Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), an outspoken supporter of Israel and one of the most ardent opponents of a two-state solution in the House, is set to become the next chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee following a surprise vote on Monday by House Republican leadership.

Mast’s upset victory, which now must be ratified by the GOP conference, marks a clear shift from the tenure of outgoing Chairman Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) — a more moderate and internationalist dealmaker — to a firebrand conservative. 

Mast beat out more establishment-aligned candidates who were believed to be favored — Reps. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Ann Wagner (R-MO) — as well as Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), for the slot in a surprise victory.

President-elect Donald Trump helped push Mast to victory, personally calling members of the GOP steering committee, which voted for Mast, to pressure them to support the Florida legislator, a source familiar with the situation told Jewish Insider.

Mast, a military veteran who lost his legs in an IED blast while serving in Afghanistan as an explosive ordnance disposal technician and later volunteered as a civilian in a support role for the Israeli Defense Forces, attracted attention on Capitol Hill when he wore an IDF uniform to Capitol Hill shortly after the Oct. 7 attack, in what he described as partly a response to Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) hanging a Palestinian flag outside her office.

He has been a vocal opponent of any U.S. aid to the Palestinians, and has questioned whether any Palestinians can be considered “innocent,” given support for Hamas inside Gaza and the West Bank. He’s attracted fury and condemnation from Democratic colleagues over such comments.

“I would encourage the other side to not so lightly throw around the idea of innocent Palestinian civilians,” Mast said on the House floor earlier this year, arguing that, ideologically, most Palestinians could be described as terrorists. “I don’t think we would so lightly throw around the term innocent Nazi civilians during World War II … There’s very few innocent Palestinian civilians.”

On the subject of a two-state solution, Mast has argued that a Palestinian state would inevitably become a launchpad for terrorist attacks on Israel.

“If you’re looking to support a second state, what you’re making is a second Iran. A second terror-led state. That’s a fact. It’s a fact that [the Palestinian Authority is] not holding elections because Hamas would win those elections,” Mast said in 2021 during a committee hearing. “I would argue that your support for a two-state solution is wholly misguided. Do you believe that we would see anything other than a second terror-led state akin to Iran?”

Mast has described Democrats as unreliable supporters of Israel, and said he believed Secretary of State Tony Blinken’s expressions of support were “other than genuine.”

He led legislation this year that would permanently cut off U.S. funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, which works with Palestinians, claw back unspent funds the U.S. had provided to the agency and dismantle the agency and transfer its responsibilities to the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees.

He’s also pushed legislation to provide Israel with so-called bunker-buster bombs, which would allow Israel to strike at deeply buried Iranian nuclear facilities. As chair of the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability, he was involved in efforts to probe Biden administration Iran envoy Rob Malley.

Mast has also expressed support for efforts to cut off U.S. funding for the U.N. entirely.

He is a longtime supporter of stronger sanctions targeting Palestinian terrorist groups, sponsoring legislation on the subject, targeting international Hamas backers.

Earlier this year, he pushed to have provisions added to the supplemental aid bill for Israel that would require all aid to be delivered rapidly to Israel. And he has been an active supporter of anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation.

The Floridian praised Trump’s recent threat to Hamas to release the hostages before inauguration day, calling it “the strength America needs. If an American is being held hostage abroad, there should be every expectation that an American is coming to get them.”

He has blasted the Biden administration for urging Israel to accept a cease-fire deal with Hamas.

Mast said on his congressional website that he volunteered with the IDF “because our countries share these common ideals of freedom, democracy and mutual respect for all people” and said, “We cannot let Israel face its enemies alone.”

He said he is “dedicated to advancing policies to embrace the Israeli people as our friends with my pro-Israel colleagues on both sides of the aisle” and expanding U.S. security assistance.

Mast visited Israel in January to offer support to recent Israeli amputees.

The Florida congressman has been active on Syrian human rights issues — he led a resolution in 2018 condemning the now-deposed Assad regime for human rights abuses and a 2019 resolution supporting efforts among American and Syrian NGOs and the IDF to provide aid inside Syria.

Mast opposes additional funding for Ukraine, arguing that European nations should be footing the bill. McCaul, the outgoing chair, was one of the key supporters who helped pass additional Ukraine aid earlier this year.

“With the world on fire, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is more important than ever,” McCaul — who initially planned to seek a waiver for an additional term atop the committee but ultimately dropped out of the running — said in a statement. “And I have no doubt Congressman Mast — a distinguished combat veteran and experienced member of this committee — will serve the nation well in this role, as he sacrificed in Afghanistan.”