Daily Kickoff
👋 Good Wednesday morning!
In today’s Daily Kickoff we interview Virginia Del. Eileen Filler-Corn about her political prospects, and talk to Israeli Knesset Member Idan Roll, who was just named one of the World Economic Forum’s Young Global Leaders for 2023. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Israeli Ambassador Mike Herzog, Daniel Kramer and Bernard-Henri Lèvy.
Secretary of State Tony Blinken will be a frequent sight on Capitol Hill this week, where he’s set to testify this morning before the Senate Appropriations Committee and this afternoon before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to discuss the State Department’s budget request.
Blinken will be back on the Hill on Thursday for hearings with the House Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Appropriations Committee’s State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs Subcommittee.
Also on Thursday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Mark Milley will testify before House Appropriations, and CENTCOM Commander Erik Kurilla will testify before the House Armed Services Committee.
The Biden administration summoned Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Mike Herzog yesterday, in a rare move made in light of an Israeli law passed early Tuesday morning repealing the 2005 Israeli disengagement from the northern West Bank.
A readout of Deputy Secretary of State Wendy R. Sherman’s meeting with Herzog said the former “conveyed U.S. concern regarding legislation passed by the Israeli Knesset rescinding important aspects of the 2005 Disengagement Law, including the prohibition on establishing settlements in the northern West Bank. They also discussed the importance of all parties refraining from actions or rhetoric that could further inflame tensions leading into the Ramadan, Passover, and Easter holidays.”
State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel said yesterday that the law was “provocative and counterproductive” and violated prior commitments made by Israel to the U.S.
aiming higher
Eileen Filler-Corn, exiting Va. Statehouse, eyes the governor’s mansion

When Virginia Del. Eileen Filler-Corn announced this month that she would not run for reelection to the House of Delegates after 14 years, political observers in Richmond and Washington quickly began to wonder about her next move. After two years as Virginia’s House speaker — the first woman and first Jewish person to hold that role — Filler-Corn was ousted last year as the House Democratic leader by her colleagues. But in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch, Filler-Corn insisted she isn’t letting the setback keep her out of politics. In fact, it’s fuelling her to look even higher.
Bigger and better: “You always want your next move to be at least lateral, if not, you know, bigger and better,” she said on Monday. “I realize, obviously, that until we control the executive branch as well, back to having all three [bodies], we would not have the opportunity to move Virginia forward.” Filler-Corn, known for being a prolific Democratic fundraiser, has been talking to donors and supporters as she considers her political future. A run for governor in 2025 is a strong possibility.
Exploratory era: “I have definitely been letting everyone know that I’m interested in exploring it,” she said. Two major election cycles, including this year’s legislative elections in Virginia, still have to take place before Virginia’s next gubernatorial race. But that hasn’t stopped Filler-Corn and other possible contenders, including Richmond’s Democratic mayor, Levar Stoney, Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) and former Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), from starting to raise money and jockey for political connections.
Antisemitism allies: A frequent critic of Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Filler-Corn found herself aligned with him during this year’s legislative session on a number of bills related to antisemitism. The state Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, initially voted down a bill that would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism. The bill was supported by a coalition of Jewish communal organizations in Virginia and ultimately passed the General Assembly, but it had some Democratic opposition. “I was surprised,” Filler-Corn acknowledged, “knowing that the IHRA definition was widely respected and used throughout state governments, countries, organizations throughout, that there was still pushback by some in the Democratic caucus, and even some of Jewish faith.”