura, Fla., which also honored Israeli Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer and his wife, Rhoda.
In his remarks, Dermer addressed the growing universalization of the Holocaust. “The Holocaust took everything away from the Jewish people,” he said. “It took away — for the victims, it took away their property, it took away their dignity. It ultimately took away their lives. But it is very important not to take the Holocaust itself away from the Jewish people. Because there has been an attempt in recent years to universalize the Holocaust, to turn it into another genocide, another massacre that happened. And I understand why people want to do that, because they want it to resonate with people outside of the Jewish community.”
But, Dermer said, “To turn the Holocaust into a story — another chapter in man’s inhumanity to man — it actually betrays the memory of the victims. It is not simply another chapter in man’s inhumanity to man. It is the worst chapter in man’s inhumanity to Jews.”
“What is the lesson of the Holocaust to the Jews?” Dermer asked. “Is the lesson that we have to teach tolerance? Did we need six million to die to teach tolerance?…We didn’t need the Holocaust to teach tolerance. The lesson of the Holocaust is that the Jewish people need power. That’s the lesson of the Holocaust.”
Thirty AIPAC leaders met at the White House yesterday with Brett McGurk, coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa at the National Security Council. Among the topics discussed were Iran, the Abraham Accords and Ukraine, according to an attendee who spoke to Jewish Insider after the meeting.
The House appears set for a clash over Rep. Ilhan Omar’s (D-MN) seat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee in the coming weeks. Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have pledged for years to force a House floor vote to expel Omar from the Foreign Affairs Committee over past anti-Israel and antisemitic comments, and McCarthy reaffirmed that commitment this week, after becoming speaker. A spokesperson for Omar confirmed to Jewish Insider yesterday that the Minnesota Democrat is seeking to be assigned to the Foreign Affairs Committee again, despite the GOP efforts — which included a fundraising email from McCarthy yesterday in which he committed to “taking Ilhan Omar off” the committee.
Meanwhile, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Paul Gosar (R-AZ) are set to receive committee assignments, after being booted in the previous Congress by House floor votes. Greene was stripped of her assignments for past conspiratorial, incendiary and antisemitic comments, while Gosar has twice spoken at a conference organized by far-right provocateur Nick Fuentes. Seven of the 11 Republicans who voted to remove Greene from her committees remain members of Congress.
Republicans also plan to remove Reps. Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA) from the Intelligence Committee, which McCarthy can do unilaterally without a floor vote. Omar’s expulsion from the committee, however, will require a full House floor vote. The House Republican Steering Committee will meet today to begin determining member placement on the Appropriations, Ways and Means, Financial Services and Energy and Commerce committees.
Correction: Last Thursday’s edition of the Daily Kickoff reported that Elizabeth Bagley was not renominated to be ambassador to Brazil. Bagley was confirmed by a Senate voice vote last month and ceremonially sworn in earlier this week.
santos saga
Democrats turn up the heat on Santos

Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who is accused of fabricating much of his background, including his faith and familial ties to the Holocaust, as well as various campaign finance violations, is facing increasing scrutiny from House Democrats this week, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports. On Tuesday, two fellow New York lawmakers filed an official complaint against the freshman congressman with the House Ethics Committee, while other lawmakers urged Republican leadership to deny Santos access to classified information.
More money, more problems: The ethics complaint, filed by Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) and Dan Goldman (D-NY), focuses on the alleged financial disclosure issues, including accusing Santos of failing to file timely financial disclosure reports and failing to file complete and accurate financial reports. The complaint describes Santos’ financial disclosures as “sparse and perplexing.” In response to the complaint, Santos insisted that he had “done nothing unethical” or wrong.
Classified information: Also on Tuesday, a group of four Democrats — Reps. Pat Ryan (D-NY), Seth Moulton (D-MA), Chrissy Houlahan (D-PA) and Jeff Jackson (D-NC), who are all military veterans — urged House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to prevent Santos from accessing classified information and ensure he is not assigned to any committees that deal with such information. Santos, who represents parts of Long Island and Queens, told NY1 in November, before his record of falsehoods came to light, that he was seeking a spot on the Foreign Affairs Committee, which grants members regular access to classified information and briefings.
Republican response: Republican leadership has, so far, remained silent about Santos, but Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) told reporters on Tuesday that “there were concerns about what we had heard” and that Republican leaders are handling the matter “internally.” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), who is not in leadership but served as a negotiator for McCarthy’s speakership bid, said yesterday that he doesn’t think Santos should be seated on committees “until we [have] a deeper and moe full understanding of exactly what went on during his campaign. He should be referred to the Ethics Committee, there should be a full and complete investigation and he should be held accountable for what he’s done.”