Mark Isakowitz, Google’s top lobbyist who Sen.-elect Dave McCormick (R-PA) tapped this week as his chief of staff, says his future boss’s “commitment to Israel and defending the Jewish people at a perilous time” was part of what moved him to accept the new role. 

McCormick announced on Tuesday that Isakowitz, who previously served as former Sen. Rob Portman’s (R-OH) chief of staff, will return to Capitol Hill to run his new office. The incoming senator praised Isakowitz in a statement as “an expert at bringing people together to deliver results for the American people,” touting his work with Portman on President-elect Donald Trump’s 2017 tax cuts. 

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT), the outgoing chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, said in a statement that Isakowitz “knows the Senate and will hit the ground running to help Dave and the new Senate majority implement President Trump’s agenda and get things done for the people of Pennsylvania.”

Speaking to Jewish Insider about his decision to leave K Street for the Senate, Isakowitz said the potential for McCormick to be a “high-impact” senator “was palpable for me, and that’s why I’m excited to do this.” 

“I’m the child of two Holocaust survivors who couldn’t have imagined they’d have a child working near the dome of the Capitol. I’ve always had the view that these opportunities are precious. If you have a chance to do them for the right people, you should go for it,” Isakowitz said.

Isakowitz added that he had been “quite struck” by the attention McCormick has paid to Jewish issues, praising him and his wife, Dina Powell, for their outreach to Israelis and Pennsylvania’s Jewish community. 

“I watched admiringly as Dave and Dina went to Kfar Aza in January 2024, and when they did outreach to the community in Pennsylvania, things like the Dan Senor-[moderated] events. That really caught my eye. I saw the community respond too,” Isakowitz said. “I also noticed that Dave didn’t just talk about Israel, his message was also about the safety of the Jewish people everywhere. I think that really spoke to people at a troubled time, and I give him a lot of credit for that.”

“For me personally, it was really quite striking and was also a factor in my thinking [about taking the chief of staff role],” he continued. 

Asked what he expects McCormick’s top legislative priorities to be, Isakowitz noted that McCormick “made a lot of important commitments” on the campaign trail about encouraging “U.S. leadership on the energy renaissance in Pennsylvania,” “U.S. leadership in relation to China” and “the economic strength of Pennsylvania.”

“I think the world of Dave and Dina, so I consider it very, very lucky to have the chance to go do this and I want to help them succeed,” Isakowitz said. “I think succeeding in the Senate is a combination of hard work, preparation, having thought about issues, and the relationships that allow you to work with other people.”