The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted on Wednesday to advance Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun’s nomination to be the Trump administration’s antisemitism envoy, clearing the way for a full Senate vote on his confirmation. 

All 12 Republicans on the committee voted in favor, while eight of the 10 Democrats on the panel were opposed. The two Democrats who voted to support Kaploun were the committee’s ranking Democrat, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), a close ally of the Jewish community. 

Kaploun, an Orthodox Jewish businessman and Chabad rabbi, was a campaign surrogate for President Donald Trump’s 2024 bid and has, since he was first nominated for the post in April, become a fixture at D.C.-area events focused on combating antisemitism.

The leaders of various mainstream Jewish organizations — including the Jewish Federations of North America, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee — have urged Senate leaders to move ahead with the confirmation process and act swiftly to fill the post.

The 14-8 vote, which came two weeks after Kaploun’s confirmation hearing, offers a preview of how senators on both sides of the aisle could land on his nomination when it comes before the full Senate. Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) decision to vote to advance Kaploun’s nomination, given his record of bucking the president’s choice of Cabinet nominees and legislative matters, suggests Republicans are likely to be unified in supporting Kaploun on the floor. 

Shaheen and Rosen’s support for Kaploun’s nomination indicates that he could secure a handful of Democratic votes as well. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who has not said where he stands on Kaploun’s nomination, has crossed party lines to support several of Trump’s Cabinet picks, including U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee. 

Shaheen said during Wednesday’s vote that she had reservations about prior comments Kaploun had made about lawmakers, including statements she described as “very partisan.” Still, she planned to support his confirmation and said she hoped Kaploun would approach the role in a nonpartisan way.

“I’m going to vote for Mr. Kaploun, but I continue to be concerned about his past statements that he’s made, particularly about members of Congress. They have been very partisan. I think partisanship weakens the collective effort to combat antisemitism,” Shaheen said. “I agree with the past special envoy [Deborah Lipstadt], who has been supporting Mr. Kaploun, that this position should be above partisanship.”

“I hope that he will recognize that once he assumes this position, that he should be above partisanship and focus on combating antisemitism,” she added.