Daily Kickoff
Good Monday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we spotlight the role that the Jewish community in New York’s 3rd Congressional District could play in next week’s special election between former Rep. Tom Suozzi and Mazi Pilip, and report on Columbia Law School’s rejection of a student group that seeks to combat antisemitism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Amos Hochstein, Larry David and Lachlan Murdoch.
The House will vote this week on a clean, unconditioned $17.6 billion military aid bill to Israel without any funding offsets, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a letter to colleagues on Saturday. The announcement, which came ahead of the release of the Senate’s combined Israel, Ukraine and border package, seemed intended to undercut the Senate’s effort, which Johnson has long opposed, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The path forward is unclear: Senate Democrats are pushing ahead with their plan to begin consideration of the combined bill this week, but the House’s alternative bill could prompt Senate Republicans — who had been growing skeptical of the border talks — to oppose it. House Republicans say the Senate bill will not receive a vote in the lower chamber.
The Senate’s new aid bill, released Sunday evening, contains $14.1 billion in assistance to Israel; $2.44 billion to support the U.S.’ Red Sea operations; $10 billion for humanitarian aid to Gaza, the West Bank and Ukraine; and $400 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program. Despite growing calls from some Democrats, the legislation does not appear to include any new conditions or restrictions on aid to Israel.
The Senate bill bans funds from both the current package, as well as previously passed legislation, from being provided to the controversy-plagued United Nations Relief and Works Agency — seemingly permanently freezing funding previously earmarked for UNRWA. The NSGP funding allocation is down from the $1 billion included in Senate Democratic leadership’s initial proposal prior to negotiations.
In general, the Senate bill appears to contain few wins for progressive Democrats on Israel policy, other than preserving Palestinian aid in some form; they’re also likely to be dubious of the immigration provisions.
The new House bill includes no aid for Ukraine, the Palestinians or nonprofit security grants, making the prospects for passage of those tranches — particularly Ukraine funding, which is opposed by a growing portion of his caucus — increasingly uncertain.
Despite widespread support for Israel across the House, Johnson’s move is meeting criticism from many corners of Congress, as well as the White House.
National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, speaking on NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, slammed Johnson’s bill as a “ploy” that he said was “not being a serious effort to deal with the national security challenges America faces.”
“From our perspective,” Sullivan added, “the security of Israel should be sacred. It shouldn’t be part of any political game. And therefore, we believe the right thing to do is to pass a comprehensive bill, and that’s exactly what a bipartisan group of senators are working on as we speak.”
Pro-Israel Democrats and moderate Republicans are frustrated by the lack of Ukraine aid. Conservatives, including the House Freedom Caucus, say they oppose the bill because it doesn’t include funding offsets from the United Nations or elsewhere. And progressives, skeptical of Israel’s military campaign and pushing for more Palestinian aid, might also oppose the bill.
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) described the bill as a “cynical attempt to undermine the Senate’s bipartisan effort,” and said Democrats will continue to evaluate it. A whip notice from Democratic leadership to members noted that the White House and Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) oppose the bill.
But more pro-Israel Democrats are ultimately likely to support this bill than the House’s last Israel aid package, which also cut funding from the Internal Revenue Service. Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) said on X on Saturday that he’d vote yes on the legislation, adding that the bill “deserves U.S. support as it responds to the mass murders perpetrated by #Hamas.” But he noted that “[t]he bill does not contain provisions I would like to see, including aid for #Ukraine. But I normally vote based on what’s in the bill, rather than what’s not in the bill.”
If both bills pass their chambers, Jewish community leaders — who have largely been agnostic about how Israel aid moves forward — could ultimately face a conundrum on whether to throw their weight behind the Senate package, or support the House bill, without NSGP and Ukraine aid. “The speaker is maneuvering for the negotiation with the Senate. We will see NSGP emergency funds in the Senate supplemental. And we will work to ensure that when a final bill is enacted it delivers needed support for our community’s security,” said Nathan Diament, the Orthodox Union’s executive director for public policy. Read more here.
Johnson’s announcement comes as Secretary of State Tony Blinken begins a five-day trip to the region that will include stops in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Israel and the West Bank amid negotiations on a hostage release and an extended humanitarian pause to allow aid into Gaza.
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Tom Suozzi and Mazi Pilip focus on Jewish outreach as special election nears

With early voting now underway in the special House election to replace former Rep. George Santos (R-NY), the two candidates and their allies are boosting efforts to mobilize Jewish voters who represent a crucial coalition that could help decide the outcome of what is expected to be a close race, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Pivotal factors: While much of the messaging — and outside spending — has turned on border security and abortion rights in advance of the Feb. 13 election between Mazi Pilip and former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) in New York’s 3rd Congressional District, the ongoing Israel-Hamas war as well as rising antisemitism have also been pivotal factors in the race for one of the most heavily Jewish districts in the country, covering parts of Nassau County and Queens.
‘Make or break’: In a tight race, the Jewish community, at an estimated 11% of the electorate, could “make or break the election,” said Sam Markstein, the national political director for the Republican Jewish Coalition, which is backing Pilip, a county legislator and Israeli Defense Forces veteran born in Ethiopia. “This group is going to be a decisive bloc and we have been spending weeks reaching out to these voters.”
Bellwether race: The RJC is among several Jewish and pro-Israel groups from both parties now actively engaged in the consequential special election, which will help determine the balance of power in the House. Halie Soifer, the CEO of the Jewish Democratic Council of America, which has invested in print and digital ads to support Suozzi, called the race a “bellwether for November” that she expects will demonstrate “the power of the Jewish vote,” given its “relatively high turnout numbers.”