Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said on Tuesday that he is concerned about the views of some of the officials in the White House shaping President Donald Trump’s Iran policy, marking the most critical comments yet from the hawkish senator about Trump’s approach to Iran. 

He urged members of NORPAC, a pro-Israel advocacy organization, to raise the issue in their meetings with anyone in the Trump administration.

“We need clarity with the Trump administration, and as NORPAC talks to the administration, I would say, I worry there are voices in the administration that are not eager to hold up the president’s red line of dismantlement,” Cruz said at NORPAC’s annual Washington lobbying mission, referring to mixed messaging from some U.S. officials on the acceptable contours of a potential new nuclear agreement with Iran. 

Cruz, a staunch opponent of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal negotiated by the Obama administration, has not formally come out against Trump’s negotiations with Iran, although he said in his remarks that he has “more than a little skepticism” that “this threat can be dealt with diplomatically.” 

But in recent weeks, Cruz has challenged one talking point on the negotiations made by officials including Vice President JD Vance, Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and Secretary of State Marco Rubio — that Iran should be allowed to maintain a civil nuclear program. 

“There are some in the Senate who say, Well, Iran can have civilian peaceful nuclear power. Baloney. I see no reason for Iran to have anything nuclear whatsoever,” Cruz said Tuesday, echoing comments he has made in the past. “The only way to stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon is to eliminate the centrifuges.” 

Trump himself has offered mixed messages on how his administration is approaching the issue of nuclear enrichment. He said in early May that the goal of the Iran talks is “total dismantlement.” Days later, Trump said he had not yet decided whether Iran should be allowed to continue enriching uranium.

Witkoff has also walked back his earlier comments, saying last Sunday that “any deal between the United States and Iran must include an agreement not to enrich uranium.”

Democratic Majority for Israel, a top pro-Israel advocacy group, is announcing a new president and board chair, after a recent leadership shake-up that resulted in the sudden departure of its founder last month.

The organization said in a statement to Jewish Insider on Friday that Brian Romick, a longtime senior aide to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD), will serve as president and CEO, succeeding Mark Mellman, a veteran Democratic pollster who founded the group in 2019 to counter growing anti-Israel sentiment on the left.

Former Rep. Kathy Manning (D-NC), a pro-Israel stalwart and Jewish Democrat who has previously chaired the Jewish Federations of North America, will lead DMFI’s board of directors, the group said.

In a statement shared with JI, Romick, who has helped guide Hoyer’s efforts to advance pro-Israel legislation and fight antisemitism, called DMFI “an essential voice in Washington and in the pro-Israel community across the country,” particularly during what he characterized as a “critical moment in the U.S.-Israel relationship.”

“I want to thank DMFI’s leadership and staff for their efforts over the last six years to build a robust presence in the Democratic Party that reflects our shared values with Israel,” Romick continued. “With the House and Senate in play during the upcoming midterm elections, I am committed to working with Kathy, the board and the staff to expand DMFI’s impact and ensure we are supporting pro-Israel Democrats next year.”

Manning, for her part, said that she was “thrilled to chair DMFI’s board at this very important time for the U.S.-Israel relationship and for the Democratic Party,” while also thanking “the past leadership for establishing DMFI and turning it into a vibrant and formidable organization with an outsized impact. 

“I look forward to building on the strong foundation they have created,” Manning said in the statement.

DMFI has not shared a reason for Mellman’s abrupt departure in mid-April, which came as something of a surprise to political observers. He has not publicly addressed the matter.

Mellman had also served as the chairman of DMFI’s super PAC, which has become a prominent player in key Democratic primary battles where conflicts over Israel have featured prominently. The group has yet to select a new chair of its political arm, DMFI PAC, which will be a pivotal role as it begins to strategize in advance of next year’s primaries.

DMFI, for its part, has in recent weeks staked out an increasingly adversarial approach to the new Trump administration, expressing concern that it is leaving Israel exposed amid a U.S. ceasefire agreement with the Houthis in Yemen and criticizing the president’s plans to accept a $400 million luxury jet from Qatar as a threat to national security.

In a statement shared with JI on Friday, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), a pro-Israel champion backed by DMFI PAC, voiced confidence Romick and Manning would guide DMFI “through an ever-more complex and challenging era for the set of issues at the core of its focus.”

“Kathy and Brian are the right leaders for this moment when Democratic Majority for Israel’s mission is more important than ever,” added Todd Richman, a current co-chair of DMFI’s board. “Their deep experience and accomplishments on Capitol Hill, in Democratic politics, and as leading pro-Israel advocates will build on DMFI’s record of achievement.”

DMFI also announced two new additions to its board: Lisa Eisen, the co-president of Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Philanthropies and the founding board chair of Israel on Campus Coalition; and Stuart Kurlander, a retired partner at Latham & Watkins who has served as a president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington  

In January, the group named Brian Abrahams, a longtime pro-Israel activist who previously worked for the bipartisan lobbying group AIPAC, as its new vice president and chief advancement officer.