Critics falsely assert the provision would merge the U.S. and Israeli militaries or otherwise compromise U.S. sovereignty and control of the U.S. military
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U.S. Capitol building on July 12, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleA provision in the draft 2027 National Defense Authorization Act that aims to coordinate and enhance cooperation between the U.S. and Israeli militaries has proven to be a significant source of controversy among Democrats, with even some senior lawmakers who defended the provision on its merits flipping against it under pressure.
And, as Congress will have only months to pass the NDAA when it returns from recess after the November elections, the provision may face some resistance from Republican lawmakers as well — an indication of skepticism of the U.S.-Israel partnership building among the GOP base as part of the debate between hawks and isolationists.
“There’s nobody here who’s more of an ardent supporter of Israel’s right to exist and ability to defend themselves, but I don’t think we should integrate our military with anybody, not even the Bahamas,” Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) told the far-left outlet Drop Site News earlier this year. His office has declined to provide further comment.
Critics falsely assert the provision would merge the U.S. and Israeli militaries or otherwise compromise U.S. sovereignty and control of the U.S. military.
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) also expressed opposition to the provision, and claimed that the White House and Pentagon wanted the provision removed from the bill. Neither have expressed such a view publicly, but did not respond to requests for comment.
Some in the far-right online sphere have previously criticized the provision.
Two other senators aligned with the restrictionist foreign policy wing of the party, Sens. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) — who have also generally been strong supporters of Israel — were also noncommittal.
“I know there was a House version that was a little more controversial, but we’ll take a look,” Schmitt told Jewish Insider in late July. His office did not respond when asked if his stance has changed since then.
“Let’s see what happens with the NDAA. That’s going to be a long wait, I think,” Hawley told JI in early August. “I don’t know what version is going to come to us.”
Yet Sen. Jim Banks (R-IN), who has sought a “middle path” on foreign policy between internationalism and restrictionism, while urging Republicans not to label each other “isolationists,” expressed strong support for the provision.
“I think [the concerns are] overblown. That cooperation is important. It’s cooperation that’s always existed,” Banks told JI. “I’m sure we’ll have a thorough debate on that one when it gets to the floor, but having served myself, I know how important that relationship is. Strengthening that relationship is more important than ever.”
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), who chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee, told JI in August he has not been concerned about Republican opposition to the provision. “I haven’t been worried about that, no,” Wicker said at the time. He declined to answer additional questions on the subject, and his office did not respond to follow-up questions.
The antiwar measure failed again, this time by a 50-49 vote
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Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) speaks to reporters as he walks into the Senate Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on April 15, 2026 in Washington, D.C.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) joined Democrats and a handful of Republicans in voting on Thursday for a war powers resolution demanding an end to the war in Iran. But, despite growing calls from vulnerable Republicans ahead of the midterm elections, most of the GOP continued to vote against the war powers effort, and the measure failed by a 50-49 vote.
“We’re reaching a point to where we just need answers. We got to know what success looks like,” Tillis, who is not running for a third Senate term, said earlier this week. “There’s never been any way to measure what success looks like. … For every step we take forward, we take a step back.”
He also highlighted the economic costs of the war, opposition from voters and concerns that the war could drag on indefinitely.
Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rand Paul (R-KY) also voted for the resolution, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted against it.
The bill, named after the late Sen. Lindsey Graham, includes a five-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, which was set to expire in 2026
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A general view of the U.S. Capitol Building from the National Mall, in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, May 29, 2025.
Despite objections from leading Democrats, the House on Wednesday passed a bipartisan bill to sanction Russia and extend existing sanctions on Iran, named for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who spent his final months negotiating the legislation.
The bill now heads to the White House to be signed into law. It includes a five-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996, which was set to expire in 2026, a late-stage addition to the bill in the Senate after President Donald Trump demanded that the bill include provisions related to Iran.
The legislation received a significantly different reception from Democrats in the House than it did in the Senate, where the bill passed with strong bipartisan support. Fifty-eight House Democrats voted for the bill, while 152 voted against it. Seven Republicans opposed the legislation. The final tally was 262-159.
Democrats who opposed the bill generally raised concerns about the waiver authorities that the administration could use to avoid placing sanctions on Russia — arguing that Trump can’t be trusted to crack down on President Vladimir Putin — and about the tariff provisions included in the bill to target importers of Russian oil.
Democrats have warned that Trump could misuse those tariff authorities to target U.S. partners in trade disputes, unrelated to the war in Ukraine.
“The manner in which this bill has been written doesn’t require the president of the United States to impose sanctions on Russia,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said on the House floor. “In fact, there are so many loopholes written into the bill, I believe, that it’s very unlikely that the sanctions … contemplated in the legislation will ever see the light of day. That’s particularly the case because President Trump has shown great reluctance over the [past] 10 years … to actually side with the Ukrainian people.”
“Worse yet, what this legislation will do is give Donald Trump perhaps unfettered authority to unleash tariffs on the American people in ways that have already cost everyday Americans thousands of dollars in additional expense per year,” Jeffries continued, questioning why Congress would give Trump “unfettered authority to visit more tariffs on the world.”
Other top Democratic leaders, including Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA) and Greg Meeks (D-NY), also opposed the bill.
But several prominent Democrats, including former Democratic leaders Reps. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Jim Clyburn (D-SC), supported the bill.
“Nobody in this House believes that I am a defender of Donald Trump’s failure to address this issue head on and effectively. No one has opposed his tariff policies any more than I have,” Hoyer said earlier this week.
But he emphasized that “nothing we do to pass this bill or defeat this bill” will encourage or discourage Trump from going “far beyond his legal strictures.”
He said the bill will be “a statement by the Congress of the United States” — “‘This is what ought to happen. Sanctions ought to be imposed, tariffs or penalize countries who are funding Russia’s ability to make war,’” declaring clearly that Congress supports Ukraine even if Trump’s support is unreliable.
“If we do not pass this bill, there will be great joy in the Kremlin and great devastation in Kyiv, who will see something that they thought they had in hand — a strong statement by the United States of America’s Congress — disappear because of a fight over tariffs,” Hoyer said. “Their morale will tank and we will be still, since April 2024, having not taken the action.”
House Republicans celebrated the bill’s passage.
“House and Senate Republicans are placing maximum pressure on Vladimir Putin and the Russian war machine,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said in a statement. “This legislation strengthens economic sanctions against the Russian government, its financial institutions, and the foreign governments that aid Russian aggression against Ukraine by purchasing cheap Russian oil and gas and helping the Kremlin evade other sanctions.”
AIPAC also praised the bill’s passage, noting, “The Iran Sanctions Act underpins most sanctions on the Iranian regime and was set to expire this year.” The pro-Israel group also urged Congress to quickly pass the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act, which passed the House earlier this year.
The American Jewish Committee, which has advocated strongly for Ukraine in addition to Israel, applauded the bill’s passage as well.
“We welcome the House’s passage of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, advancing legislation that would significantly increase economic pressure on Russia over its ongoing illegal war against Ukraine while extending sanctions against Iran,” the AJC said in a statement. “Russia and Iran continue to pose threats that extend far beyond their borders, including through their military cooperation and support for destabilizing actors.”
“This bipartisan action by Congress sends a clear message that the Russian and Iranian regimes must be held accountable for activities that threaten international security and stability,” the statement continued.
Reps. Nancy Mace, Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Zach Nunn voted for the first time for a war powers resolution
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U.S. Capitol building on July 12, 2026 in Washington, DC.
The House approved a third war powers resolution aiming to force an end to the conflict with Iran late Tuesday, with a record seven Republicans voting in favor of the effort.
Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC), Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-IA) and Zach Nunn (R-IA) joined Reps. Tom Barrett (R-MI), Warren Davidson (R-OH), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Thomas Massie (R-KY), who had previously supported war powers efforts, in voting for the resolution.
Miller-Meeks and Nunn are both facing competitive midterm races in toss-up districts. Nunn in particular has generally been a hawk on Iran. Mace, who is retiring from Congress after losing the South Carolina gubernatorial primary, has previously expressed some criticisms of the war and has proven to be an unpredictable vote on a range of issues.
“Iran must be held accountable for killing Americans, supporting terrorism, threatening the Strait of Hormuz, and pursuing nuclear weapons. Iowa has already paid a devastating price, including two service members killed by an Iranian drone in Kuwait,” Nunn said in a statement. “Congress owes them, their families, and every American in uniform clear objectives and constitutional oversight. With the negotiating window closed, sustained combat operations now require congressional authorization.”
Emphasizing his own service record, Nunn said he “will not support another open-ended war. We can defend Americans, pressure Iran, and pursue peace while ensuring Congress fulfills its constitutional responsibility.”
Miller-Meeks and Nunn’s shifting votes in particular underscore the pressure that some swing-district Republicans are feeling over the war, which polls poorly and has contributed to rising gas prices in the United States.
Miller-Meeks, also a veteran, emphasized that the mission in Iran should “stay focused and limited, because Americans do not want another forever war. I will not vote to keep our soldiers in an open-ended war, with Iowans paying too much at the pump.”
“The Iranian regime and its nuclear ambitions have been defanged. The President needs to present a plan to Congress and the American people for how this ends so we can focus on bringing our soldiers home and lowering prices,” she continued.
Mace said in a statement that the war has dragged on significantly longer than initially planned, with no end in sight, hundreds of Americans wounded and more than a dozen killed, while gas prices and inflation have increased.
“The President needs to make his case for continuing this conflict to Congress and the American people,” Mace said. “We cannot allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, but we also cannot continue to put American troops in harm’s way without a clear objective and exit strategy or send another generation into an endless regime change war in the Middle East. Congress needs to step in and do its job.”
Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement following the vote, “The president must end this failed war and appoint real diplomats, not real estate developers, to work multilaterally on a diplomatic solution that opens the Strait and reduces tensions. The American people have made it clear that they do not support this war, and the Constitution does not grant Trump the authority to wage it without the consent of the people and their representatives.”
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats framed the escalating Houthi offensive as more fallout from the Iran war
(Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, shouts slogans during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026.
Senators returning to Washington on Monday offered mixed responses to the recent Houthi offensive inside Yemen and Saudi Arabia, with some Republicans telling Jewish Insider that the Iran-backed terror group’s moves warranted a response, while some Democrats framed the Houthi attacks as further fallout from the U.S. war against Iran.
The Iran-backed Yemeni terrorist group seized control of key port cities along the Red Sea coast, near the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait, as well as Perim Island inside the waterway and the Hanish archipelago to the north. Drones fired from Iraq also struck and disabled a critical Saudi oil pipeline that the country had been using to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. has thus far declined to intervene.
Republicans who spoke to Jewish Insider said they had not been fully briefed on the situation since returning to Washington on Monday after being away for the Senate’s extended August recess. Still, they said a forceful response from the Saudis was warranted.
“Everybody ought to work together to destroy the Houthis,” Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said. “It’s not just the Trump administration, the Saudis have resources. They need to use all their resources to destroy them. You can’t play games here. You’ve got to destroy them.”
Asked if the U.S. should take action against the terror organization, Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said, “I think we need to do just what we’re doing right now. We need to crank the sanctions up as high as we can and continue the blockade. The Saudis can do something. They have an army. They have weapons.”
“If I were the Saudis, I’d hit them back,” the Louisiana senator added.
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told JI that he did not know “what the administration’s plans are” as far as how the U.S. will approach the Houthis after this latest series of attacks, though he emphasized that it was imperative to find a resolution that “contained” the Houthis as quickly as possible.
“Look, it’s a very dangerous neighborhood down there right now. The Houthis have been causing some real problems, not just for Saudi Arabia but for trade throughout the rest of the world,” Rounds said. “The sooner we get that resolved down there and get them contained once again, the better off we’re all going to be.”
“There needs to be a response to any adverse action that they take, in my view — and an amplified response,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) told JI.
Democrats generally framed the Houthi offensive as an extension and expansion of the Iran war.
“This war is metastasizing out of control,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said, referring to the conflict with Iran. “Whatever support for it there may have been when it was confined to a certain geographic area, it was done without a strategic plan, without realistic objectives, without a clear understanding of the enemy, and now it is metastasizing with the costs potentially looming larger than ever.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) suggested that the Houthis would likely de-escalate if the U.S. de-escalated, similar to how the group wound down attacks on Red Sea shipping during ceasefires in Gaza.
“It is a very predictable consequence of the Iran war, which we never should have gone into,” Kaine said. “The ties between the Iranians and the Houthis are very well-known. When the pace of U.S. activity in the region abates, the Houthis tend to abate. … They’ve been threatening to do this, and so the right thing to do is to find a ceasefire and stop the war in Iran.”
The lawmakers also said they do not have serious concerns about antisemitism on the political right
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Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol on June 4, 2025.
LAS VEGAS — Jewish House Republicans said during the Republican Jewish Coalition’s leadership summit in Las Vegas earlier this month that there’s little appetite among Republicans to end U.S. aid to Israel as the two sides look toward the end of the current memorandum of understanding on military aid.
They also said they do not have serious concerns about antisemitism on the right, and argued that it did not stand any real chance of encroaching into the GOP.
Rep. David Kustoff (R-TN) argued to Jewish Insider that the near-unanimous GOP vote this summer against an amendment to cut off U.S. aid to Israel showed that most Republicans want U.S. aid to continue, when asked about the next MOU and the prospect of winding down aid.
“I think the message is that the majority of the members of the House want to see the aid continue, want to see this alliance continue, but elections have consequences, and we don’t know what the makeup of the next House is going to be on the Republican side and on the Democrat side,” he said.
Kustoff said that the vote to cut off aid on the Democratic side, including House Minority Whip Katherine Clark’s (D-MA), shows “where the Democrat[ic] Party is going,” even as he praised select members like retiring Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) for continuing to stand up for the U.S.-Israel relationship.
“I do feel confident that if the Republicans maintain the majority of the House, that this strong relationship continues and exists,” Kustoff said.
Rep. Craig Goldman (R-TX) emphasized that Israel and the United States are facing threats not only from Iran and its nuclear program but also from the terrorist groups that Iran has spent decades funding.
“I certainly will fight tooth and nail as long as I’m a member of U.S. Congress to continue aid to Israel,” Goldman told JI. “It’s too important for not only our national security but world security. Our strongest ally in the Middle East, we can’t let fall in bad hands.”
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) also argued to JI that continuing aid is in the interests of the U.S., explaining, “I think it’s in Israel’s best interest to stop taking the aid. I don’t know that it’s in America’s best interest.”
At least some Republicans on Capitol Hill have argued, echoing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that U.S. aid to Israel should be wound down and ended in the coming years, though the idea does not seem to have purchase among others like Kustoff, Goldman and Fine.
Kustoff also told JI that the administration needs to “continue to make the argument” to Congress and the American public about the next steps in the Iran war in order to secure the necessary funding from Congress to continue the war effort.
“It’s so important for the administration to talk about what these next steps look like, and again, for the members of Congress who are going to be voting on these important appropriations, we need to know what these next several weeks look like in terms of planning and implementation,” Kustoff said.
Kustoff said that antisemitism is “far more” of a problem on the left than the right, pointing to recent primary results, but acknowledged that misinformation on social media targeting the Jewish community is impacting younger Americans regardless of political affiliation.
“There is no easy answer. Part of it is that people like me on our side, and people on the Democrat[ic] side, have to stand up and denounce and call out the misinformation, the out-and-out lies that are out there on social media,” Kustoff said. “We know that the misinformation emanates from the enemies of Israel and the enemies of the United States, to permeate discontent primarily among our younger population.”
He argued that the Republican Party can block antisemites from gaining ground in the GOP, as they have in the Democratic Party, by remaining firm on its “principles,” standing unequivocally in support of Israel and focusing on recruiting candidates who align with the party’s values and ideals.
Lee Zeldin, the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and a former House Republican, also argued during a press appearance at the RJC conference that antisemitism on the right is less serious of a problem than on the left.
Democrats, he emphasized, are campaigning alongside the likes of streamer Hasan Piker, framing some candidates as functionally answering to Piker and his views.
“Where do you see congressional Republicans on the ballot this November campaigning with a [neo-Nazi] Nick Fuentes? It’s just it doesn’t happen. You know there’s no defense of him on the trail, and there’s a reason for that,” Zeldin said, arguing that Fuentes is not actually a conservative at all.
The Democratic Party leadership, he continued, is “being led by those extreme elements.” Zeldin said he witnessed the evolution of the Democratic Party firsthand with the rise of the Squad during his time on Capitol Hill. He also argued that the right-wing equivalent of a Squad member would never make it to a GOP nomination or be elected to federal office.
“When you see antisemitism, it should be singularly identified and crushed in any form, and antisemitism has no place in this country. I’ll say it unequivocally. I’ll say it forcefully and passionately every single time,” he said, when asked by JI how to prevent such a trend from repeating itself among Republicans.
“It’s to be identified, confronted and crushed,” he continued. “How do you eliminate it? It’s not by elevating it, embracing it, empowering it. You can’t be silent towards it. You can’t allow it to spread and gain a foothold. Wherever you see it, you have to identify it, and you have to crush it.”
Goldman voiced fears about the rise of the Democratic Socialists of America on the left.
“Organizations like the Democratic Socialists of America scare me as not only just an American but as a Jewish American,” Goldman said. “I have tremendous fears of what’s building on the left.”
He noted that the other Goldman on Capitol Hill, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), had been defeated by a further left candidate despite being a reliably progressive vote.
“That’s very, very scary,” he said. “That member, that person’s going to be a member of the U.S. Congress next year. So I think it’s a big moment to wake up. … This isn’t just normal Democrats running and winning. These are socialists.”
He said he’s not concerned about antisemites gaining similar purchase within the GOP.
The bipartisan bill, backed by most Republicans and 33 Democrats, would strip federal funding from colleges engaged in boycotts against Israel
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Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ)
House Democrats overwhelmingly voted against a bill that would strip federal funding from colleges and universities engaged in boycotts of Israel, with just 33 Democrats supporting the measure.
The bill ultimately passed 237-169, with two Republicans voting against the measure along with the majority of House Democrats.
The Protect Economic and Academic Freedom Act, led by Reps. Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), would make colleges that participate in a “nonexpressive commercial boycott” of Israel ineligible to receive federal student aid funding, requiring them to certify annually that they are not engaged in such boycotts and instructing the Department of Education to annually publish a list of schools that fail to submit such certifications.
The law would apply to boycotts of Israel as a country or to companies and other entities operating under Israeli law, which would include settlements in the West Bank.
The Democrats who supported the bill were Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Kathy Castor (D-FL), Gil Cisneros (D-CA), Jim Costa (D-CA), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Henry Cuellar (D-TX), Don Davis (D-NC), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Jared Golden (D-ME), Vicente Gonzalez (D-TX), Greg Landsman (D-OH), George Latimer (D-NY), Susie Lee (D-NV), John Mannion (D-NY), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Jimmy Panetta (D-CA), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA), Josh Riley (D-NY), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Hillary Scholten (D-MI), Kim Schrier (D-WA), Brad Sherman (D-CA), Darren Soto (D-FL), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Shri Thanedar (D-MI), Dina Titus (D-NV), Ritchie Torres (D-NY), Juan Vargas (D-CA), Eugene Vindman (D-VA) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL).
Republican Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH) and Thomas Massie (R-KY) opposed it.
“No student, no professor should be shut out of research, study abroad opportunities, or academic partnerships, or feel unwelcome in the classroom because of where they’re from or what religion they practice,” Gottheimer said in a statement ahead of the vote. “Yet that’s exactly what the boycott-divest-sanction movement seeks to do — targeting one country and one religion: Israel and Judaism.”
He insisted the bill would not impact speech, protest or academic debate, but “simply says that if your university takes federal taxpayer dollars, it can’t discriminate against academic partnerships or investments with one country. That’s it. I urge my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support this bipartisan bill.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called the bill a “poorly-written Republican bill” that would not oppose the BDS movement but instead “provide Donald Trump with the power to punitively launch political attacks on our colleges and universities.”
He pledged that a Democratic majority would “advance unifying legislation” to combat antisemitism.
Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), a co-chair of the House Jewish Caucus, said that he strongly opposes the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement and believes that it “can veer into antisemitism.”
“But no matter how strongly I oppose the BDS movement, I also believe that those who engage in BDS have a First Amendment right to do so,” Nadler continued, calling the bill a “direct and gross violation of the First Amendment.”
He said it also “treats the entire West Bank as part of Israel, erasing the Green Line and undermining efforts to promote a two-state solution.”
A memo from Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA), the ranking member of the House Education and Workforce Committee, also urged Democrats to oppose the bill, warning that it could “potentially” restrict schools’ First Amendment rights and that it does not address a currently existing problem. It also notes opposition from J Street and the American Federation of Teachers.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America also opposed the bill, which it said is “an infringement on free speech and undermines efforts toward peace.”
AIPAC and Jewish groups, including the Republican Jewish Coalition and the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, supported the bill.
AIPAC said in a statement, “This legislation helps protect pro-Israel students from discriminatory boycotts and efforts to deny them the ability to study in Israel or learn from Israeli professors, while fully protecting First Amendment rights.”
The RJC noted, “insisting that universities join the BDS lynch mob was the key demand campus protesters confronted university administrators with during the period of antisemitic violence and unrest that swept American campuses after October 7, 2023.”
The bill’s prospects of passing the Senate in the remaining months of the current congressional term are unclear. It has no companion legislation in the Senate and there had not been much public attention on the legislation prior to its passage today in the House.
Confronting a skeptical crowd, the vice president expressed support for Israel and the Jewish community; he wasn’t pressed directly on his past comments and affiliations that have most concerned Jewish Republicans
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Vice President JD Vance speaks during a rally at Universal Contracting and Urban Tree Trimming on August 31, 2026 in Sterling Heights, Michigan.
LAS VEGAS — Vice President JD Vance stuck to a pro-Israel line and rejected antisemitism in remarks on Monday to the Republican Jewish Coalition, avoiding any new controversies while not being pressed directly about some of his past comments and affiliations, including with Tucker Carlson, that have most concerned Jewish Republicans.
Attendees, with some exceptions, largely said that the speech helped Vance reassure skeptical Jewish and pro-Israel Republicans and boost his support with the RJC crowd ahead of a potential 2028 presidential bid.
Vance, in an off-record conversation with RJC Chairman Norm Coleman, audio and a transcript of which were leaked shortly after his remarks, was asked about a list of antisemitic influencers including Carlson and Nick Fuentes and his decisions about how to engage with those figures. He didn’t directly address Carlson — who he has previously defended as a friend — in his response, instead highlighting differences he sees between figures like Fuentes (who he tagged as antisemitic) and Rogan (who he said wasn’t).
“One area where I really do draw the line is on people who engage in what I call this blood libel attitude. I recognize a lot of people in this room might disagree with things that Tucker Carlson or Megyn Kelly or Joe Rogan has said, but — just to hone in on Fuentes and Rogan, I think these are two very, very different categories of people, both with their reach, but also within the ideas that are in their actual head,” Vance said.
Regarding Rogan, he said that he thinks the best approach is to engage and make his case and try to reach his audience. Fuentes, he said, is a substantively different case who is not worth engaging with given both his neo-Nazi views and his personal attacks on Vance and his family.
“But outside of some pretty bright lines, I try to talk to as many people as I can,” Vance continued.
Vance also highlighted a “growing suspicion” among the under-40 generation of the U.S.-Israel relationship and said that he believes that the best way to make the case for the relationship is to “actually get out there and talk about the ways in which it is in the best interest of the United States of America,” highlighting advanced missile defense technology as one example.
He said that other arguments that may have “made a lot of sense rhetorically 30 or 40 years ago” may not have the same appeal to young people today.
Asked about his past comments that Israeli and U.S. interests don’t always align, the vice president said that Israel is important to U.S. national security and among the U.S.’s most critical alliances, as well as undergirded by a “deeper cultural symbiosis and harmony.”
Vance was not directly asked about his recent comments accusing the Israeli government of conducting influence operations in the U.S. to undermine negotiations with Iran.
Vance suggested that Israel’s focus on the Middle East and the U.S.’s desire to shift away from a two-decade focus on that region is “a natural place in which Israel is going to look at these things slightly differently than the United States of America. … The most important thing is to say that there are alignments of interest across a whole host of issues.”
Towards the end of his remarks, Vance said that he sees antisemitism as having increased primarily as a result of immigration and the “importation of large groups of people who bring their ethnic rivalries” rather than changing sentiments in the American populace.
The vice president emphasized that he and the entire administration “love” the Jewish community and “you will very much always be on the team so long as I have any say in it.”
He argued that antisemitism — or the idea of punishing anyone for their genetics or ancestry, which he referred to as “blood libel” or “blood guilt”— is anathema to his Christian faith. He also highlighted past conversations with conservative activist Charlie Kirk about how antisemitism is “corrosive to the soul.”
“I think the antidote to antisemitism is the rejection of this idea of blood guilt,” Vance continued. “And I would tell any young man who claims to be a Christian that this is super corrosive for the soul.”
Vance said he feels a personal affinity and connection between the Catholic and Jewish religions and sees similarities between the two faiths — noting that he participated in a reading at the Orthodox Jewish wedding of his former chief of staff, Jacob Reses.
Vance, who spent the day on the campaign trail in Michigan with former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), called Rogers “the single most important candidate right now in this midterm election” and El-Sayed “one of the worst disgraces running in the history of the American political process.”
“You don’t see a bunch of innocent Jewish kids who almost lose their lives and empathize with the killer unless you see those people as less than human,” Vance said, referring to El-Sayed’s response to the attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., in March.
Several RJC board members, all speaking in their personal capacities, and other attendees largely said that Vance’s remarks had helped his case with the Jewish community.
“His sincerity was appreciated, and his comment that the under-40 generation doesn’t have the same emotional or historical attachment to Israel so must be met where they are was correct,” Joshua Katzen, an RJC board member told Jewish Insider. “The audience was relieved.”
Katzen told JI prior to Vance’s speech that the remarks would be an opportunity to alleviate concerns from RJC members, and his remarks earned repeated standing ovations from the crowd.
“I am going to support him,” Yitz Applbaum, another RJC board member, told JI. “He is definitely strong on the U.S.-Israel relationship and totally understands the issues, especially with the youth and how we need to work to do away with antisemitism with people under 40. [That was] a very key part of what he talked about.”
Sander Gerber, also an RJC board member, told JI, “Vice President Vance spoke to an enthusiastic room who understands that the American Jewish community is a core part of the political future of our country. I applaud the VPs statements repudiating antisemitism on the right.”
Bobby Schostak, an RJC board member and former Michigan Republican Party chairman, said that the RJC is “honored to have [Vance] here” and that Vance “made clear his positions … there was nothing concerning to me overall.”
“I think he needs to continue to reach out to us and us to him,” Schostak continued. “We have a good understanding going forward, but I didn’t find anything there, you know, alarming or concerning.”
Stuart Weil, an RJC member from California, told reporters that Vance’s remarks confirmed to him that any potential issues were a result of media distortion of Vance’s record.
“I will gladly support JD Vance as president of the United States,” Weil said. “As a big supporter of Israel, I believe that JD Vance will make a wonderful president. … He just reinforced what I already know.”
Not everyone was won over by Vance’s comments, however, with one attendee expressing disappointment with his failure to repudiate Carlson directly. “He was given the opportunity to call out and separate himself from Tucker. To the disappointment of many, he ducked the Tucker issue altogether,” the attendee told JI.
Schostak also acknowledged that others in the room might not have been satisfied with Vance’s answer.
“He addressed it as the elephant in the room. … I think the way he responded was, ‘It was important to not ignore all factions of opinion,’” Schostak said. “I don’t know how well that was received.”
Radio host Sid Rosenberg, who in remarks before the RJC earlier in the day urged the audience to “give Vance a chance,” said that he was disappointed by Vance’s remarks.
“He was not strong enough on Israel. In fact he referred to Israel as ONE of our best allies. One of?” Rosenberg said on X. “He had a chance to hammer [Carlson] and [Kelly] but instead spent all his time defending [Rogan] over Nick Fuentes. He also blamed immigration for a lot of the antisemitism in our country today. Silly. Look, he’s still better than any Democrat candidate but I don’t think he wowed the STRONG Jews in the room tonight.”
RJC CEO Matt Brooks and other members of the group’s leadership offered strong praise and support for Vance during a press conference following the session.
“Coming into a room that many would say had not necessarily known who JD was and what was in in his heart, or would be coming in skeptical to learn more — I think he really connected very very well with the audience tonight,” Brooks said.
Ari Fleischer, an RJC board member and former White House press secretary, told reporters that Vance “really helped himself tonight” and “answered a lot of the questions that people had about where his heart is.” He added that repeated appearances will help the crowd grow more comfortable.
“Today was not primary day, but I think today was progress day for JD Vance with the Jewish community,” he said.
Vance entered the room facing a divided crowd — with some in the audience skeptical of the vice president given his ties to Carlson, his public criticisms of Israel, his approach to negotiations with Iran and a host of other issues.
Uniformly, RJC board members and Jewish Republican elected officials said that Vance’s appearance at the RJC was a positive sign for him and for the Jewish community and that they were grateful that Vance was coming to address the crowd.
“I was surprised yet pleased to see that he’s coming,” Katzen said ahead of the speech. “I doubt that the vice president is coming to tell us that he thinks that Tucker Carlson’s view of Judaism is correct. He’s not here to tell us that. I have to think that he’s here to build bridges. I wonder how explicit he’ll be in rejecting the antisemites associated with Tucker Carlson.”
He said that Vance “must understand that he’s walking into 750 people who are very skeptical about his support” — largely because he “failed to respond when offered the opportunity” to people who have made antisemitic comments — so RJC members want him to address those concerns.
“I think his remarks can make all the difference,” Katzen said, noting that Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s name received loud applause from the RJC audience, while the same was not true of Vance.
“He can fix that tonight, and I hope he will. I would much rather have the Republican Party choosing between two excellent candidates [in 2028], especially the Jews in the Republican Party,” Katzen said. “I don’t want the Jews to feel like there’s only part of the Republican Party that is a home for them, because the Jews have no home in the Democratic Party.”
He said he would still prefer Vance to any Democrat.
RJC board members who spoke to JI otherwise generally declined to speculate about Vance’s potential presidential ambitions or the 2028 race, arguing that it’s too early to consider that election. Vance was the only anticipated 2028 hopeful who attended the conference.
Board member Eric Levine said ahead of the speech that it’s an “affirmatively good thing” that Vance is speaking to the RJC because it shows that the Jewish community and the U.S.-Israel relationship matter to him — particularly when juxtaposed with the increasing hostility toward Israel on the Democratic side.
Levine said that Vance has been helping President Donald Trump advance his Middle East policy — “and there has been no more pro-Israel president in the history of our country than Donald Trump.”
“Having said that, it’s a fool’s errand to just deny reality,” Levine continued, referring to Vance’s “relationship and association with Tucker Carlson,” who he said is indistinguishable from Nick Fuentes, former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), Hasan Piker, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. “So it’s unhelpful to have a relationship with Tucker Carlson, but that’s up for the vice president to navigate.”
He said he didn’t expect a sweeping statement from Vance either in defense or denunciation of Carlson.
Others said they had fewer concerns about the vice president going into the speech, but saw it as an opportunity for the vice president to mend fences with those in the RJC crowd who were concerned.
Schostak said before the event that it was “terrific” and an honor for Vance to appear, and said that it was an opportunity to start a process of strengthening his relationships with members of the RJC and reassuring those who do have concerns.
“This is a process. You’re not going to do everything in 45 minutes, but I think he’s going to show us, honoring us by being here and showing us that he cares about the American Jewish community and its fight against antisemitism and its support and his support for Israel’s right to defend itself and its self-determination,” Schostak said.
He said that the appearance was a “starting point to have those discussions for people that have any doubts or concerns” but he also argued that those concerns are largely based on incomplete comments.
“I think people are hearing things out of context. They’re getting three-hour podcast sections sliced and diced and put into a digital feed,” he said. “And I just think that unless you are hearing in its entirety, it’s hard to draw an honest conclusion.”
Applbaum before the event said he didn’t share the concerns of some other RJC members, but that he hoped the speech would provide an opportunity for Vance to assuage their concerns.
Applbaum emphasized that Vance’s association with Trump and his policies gives him strong credibility and credentials — ”they’re great for Israel, they’re great friends with the Jewish people in Israel.”
Brooks said that the RJC, not Vance’s team, decided to close the event to the press, so that Vance could “talk to the people in the front of the room in a way that wasn’t through the filter of the people on the press risers in the back of the room.”
Brooks and Fleischer downplayed the event’s significance as a stop on the 2028 presidential election trail, emphasizing that the speaker list had been selected with an eye toward the upcoming midterm elections, rather than the next presidential race.
Disclaimer: Yitz Applbaum serves as Jewish Insider’s wine columnist.
Plus, Moskowitz named to powerful Mideast post
BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaks before Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, August 6, 2024.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social today that the Navy informed him that “all mines have been removed and/or detonated” in the Strait of Hormuz, and that the U.S. has notified Iran “that any ship or boat placing new mines will be immediately and systematically destroyed.” The U.S. Space Force is monitoring the strait as well as Iran’s nuclear sites, including Pickaxe Mountain, for any suspicious activity, he added…
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said following a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran today that he is hopeful the two countries “will soon announce a temporary corridor for the Strait of Hormuz and practical arrangements to restore safe navigation,” while continuing to work towards a permanent agreement on administering the waterway. The Omani Foreign Ministry further specified that the parties aim to establish a joint effort to clear the strait of mines — despite Trump’s announcement that all have been cleared…
The State Department is preparing to send some foreign service officers and other diplomats back to work at embassies in Israel, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, Oman, Iraq and Kuwait that were evacuated or had staffing reductions during the Iran war, according to a State Department document obtained by The New York Times, potentially indicating the Trump administration does not expect hostilities to resume…
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that Israel has expelled officials from the Netherlands from the military and humanitarian coordination hub for Gaza located in Kiryat Gat due to “a series of anti-Israel moves by the Dutch government,” including a new law prohibiting trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank…
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed doubled down on his anti-Israel rhetoric during an event at a Dearborn church today, Jewish Insider‘s Matthew Kassel reports, a day after the nominee drew renewed scrutiny over his ongoing association with antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.
El-Sayed declined to confirm if he hopes to win an endorsement from state Sen. Jeremy Moss — a Jewish Democratic nominee for a congressional seat in the Detroit area who is a key holdout in offering his backing — and said that his support for ending aid to Israel is “about making sure that in our foreign policy, we substantiate equal rights to peace, dignity and self-determination for Palestinian folk”…
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) was named ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, where he said he will “work to strengthen America’s relationships with Israel and our Gulf allies.”
A source familiar with the situation told JI’s Marc Rod that, since outgoing ranking member Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) would have been unable to remain in the post next year, he decided to give up the position early to help support Moskowitz in his reelection race — in a South Florida district with a substantial pro-Israel constituency where the leadership position will further bolster Moskowitz’s profile — and to pass off committee leadership to a preferred successor….
A new New York Times/Philadelphia Inquirer/Siena University poll released today found that nearly half of voters in Pennsylvania view Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Jewish Democrat mulling a presidential bid in 2028, as “about right on support of Israel,” even as he has faced skepticism from the far left over his pro-Israel views, JI’s Matthew Kassel reports. Sixty percent of Democrats said they were satisfied with his support for the Jewish state; 39% of Republicans said the same, while another 40% said he is not supportive enough…
The Department of Justice announced today that a 26-year-old Ohio man had been arrested and charged for sending an email threatening to kill Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) and his family, saying he would behead the Jewish congressman and calling him a Nazi, JI’s Marc Rod reports…
The IDF said it views with “utmost severity” an incident involving far-right MK Zvi Sukkot and his aides who, during a requested tour of the Palestinian town of Madama, attacked a memorial — dubbed the “Martyrs’ Monument” — with a sledgehammer, an incident which was captured on video. The IDF said the tour participants “acted deceptively and manipulatively” while accompanied by IDF soldiers “who had been diverted from their operational activities for this purpose … while the IDF is operating under significant operational strain”…
The Syrian Democratic Forces, a Kurdish group that was backed by the U.S. in the fight against ISIS, has officially dissolved, SDF head Mazloum Abdi announced at the presidential palace in Damascus today. The group has completed its merger into the Syrian army under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, Abdi said — the culmination of a fraught integration process that followed months of deadly clashes between government and Kurdish forces…
Assouline, the luxury publisher known for turning global cities into vibrant $100 coffee-table books, has focused its lens on several Middle Eastern capitals over the years — most recently Beirut. But out of hundreds of titles spanning the globe, not a single Israeli city has made the cut, despite co-founder Prosper Assouline‘s Moroccan Jewish roots, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Jewish leaders are viewing Rep. Jamie Raskin‘s (D-MD) investigation into the Trump administration’s efforts to crack down on campus antisemitism.
Israeli singer Omer Adam will marry his partner Sacha Israelovich at a converted 14th-century Christian monastery in the Italian seaside village of Portofino tomorrow, after having held a civil ceremony today. Hassidic singer Motty Steinmetz is expected to perform at the celebration, reportedly prompting gender-segregated seating for the guests.
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Plus, Bessent's plan to make Iran an 'economic outcast'
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during his weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on March 19, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this afternoon that the Trump administration is launching “Operation Economic Outcast” against Iran, an effort aimed at severing Tehran’s global economic ties in order to “collapse every last option” for the regime, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
The Treasury Department designated over 60 entities, individuals and vessels “that enable the Iranian regime to procure illicit nuclear and missile technology, conduct cyber operations and generate oil revenue,” Bessent said, while President Donald Trump “is making phone calls to world leaders with specific requests to cease their interactions with the regime”…
The Treasury Department also redesignated Hezbollah, already a Foreign Terrorist Organization, for acting as a proxy of the Iranian regime under the direction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and sanctioned 10 individuals who were part of a network transferring funds to Hezbollah through couriers on commercial flights between Lebanon, Turkey, the UAE and Iran…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed today that Iran tried to assassinate one of his sons: “Iran tried to kill, to murder one of my sons,” he said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14, without specifying which of his two sons was the target…
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) today denounced comments by antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker claiming that Jews are inviting antisemitic attacks against themselves by supporting Israel, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Jeffries wrote on X that the “malicious claim that American Jews are inviting violence against themselves is dangerous and antisemitic,” without naming Piker directly. “We will fight the cancer of antisemitism with the fierce urgency of now,” he said…
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, meanwhile, distanced himself from Piker but did not name him nor address the substance of his comments.
El-Sayed insisted that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople,” despite having campaigned prominently with Piker, and went on to downplay Piker as “a Twitch streamer” who will not define the race or his campaign. He did not say whether his or his campaign’s relationship with Piker will change going forward…
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI) condemned Piker outright, calling him “a hack who thrives on hate, shock and awe because he lacks substance.” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), who has previously appeared on Piker’s show, also rejected the streamer’s comments, telling JI’s Marc Rod that “Jews are not the cause of [antisemitism]. Neither are people who support Israel. Antisemites are to blame. That’s it”…
Former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) attended three AIPAC-hosted fundraisers in Los Angeles yesterday with another planned for today, according to The New York Times, as reporting emerges about a growing rift between Rogers and the pro-Israel group as he runs for U.S. Senate.
Rogers reportedly told Michael Tuchin, AIPAC’s board chair, that the group should consider whether it is the best messenger against El-Sayed, though he did not explicitly say he did not want its support and its United Democracy Project super PAC is still considering running ads backing Rogers…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani condemned comments by Brooklyn Democratic leader Carmella Charrington attacking Jewish investors with whom she is engaged in a property dispute as “Zionists” and suggesting some link between her situation and Israeli settlement activity in the West Bank.
“Suggesting that an alleged deed theft in Brooklyn is part of a global conspiracy involving Jewish people is blatant, reprehensible antisemitism. Trafficking in these dangerous antisemitic tropes is vile and inexcusable,” the mayor’s office told JI’s Will Bredderman, after initially avoiding his questions on the issue at a press conference earlier today. However, the administration did not answer a follow-up question about whether the mayor believes Charrington should step aside from her district leader role…
Several leading Jewish and pro-Israel organizations condemned actor Mark Ruffalo for using what they deemed antisemitic rhetoric in his recent social media commentary targeting the Ellison family amid the pending merger of Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles, said Ruffalo’s “unhinged rant, which combined Jewish wealth, media control, secret technology and sinister global power, is not legitimate criticism. It draws on recognizable antisemitic tropes with a long and dangerous history”…
As New York magazine continues to come under fire for a recent cover issue depicting the rise of Southwest Asian and North African culture in New York City while taking a hostile view of Israel, the magazine said its editors decided “genocide” is an “accurate description” of Israel’s actions in Gaza and therefore “its use would be allowed in our pages,” claiming that “accusations of antisemitic intent” in usage of the word “were in fact obfuscating an overwhelming scholarly consensus”…
The Trump administration formally revoked Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism today at the end of the 45-day congressional notification period, Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced, in order to “eliminate the final major barriers for private sector investment in Syria and promote Syria’s economic recovery and reintegration into the global economy.”
Rubio also revoked the designation of Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) — a group that Syrian President Ahmad al-Sharaa led until he assumed the presidency in January 2025 — as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist, after having removed HTS from the Foreign Terrorist Organization list last year…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a preview of tomorrow’s Senate special election runoff in South Carolina, where Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) still has the backing of much of the GOP establishment, including President Donald Trump, in her race against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi is expected to visit Iran tomorrow, as the two countries continue negotiations over administering the Strait of Hormuz amid the announcement of the new U.S. economic campaign against Tehran.
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Plus, Baltimore's Orthodox Jews get a day at the races
Adam Gray/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Zohran Mamdani, mayor of New York, left, and Kathy Hochul, governor of New York, during a news conference on 2026 FIFA World Cup transportation at the MTA Rail Control Center in New York, US, on Thursday, June 4, 2026.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and a candidate for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, launched a TV ad this week hitting her primary opponent, military veteran Maura Sullivan, for receiving $300,000 in donations “bundled from AIPAC donors,” Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The donations referenced in the ad appear to be from individual donors who have previously contributed to AIPAC, but the pro-Israel group itself has made no endorsement and has not been directly involved in the race…
Michigan Democratic congressional nominee Jeremy Moss declined to endorse his party’s Senate nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, in an interview with Slate: “Abdul’s going to have to demonstrate some serious outreach to Oakland County’s Jewish community,” Moss said. The two candidates have “had an ongoing dialogue,” Moss added, as he said Democrats must ensure that “the liberal Jewish community is not politically homeless”…
Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of community relations at the Ann Arbor Jewish federation who has been outspoken about the threat he believes El-Sayed poses to the Jewish community, appeared at a “Democrats for Rogers” press conference in Detroit today where he said, “I usually vote Democrat, but I’m gonna be voting for Mike Rogers … I’m sad to say this, that Abdul El-Sayed has made one thing very clear: We cannot let him anywhere near the U.S. Senate”…
A new poll commissioned by AARP found El-Sayed leading Rogers by one percentage point, 48-47%, but voters ages 50 and up were 16 points more likely than younger voters to say they were motivated to participate in the general election — a population that swings heavily towards Rogers. Voters ages 50-64 favored Rogers over El-Sayed 51-46%, and voters above 65 favored the Republican by 13 points (54-41%)…
Asked in a New York Times interview about New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s call for the federal government to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he arrives in the city for the U.N. General Assembly next month, Gov. Kathy Hochul advised the mayor, “Let’s focus on the blocking and tackling of city government. That is where I believe the main focus should be”…
The Trump administration, meanwhile, is weighing in on another official’s appearance at the UNGA: The White House intends to prevent Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas from attending for the second year in a row, a U.S. official told The Times of Israel…
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent explained on CNBC today that in order to implement the new U.S. economic campaign against Iran, the Trump administration will approach “all of our allies” and tell them, “You are either with us or against us.”
“If you insist on doing business with [Iran] — either transferring money, buying their oil, doing seaborne ship transfers — then the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. government will put its full might and force toward enforcing against you,” he added…
The NYT looks at which countries do the most business with Iran and could therefore be hardest hit by the new measures, including China, India and several Middle East nations…
Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch, the only Jewish member of the state’s Legislature, denounced the Georgia branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations for featuring extremist anti-Israel voices including Zahra Billoo, Ana Kasparian and Cenk Uygur as keynote speakers at its gala next month.
CAIR-GA has “dropped the mask at this point,” Panitch told the Jerusalem News Syndicate. “This is actual straight-out, Nazi-level Protocols of the Elders of Zion kind of antisemitism. They’re doing it, and they can’t say they didn’t know”…
For more than 150 years, Baltimore’s Orthodox Jews have walked to synagogue on Preakness Saturday and listened to the roar of the crowd from Pimlico Race Course less than a mile away, never able to join it. That changes in 2027, when the second jewel in horse racing’s Triple Crown — following the Kentucky Derby and preceding the Belmont Stakes — moves from Saturday to Sunday, finally opening the gates at Pimlico to the local Shabbat-observant community for the first time since the race started in 1873, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the growing divide between the United States and Israel over how to approach post-Assad Syria.
Despite her recent debate stage snafu, which has led GOP operatives to question her chances in next week’s special runoff election, Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) is still enjoying the support of the party: Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the Senate majority whip, is in South Carolina today to support her race, and President Donald Trump will join her in Myrtle Beach for a rally tomorrow.
We’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
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GOP campaign veteran Colin Reed called Graham’s debate performance a ‘seismic moment in an otherwise sleepy race’
Peter Zay/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) participate in a televised debate ahead of the Republican primary runoff in Newberry S.C., on August 18, 2026.
Sen. Darline Graham’s (R-SC) stumbling performance at the final GOP primary debate on Tuesday has prompted questions among Republicans in Washington about her prospects in next week’s runoff against Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC).
Graham’s debate performance has been widely panned for her response to a question about Taiwan and the South China Sea, during which she admitted that she is “not that informed on national security.” The moment prompted national Republican operatives to question her qualifications to replace her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and led to an avalanche of attacks from critics about her lack of policy experience.
Senior Republicans who have been involved in the race privately described Graham’s foreign policy flub as a pivotal moment that could cost her the nomination.
“It was always going to be a lot harder than she was told when she got into this, but I thought she could win before the debate. Now, I think she’s done for,” a senior GOP campaign official involved with the race told JI. “This loss is going to be an unfortunate embarrassment, and the way this played out could be somewhat of a stain on Lindsey’s legacy even though he had nothing to do with it.”
A spokesperson for Graham’s campaign declined to comment about her debate performance. Graham defended her answer while speaking to reporters in the spin room following the debate, arguing that, “The people of South Carolina, they’re worried about their pocketbooks more than they’re worried about the South China Sea, quite honestly.”
Veteran Republican strategists who have been involved in high-profile Senate races called Graham’s performance one of those rare moments that could change the trajectory of the race.
“The debate seems fairly consequential for a number of reasons,” Colin Reed, a founding partner of South & Hill Strategies and a GOP campaign veteran, told Jewish Insider. “To me, it seems like a fairly seismic moment in an otherwise sleepy race.”
Reed predicted that Graham’s inability to sound articulate on foreign policy — all but taking a pass on a consequential national security question — was likely to have an impact on the outcome of the race because of the importance of national security issues to South Carolina’s “heavy military presence and large veteran community.”
He added that her comments are already drawing comparisons to “the towering figure her brother was on the matter of foreign affairs” and the fact that the U.S. “happens to be engaged in multiple conflicts, or at least one conflict overseas with Iran, right now.”
“This is a late-summer primary and runoff, and only the most engaged audiences turn out,” Reed said. “Those types of audiences are the ones who were likely paying attention or discussing the debate.”
He argued that Graham’s lack of political experience makes her a “blank canvas” to voters and that, combined with the special election to replace her late brother on the ballot as the GOP nominee being truncated despite Republican primary voters being “wary of coronations,” the South Carolina senator had already been in a vulnerable political position prior to the debate.
Should Graham lose to Norman, it would mark the first time this cycle that a GOP candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump in a Senate race has lost their primary contest.
The president will hold a campaign rally for Graham in Myrtle Beach on Friday, even as he has scaled back his campaign appearances in recent months. Republicans in Washington expressed skepticism that the rally would significantly alter the outcome of this race, with two sources predicting that most of the attendees were only going to see the president speak. (For his part, Lindsey Graham was frequently booed and heckled when appearing at Trump rallies through the years.)
Norman said in a statement following the debate that South Carolina deserves to have a senator with “know-how” on foreign policy matters.
“Whether it’s spy balloons flying overhead or buying up land near South Carolina military bases, China continues to prove that it is a threat to the United States,” the House lawmaker told Politico.
Republican senators were told that Graham was not interested in seeking a full term when she agreed to the appointment in the immediate aftermath of her brother’s unexpected death last month. Graham said in a pre-debate interview on Monday that she “didn’t even realize I’d be asked to fill the seat temporarily” and did not accept the appointment last month with the idea of running for a full term. She instead credited the president with convincing her to run during an Oval Office meeting in her first week as senator.
Graham’s surprise decision to run, which two sources told JI came at the urging of Trump and several of Lindsey Graham’s campaign consultants, was met with apprehension in Washington. GOP circles. After Graham launched her campaign, Republican senators and strategists skeptical of her chances of winning began quietly voicing concern to one another about her lack of voting record or political background, the fact that she lacked a policy platform and the optics of sending a grieving sister out on the campaign trail. They also took note of how competitively Norman, Graham’s opponent in next week’s runoff election, was polling in the race.
One senior Senate GOP operative put it bluntly: “If we’re going to do a coronation, we need to be able to do a coronation. If we can’t get our s**t together, then we shouldn’t keep trying.”
Graham was cautioned by several Republicans, including two senators, that she would be setting herself up for a contentious election fight if she got in the race, according to two sources familiar with the matter. She was told by several of her brother’s campaign consultants, however, that while the contest would be challenging, she was likely to win with the president’s endorsement.
Graham prevailed in the first round of the primary election earlier this month, but only tallied 33% of the vote, far short of the majority necessary to avoid a runoff. She got a campaign boost after winning the endorsement of one leading rival, Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC), but her debate stumble only underscored her biggest vulnerability: lack of experience.
“The debate was challenging to watch. Her performance was very bad. We all empathize with her because of the circumstances she’s under, but that makes it all the more disturbing that folks who claim to love Lindsey would get in her ear and tell her she should run,” the Senate Republican campaign source said.
The winner of the Republican runoff next Tuesday will face Democrat Annie Andrews in the November election. Andrews, a pediatrician, is a decided underdog running in a solidly Republican state, but has been a strong fundraiser, bringing in over $10 million during the campaign cycle.
Plus, ICE detains Jewish bridal shop owner
Sarah Rice/Getty Images
Senate candidate Mike Rogers greets supporters at his election watch party with the MIGOP on November 5, 2024 in Novi, Michigan.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Jewish leaders in Michigan are circulating an open letter, obtained by Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel, urging Jewish Democrats and independents in the battleground state to sign their names in support of former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) as he faces Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed in the race for U.S. Senate.
If El-Sayed were to claim victory in the general election, the authors say, “we fear the far-left and anti-Jewish elements in the Democratic party would become dominant … We cannot allow him to become the Democratic standard-bearer or Michigan’s senator”…
California state Sen. Aisha Wahab still holds a narrow lead as of this afternoon over former Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez in the special election runoff for an East Bay House seat that drew a late surge of outside spending from AIPAC.
With 62% of the vote counted in yesterday’s election, Wahab had 51%, leading Hernandez by two percentage points or 1,356 votes, according to the unofficial initial returns. “We made a race that wasn’t close when we started into a nail-biter,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC, told JI’s Matthew Kassel…
ICE detained a Jewish bridal shop owner and his mother living in Englewood, N.J., a local elected official confirmed today to JI’s Haley Cohen: Ari Ladino and his mother, Chava, who are originally from Bogotá, Colombia, run Luana Rose Modestly in Teaneck — a dress shop specializing in modest special occasion gowns popular among local Orthodox Jewish women. The reason for their arrest remains unclear…
In an interview with The Jerusalem Post today, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack doubled down on his criticism of Israeli strikes on a Syrian air base earlier in the week, which Israel said had been prompted by Turkish involvement at the base. “Turkish forces were not aware that the Israeli aircraft were en route to that specific Syrian base … [and] could potentially have been inclined to scramble their own jets in the belief that they themselves were under attack,” Barrack said.
He announced that the U.S. is looking to relaunch a deconfliction cell between Israel and Syria, with potential Turkish participation, and downplayed reported Israeli concerns over a specific Turkish radar system said to be deployed at the base. “We remain convinced that this technical requirement need not pose a security concern, and that further conversations can help clarify the matter to everyone’s satisfaction,” Barrack said…
Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, the IDF’s chief of staff, visited Israeli troops in southern Syria today, where he said Israel is “monitoring the changes on the Syrian front” and “know[s] how to use our power precisely where it is needed and when it is needed”…
The IDF announced it is opening an investigation into the killing of 5-year-old Hind Rajab in Gaza in January 2024 after finding that troops had indeed fired at her family’s vehicle as it was traveling opposite the direction of an evacuation route. The military had previously denied responsibility for the incident, which drew global attention and inspired an Oscar-nominated film titled “The Voice of Hind Rajab.”
The IDF will also investigate the killing of 15 rescue workers traveling in emergency vehicles in March 2025, and closed investigations into a strike on a World Central Kitchen convoy and into the deaths of several Doctors Without Borders members, finding that troops’ actions in those incidents did not rise to the level of criminal offenses…
The New York Times examines CENTCOM’s efforts to keep oil traffic flowing through the Strait of Hormuz, including utilizing air- and water-based assets to intercept Iranian drones and missiles targeting commercial traffic.
Beyond protecting tankers loaded with oil, the U.S. military has also reportedly established its own corridor to help empty ships enter the strait, load up and exit largely undetected…
The New York State Department of Financial Services issued a notice warning Holocaust survivors and their families about potential fraud by an organization calling itself the “Jewish Holocaust Claims Center” that is contacting such individuals about their eligibility for compensation…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Sen. Darline Graham‘s (R-SC) debate stage flub on national security may impact her chances in next week’s South Carolina special runoff election for Senate.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) and his primary opponent, Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), will face off in their final debate before the election. Moulton, 47, is mounting a generational challenge to the 80-year-old Markey and has taken an increasingly critical stance against Israel and AIPAC on the campaign trail, while Markey has long staked out staunchly anti-Israel positions.
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Jared Moskowitz and Debbie Wasserman Schultz easily fended off socialist challengers while Randy Fine beat a neo-Nazi podcaster
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) campaigns outside of the Kings Point Clubhouse polling station on August 18, 2026, in Tamarac, Florida.
Florida Democrats and Republicans fended off extreme challengers against pro-Israel incumbents in Tuesday night’s primaries, indicating that the state’s older, moderate and notably Jewish electorate was uniquely inhospitable towards the anti-Israel left and the antisemitic right.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) handily defeated socialist challenger Oliver Larkin by nearly a 2-to-1 margin (64-36%), while Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL) easily prevailed in a newly drawn district against a crowded field of challengers. Elijah Manley — the candidate running against Wasserman Schultz on the Democratic Socialists of America, anti-Israel platform — lagged in third place, with just 13% of the vote.
Moskowitz will still be facing a competitive general election in a district that President Donald Trump carried. Former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer won the Republican nomination and, like Moskowitz, is an outspoken supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
On the Republican side, Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) dominated over a neo-Nazi podcaster who made hatred of Jews the central message of his campaign. Fine won renomination with 57% of the vote, while the antisemitic Dan Bilzerian tallied 17% of the GOP vote. And in the governor’s race, James Fishback, who used racist and antisemitic messages as part of his campaign, lagged well behind the Trump-endorsed winner, Rep. Byron Donalds (R-FL), finishing in third place with just 10% of the vote.
Donalds will face former Rep. David Jolly (who served as a Republican in Congress before switching to the Democratic Party) in the general election.
In another victory for the GOP mainstream, former TV anchor Ryan Elijah ousted scandal-plagued (and also Trump-endorsed) Rep. Cory Mills (R-FL), who has been dogged by a series of investigations related to alleged domestic violence and harassment, financial misconduct, sexual misconduct, stolen valor and alleged use of his office for his own financial gain.
But the big surprise of the night came in the Democratic primary to determine a Democratic nominee against appointed Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL), who was tapped to replace Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Alex Vindman, the star witness in the first impeachment hearing against Trump, lost badly to DSA-backed challenger Angie Nixon despite being supported by national party leaders.
Nixon, a Florida state legislator and community organizer, holds staunchly anti-Israel views, having repeatedly called Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza a “genocide” and campaigning with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in a preelection rally last weekend.
The outcome means that Moody will be heavily favored to win election in November, taking away any Democratic outside hopes of winning the seat with a more mainstream standard-bearer.
Plus, Central Synagogue attacker faces federal charges
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) speaks during the House Administration Committee hearing on June 10, 2026.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social this morning that “There are no talks or conversations going on, or scheduled, with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” directly contradicting a statement from Jared Kushner yesterday that dialogue between the White House and “different areas of the Iranian government” is “probably more robust than it’s maybe ever been”…
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack, who also serves as special envoy for Syria and Iraq, said on X this morning that he’s “deeply concerned” over what he called “confirmed Israeli airstrikes” on Syria’s Abu al-Duhur Airbase overnight, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports. Israel has not claimed responsibility for the strikes.
“The United States has in the past, and will continue in the future, to host discussions to encourage diplomatic cadence over kinetic frustration for both nations,” Barrack said, calling the incident an “unnecessary escalation that does not advance regional stability.” Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who has been a pro-Israel stalwart, also condemned what he called “one-sided aggression”…
U.N. inspectors visited some nuclear sites tied to the deposed Assad regime in Syria this week, the first time that International Atomic Energy Agency officials have been given full access to the sites. Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani said at a press conference with IAEA head Rafael Grossi that nuclear material found at the locations, including several tons of uranium, will be placed “under IAEA safeguards”…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced sanctions today against Tomoko Akane, president of the International Criminal Court, and Abdoulaye Seye, a senior trial lawyer, as part of the Trump administration’s recently announced campaign to target the body.
Rubio said the two individuals “have directly engaged in efforts by the ICC to investigate, arrest, detain, or prosecute officials whose government has not consented to ICC jurisdiction,” likely in reference to Israeli leaders…
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, claimed today that the Trump administration’s probes into campus antisemitism were “fake” and that schools found to have violated federal civil rights law were effectively framed, pointing to whistleblower reports that claimed the administration had manipulated evidence to show violations of law despite lacking sufficient evidence.
Raskin announced that he is launching an investigation of the alleged “misconduct” of the Department of Justice and intends to assess potential changes to Title VI of the Civil Rights Act “in light of this Administration’s shockingly reckless and unethical actions,” JI’s Marc Rod reports…
The DOJ charged a New York man, Larry Montes, with two federal hate crimes charges and one count of destruction of religious property for disrupting Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan over the weekend, where he struck a congregant, damaged synagogue property and spat on and headbutted a security guard. Montes has already been charged with hate crimes by local prosecutors…
The DOJ also charged 17 members of the Mabna Institute — an Iran-based company that federal prosecutors say ran a state-sponsored cyber campaign on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps since at least 2013 — with hacking 144 U.S. and 178 foreign universities, dozens of private companies and several U.S. government agencies to steal research, academic data and intellectual property…
The Department of Defense instructed 30 U.S. academic institutions to conduct reviews of their ties with “foreign entities of concern,” threatening future Pentagon funding for research projects if they fail to do so and terminate “problematic partnerships”…
Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss, the Democratic nominee in Michigan’s 11th Congressional District, pushed back today against what he alleged was a doctored audio clip circulating online designed to portray him as more loyal to Israel than the United States, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
“There is a manipulated and unsourced audio, with things I never did and never would say, that is nothing more than political disinformation intended to portray me as anti-American,” Moss, who is Jewish, said on X…
Rebecca Weininger, senior regional director of Anti-Defamation League Midwest, called out the Chicago branch of the Democratic Socialists of America’s “fixation on Israel” after the group’s 2027 city council endorsement questionnaire asked local candidates to explain whether they consider themselves anti-Zionists and if they support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.
The group’s outsized focus on the Jewish state, Weininger said, is “not only far removed from the responsibilities and priorities of an alderman, but also risks fueling anti-Jewish sentiment, harassment, and ultimately, violence against Chicago’s Jewish community”…
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) suggested in an interview with The Washington Post that he believes Democrats can still win the Senate even if far-left Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whom Schumer has endorsed, loses in November, JI’s Marc Rod reports. “A path to winning back the Senate clearly goes through Michigan, but we have a whole bunch of different paths,” Schumer said.
The Senate Majority PAC, a Democratic super PAC, is spending $3 million on a new ad campaign to defeat Republican nominee Mike Rogers, portraying him as a career politician who enriched himself while in Washington…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for results from today’s key races in Florida and California. Polls close in the Sunshine State at 7 p.m. ET, and in the Golden State at 11 p.m. ET.
Hannan Lis, Brian Hermelin and Rob Orley, three prominent Jewish Democratic bundlers in Michigan, are hosting a fundraiser tonight for the state’s Republican Senate nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), as some Jewish Democrats in the Wolverine State consider flipping their votes against Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed. Read Lis’ comments to JI here.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) will face off in a debate tonight hosted by the South Carolina GOP, a week ahead of their runoff election.
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After pushing Henry Ford’s The International Jew, Democratic district leader Carmella Charrington said her ongoing housing dispute is the ‘same thing they’re doing in the West Bank’
Plus, Trump puts Oman in the crosshairs
Shalev Shalom
Israeli President Isaac Herzog meets with Jared Kushner at the President's Residence in Jerusalem on Aug. 17, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump confirmed to Fox News this morning that the White House is communicating directly with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and said that Tehran should “raise the white flag of surrender,” as the 60-day memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran — which was intended to lead to the creation of a permanent peace agreement but was quickly deemed moot by both parties — officially expired today without a deal in sight.
Jared Kushner separately told Fox News about the status of talks with Iran that Trump is “focused on economic pressure” but is still open to reaching an agreement, adding that dialogue between the White House and “different areas of the Iranian government” is “probably more robust than it’s maybe ever been” and that the conversations are “positive”…
Trump also threatened in his interview to “bomb the sh*t out of” Oman if the country “gets in the way,” amid Muscat’s negotiations with Tehran over the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking later to reporters in the Oval Office, Trump said he doesn’t think Oman “behave[s] very well” and that the U.S. would “handle them very easily.” He also reaffirmed his recent claim that he intends to declare the strait a U.S. territory, saying he “think[s] it’s a great idea”…
Responding to Trump’s threat, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) announced he intends to introduce a war powers resolution when the Senate returns from recess to prohibit U.S. military action against Oman…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he had “deep and constructive discussions” with Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov and Kushner in Jerusalem today, where the parties agreed to establish two working groups: one on the “disarmament and demilitarization of Gaza,” which they agreed should happen before “any reconstruction,” and a second on sanitation and public health concerns in the enclave.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog also met with the group and said he was “impressed that Israel’s security interests are an important and central element of their plan”…
After the meetings, Kushner told Fox News that he predicts there will be progress in starting to demilitarize Gaza “in as little as 30 days” and beginning to fill in Hamas’ terror tunnels “in the next 60 to 90 days.”
Despite Trump stating in his interview that Israel should not be conducting any more strikes in Gaza, Kushner said the Board of Peace would “not restrict Israel’s right to defend itself” and that if Hamas doesn’t follow through on its commitments, Israel will “have a lot more support from the U.S.” to “finish the job.” He called his Sunday meeting with Hamas leaders “cordial” and said they “said all the right things” but that they are “hard to trust”…
Trump said today it’s “most appropriate” that he “stay out of” Israel’s upcoming elections but added that he “may endorse somebody” anyway….
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi disputed claims by Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the region of Kurdistan, that his office was attacked by Iranian drones: “Kurdish friends should be vigilant against false-flag ploys to sow discord between neighbors,” Araghchi said on X, claiming that Iran has historically “protected” the Kurds. It was a striking characterization given that Iran has repeatedly struck Kurdish opposition bases in Iraqi Kurdistan, including during the current war, and has a decades-long history of suppressing its own Kurdish population…
New York City leaders are condemning a series of inflammatory posters opposing a new housing development in Chelsea that use antisemitic, racist and homophobic language, including a call to “stop Zionist occupation of Manhattan,” tying the project to “foreign wealth dirty zionist money” and claiming that “Talmudists are trained to cheat.”
City Hall called the posters “vile” and claimed the rhetoric “has absolutely no place in our city’s political discourse,” while Mark Treyger, CEO of the Jewish Community Relations Council of New York, said, “Disagreement over housing policy is legitimate. Dehumanizing your neighbors is not”…
Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) and Dan Goldman (D-NY) continued to spar this week over the University of Washington’s decision to cancel a planned speech by antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
After Goldman argued initially against Jayapal’s denunciation of the school, the congresswoman said she “completely disagree[s] with [Goldman’s] analysis of free speech”; Goldman responded that students have ample access to “Piker’s racist and anti-American views,” but the university has a responsibility to prevent discriminatory conduct or a hostile environment for Jewish students that could interfere in their ability to participate on campus…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at AIPAC’s involvement in tomorrow’s special election in California’s 14th Congressional District, where state Sen. Aisha Wahab is facing off against former Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez, who is backed by the pro-Israel group.
Florida will also hold its primary elections tomorrow, where several pro-Israel and Jewish candidates are facing off against far-right and far-left extremists. Read more on the races and their implications here.
The Sephardic Rabbinical Conference will conclude in New York with speakers including Israeli Consul General Ofir Akunis; Daniel Rosenthal, vice president for government relations at UJA-Federation of New York; Rabbi Elie Buechler, director of programs at the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center; and rabbis from around the world.
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SEPHARDIC SUMMIT
The second annual Sephardic Rabbinic Conference, backed by the Orthodox Union and UJA-Federation, will bring together around 150 participants from a dozen countries to address leadership gaps and Diaspora institution-building
Plus, CA considers making Jews an ethnicity
Leonardo MUNOZ / AFP via Getty Images
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani arrives for a news conference at Gracie Mansion in New York City on March 9, 2026.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced today that his Office to Combat Antisemitism will be releasing a municipal plan to combat antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports.
The mayor marketed the plan as the “first-in-the-nation,” even as former Mayor Eric Adams already released a “blueprint” for combating antisemitism on his last day in office, which included the city adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism — a policy that Mamdani repealed on his first day.
The move comes days after Mamdani hosted a roundtable with rabbis in the city who asked the mayor to back off his attacks on Israel, a request that Mamdani did not reference or commit to addressing in his remarks…
The California state Legislature is considering a bill to require state agencies to include “Jewish” as an ethnicity option on all forms that collect demographic data. The move would make California the first state to officially consider Judaism as more than a religion for identification purposes…
A federal judge dismissed a lawsuit yesterday brought by the Trump administration against Harvard University alleging that the school showed “deliberate indifference” to antisemitism on campus in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks.
The judge ruled that the few campus incidents cited by the administration were “too isolated and episodic” to find “any institutionalized noncompliance with Title VI persists at Harvard to this day”…
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said on X today that she had communicated her “concerns” to the University of Washington about its decision to cancel an appearance by far-left, antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, and encouraged student groups who “want to hear from Mr. Piker to work with the University to ensure they can proceed.”
Piker had earlier this week denounced Democrats who didn’t “speak out against this clear violation” of the First Amendment due to his “position as a prominent critic of Israel”…
Former Democratic Maine Senate nominee Graham Platner is expected to headline a Labor Day rally for the Hancock County Maine Democrats next month, his first public appearance since dropping out of the Senate race after he was accused of rape by a former romantic partner…
White House advisor Jared Kushner is planning a trip to Israel next week with Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other officials to discuss the Hamas disarmament deal, Axios reports…
CENTCOM announced today it is undertaking efforts to establish the “first-ever multi-domain, multinational attack drone task force,” including consulting with and inviting regional partners to join, that will work to utilize unmanned, one-way attack drones “from above, on, and below the sea” in the Middle East…
The U.S. has lost roughly a quarter of its fleet of MQ-9 Reaper drones in the war with Iran, sources told The Washington Post, as the armed drones have been targeted by Tehran and its proxies in Yemen and Iraq…
The Pentagon is sending the USS George Washington aircraft carrier to replace the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Middle East, as reports and lawmakers indicate that conditions aboard the ship are deteriorating after a record 200 days without a port call; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed the concerns about the Abraham Lincoln today as “completely misrepresented”…
Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), facing a runoff special election to be the GOP nominee for her late brother’s Senate seat, announced she is co-sponsoring the Jewish American Security Act, the U.S.-Israel FUTURES Act, a bill on Iran sanctions and a bill on Iranian human rights and internet access…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at how Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is avoiding contending with the anti-Israel turn of her preferred successor, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, in her race against state Sen. Scott Wiener.
President Donald Trump will appear with Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, the GOP candidate for New York governor, at an event on Long Island honoring law enforcement officials.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), a member of the Squad, will appear at a rally in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., alongside anti-Israel progressives running against Jewish Democrats Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), as well as socialist Colorado Democratic congressional nominee Melat Kiros.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
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Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Breakthrough T1D)
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) questions witnesses during a hearing held to examine a future without Type 1 Diabetes with a focus on accelerating breakthroughs and creating hope at the Dirksen Senate Office Building on July 09, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
A State Department official pushed back on Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz’s comments in southern Lebanon today, where he said the IDF would remain deployed in a security zone, contrary to the agreement signed between Washington, Jerusalem and Beirut.
“The United States expects all parties to act in a manner consistent with the Framework they agreed to, and Israel clearly stated that it has no territorial ambitions in Lebanon. A permanent military presence in South Lebanon is not consistent with the commitments made in the Framework, or the long-term peace and security of both states,” the official told Axios…
Sources told Reuters that Israel and Lebanon have agreed that countries including Britain, Italy, Switzerland and Indonesia could contribute troops to an international force meant to oversee Hezbollah’s disarmament; an Israeli official denied any decisions had been made on the issue…
President Donald Trump continued to boast about the success of the U.S. campaign against Iran, stating again in a post on Truth Social today that the U.S. “has total control over the Strait of Hormuz” and that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is “decimated and fleeing.”
Meanwhile, out of the 166 ships that have transited the strait so far this month — a significant decrease from the average before the war — only two are known to have used the U.S.- and Oman-backed route, according to The Wall Street Journal…
In a rare interview with Western media, top IRGC advisor Mohammad Reza Naqdi told “PBS News Hour” that Iran is prepared to continue hostilities through the end of Trump’s term and accused the U.S. of waging a “war without strategy”…
The New York Times documents the efforts being made by Gulf countries to construct routes to move oil out of the region that do not rely on the Strait of Hormuz…
Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov denied in a post in Hebrew today that there is any financial agreement between the board and Hamas, refuting a report by Israeli public broadcaster Kan that the board would cover Hamas’ debts up to $400 million.
The disarmament roadmap states that the new Palestinian technocratic government will “assess the legitimate commitments to suppliers, contractors and other parties — up to a total amount of no more than $400M — and address them”; Mladenov said in his post that such processes “are not channeled through Hamas” and that “all accounts are open to full scrutiny by the donor governments”…
The publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times, Michael Morris, penned an open letter to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) today pressing the senator over his repeated votes to block U.S. military sales to Israel, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
“I apologize for being blunt, but please, stop lying to me and your constituents. I hear you claim, over and over again, that you support Israel — that your support is ‘ironclad.’ It is not,” Morris wrote…
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) denied today that the more than $30 million of support she received from AIPAC’s super PAC in her failed run for U.S. Senate backfired, saying on CNN that those who criticize AIPAC “maybe don’t understand what the group is” and that she’s “proud of the friendships and the relationships I have there [and] the really good Americans” who make up its membership…
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is stepping away from her role at the end of the month, Trump announced today, in order to spend more time with her family. The president said Leavitt will now serve as “one of my top outside advisors”…
Josh Kushner, managing partner of the venture capital firm Thrive Capital, and former Disney CEO Bob Iger have agreed to purchase a controlling interest in the Los Angeles Lakers for a record-breaking price of $12.5 billion, JI’s Matthew Shea reports…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at local Jewish political organizing efforts in major cities across the country.
The Hudson Institute will hold an event examining the state of the ongoing conflicts in the Gulf with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Behnam Ben Taleblu and Hudson’s Michael Doran, Ludo Hood and Zineb Riboua.
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The sale is the largest purchase price for any sports team in American history
Plus, City Hall and NYPD clash over Rama Duwaji's travel plans
Javier Campos/NurPhoto via Getty Images
A woman waves a Venezuelan flag during a march in amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in Caracas, Venezuela on May 25, 2021. (Photo by )
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, insisted today that any agreement reached between Iran and Oman on administering the Strait of Hormuz is separate from Tehran’s broader closure of the waterway, which will only be lifted once the U.S. accedes to Iran’s demands.
Meanwhile, Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, a key mediator between the U.S. and Iran, met today with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran. Islamabad’s defense minister, Khawaja Asif, told Bloomberg that developments are “shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement”…
CENTCOM said it disabled a Panama-flagged cargo ship sailing toward Iranian ports today by firing two Hellfire missiles into the vessel’s engine room, the third such incident since the U.S. blockade began…
Ed Miliband, who last month was appointed by new U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham to be foreign secretary, said he had a “frank and constructive first call” with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar today, during which the British diplomat raised the issues of settler violence, settlement expansion and the humanitarian situation in Gaza, among others.
The discussion came a day after Miliband met with British Jewish community leaders, who said they were “impressed” by the foreign secretary’s “longer-term commitment to maintaining the conversation”…
Sa’ar announced that Israel and Venezuela have agreed to renew consular relations — establishing a coordination mechanism to provide consular services to each country’s citizens — in the first official channel between the two since Caracas severed diplomatic ties in 2009. The move builds on the Israeli aid delegation dispatched to Venezuela after the June 24 earthquakes…
The Palestinian technocratic committee meant to govern Gaza convened a joint coordination meeting with several U.N. agencies — including the World Food Program, UNICEF and the World Health Organization — as well as representatives from the Board of Peace and former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair’s Institute for Global Change to coordinate on humanitarian aid and reconstruction issues…
Former Mossad head Yossi Cohen said at a conference in Israel today that Israeli operatives have “toured” Iran’s Fordow nuclear facility “many times” in order to “understand” it, and called the U.S. operation to bomb the site during the 12-day war in June 2025 “the fulfillment of all my dreams”…
The NYPD denied that its officers will be accompanying New York City First Lady Rama Duwaji on a trip to Lebanon and Syria next month after City Hall said that, “upon the strong recommendation of the NYPD, the First Lady’s security detail will be joining her” on the trip.
“The NYPD does not send officers to countries with level four travel advisories for discretionary reasons,” the NYPD said today, referring to the State Department’s ranking system that currently designates the two countries as “do not travel” locations. Mayor Zohran Mamdani later said the diverging statements stemmed from a “miscommunication,” and that when his wife makes the trip “it will be without any NYPD detail”…
Democratic Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed has made private over 100 YouTube videos from his time as a podcaster and commentator, CNN reports, including videos in which he lambasted fireworks on the Fourth of July, floated replacing the Second Amendment and voiced support for prison abolition…
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added Brian Poindexter, the Democratic nominee in Ohio’s 7th Congressional District, to its “Red to Blue” program as he aims to unseat Rep. Max Miller (R-OH). Democratic leadership will offer Poindexter strategic support as the district, previously considered a long shot for Democrats given its GOP leanings, is now seen as a key flip opportunity as Miller navigates accusations of domestic violence by his ex-wife…
The campaign of Francesca Hong, the socialist seen as the front-runner in today’s Democratic primary election for governor of Wisconsin, was rebuffed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) as she sought his endorsement due to her perceived weaknesses as a candidate, Politico reports; her campaign is planning to overhaul its staff to address such issues if she proceeds to the general…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for results from key primaries taking place today in Minnesota, South Carolina, Connecticut and Wisconsin.
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THE CAPITAL’S KOSHER CONUNDRUM
D.C. has a kosher restaurant problem. Owners say to blame the math
DSA UNFILTERED
‘If you put people in an open-air concentration camp … you have to expect that they are going to not take that for that long,’ Megan Romer said of the Oct. 7 attacks
Plus, new app offers Shabbat experience ‘with training wheels’
Aaron Schwartz / AFP via Getty Images
US President Donald Trump speaks during a Cabinet meeting at Camp David in Maryland, on July 31, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Responding to a recent demand from Iran that the U.S. fully compensate it for its war costs in order to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, President Donald Trump issued his own demand today that Tehran compensate the U.S. “for all of the people that they have killed and gravely wounded with their roadside bombs and many conflicts,” as well as pay reparations to the “families of the hundreds of thousands of innocent protestors that Iran has killed over the last 50 years.” Trump said he instructed U.S. representatives to “put this firmly into any, and all, future negotiations” with Tehran…
Shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said yesterday that Israel rejects the Hamas disarmament deal, Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov told Israel’s Channel 12 that the deal is “the only way” that “guarantees” that the Hamas attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, “will not occur again.”
“Nobody is required to do anything — last of all Israel — before we actually have verified steps on the ground,” Mladenov said, referring to the IDF’s eventual withdrawal from Gaza after all of Hamas’ weapons are “stored, and ultimately rendered unusable,” by the Palestinian technocratic government…
The International Atomic Energy Agency will remove nuclear material stored at a secret site in Syria tied to the fallen Assad regime, Axios reports, per an agreement reached between Trump, Jerusalem and Damascus…
Megan Romer, a national co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America, said in a podcast interview last week that the Oct. 7 attacks were “largely inevitable” — “If you put people in an open-air concentration camp and you deprive them of rights, of dignity, of food, of the ability to live in safety, you have to expect that they are going to not take that for that long,” she said — and that she would have attended the anti-Israel Times Square rally on Oct. 8 had she been in the area, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports…
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said on MS NOW today that Abdul El-Sayed, the state’s Democratic nominee for Senate, should “tone down his rhetoric” about Israel and AIPAC in order to help combat antisemitism in the Democratic Party.
“Not everything is about AIPAC, not everything is about Israel. … Even if we wiped Israel off the face of the earth tomorrow, you know, everyday Michiganders’ lives wouldn’t be better on” issues such as housing and healthcare, Nessel said…
The University of Washington on Friday reversed its decision to host far-left, antisemitic influencer Hasan Piker, citing a flawed planning process, JI’s Haley Cohen reports.
The event listing, which has since been removed from the university website, described Piker as a “journalist and wildly popular content creator” who has “become an authoritative voice for millennials and Gen Z,” and as someone who is “armed with sharp analysis and an irreverent wit”…
The new conservative government in Colombia, which recently returned its ambassador to Israel, today recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights, becoming the second country to do so after the U.S.
Colombia’s Foreign Ministry announced the move shortly after a powerful earthquake struck the country, killing over 100 people…
A new app called Sabbath is selling an ancient pitch to a modern, phone-addicted crowd: lock technology away for one sacred day a week. The app — which founder Ben Springwater calls “Shabbat with training wheels” — is “trying to make a bigger tent, get more people to experience some of the benefits and virtues of what Shabbat offers,” he told JI’s Haley Cohen, by allowing users to block certain apps from sundown to sundown on either Saturday or Sunday…
The Cook Political Report updated its rating of Rep. Max Miller’s (R-OH) district from “Likely Republican” to “Toss Up” after the deadline passed for Miller to drop out of his reelection race, which he declined to do despite facing serious domestic abuse allegations. Miller has denied the accusations levied against him by his ex-wife and her father, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH)…
Politico explores how Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is using her political clout to boost her preferred successor, San Francisco Supervisor Connie Chan, over Chan’s opponent, state Sen. Scott Wiener, including lining up endorsements and hosting major fundraisers…
“Fauda” star Lior Raz announced that the fifth season of the series, set two years after the Oct. 7 attacks, is coming to Netflix on Sept. 8…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at D.C.’sever-evolving kosher food scene.
Connecticut, Minnesota, Vermont and Wisconsin will hold primary elections tomorrow, with South Carolina and Alabama holding special elections as well.
We’ll be watching the outcomes in Minnesota’s Senate race, where Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN) and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan are neck-and-neck, as well as the Wisconsin governor’s race, where democratic socialist Francesca Hong is favored to win the Democratic nomination.
In the South Carolina special Republican Senate primary, Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) is trying to hold her late brother’s seat in a race widely expected to head to an Aug. 25 runoff. And in Connecticut’s 1st District, longtime Rep. John Larson (D-CT) faces his first serious primary challenge in decades from former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin.
Kenneth Marcus, the chairman of the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, will testify before a hearing of the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission tomorrow, urging the commission to repeal rules requiring employers to keep and submit yearly reports breaking down their workforce by race, sex and ethnicity.
Marcus argued to JI that the practice has “created the impression that the agency is pushing them to use racial preferences in order to improve their numbers.” He said the situation has left Jews either “invisible because we’re not counted, or potentially stigmatized because we are,” and that “counting by race or ethnicity has never been helpful for the Jewish people and has sometimes been dangerous.” He said that eliminating these requirements would allow the EEOC to focus more fully on specific complaints of alleged discrimination.
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GOPHER BROKE
Left-wing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s anti-Israel message is being complicated by her outreach to AIPAC earlier in the campaign
CONNECTICUT COMPETITION
Rep. John Larson, a Democrat, supports continued U.S. aid to Israel, while former Hartford Mayor Luke Bronin has said he would not back further offensive aid but does support Iron Dome
Plus, Israel and Turkey trade barbs over Syria
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) talks with reporters after the Senate luncheons in the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday, March 11, 2025.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump disputed reports that the U.S. is running low on critical munitions as a result of the Iran war, claiming on Truth Social last night that the country has “massive amounts of ‘munitions,’ especially of certain types” and that more are being manufactured and shipped to the U.S. “as needed”…
The IDF struck several targets in southern Lebanon again today “in response to the incident yesterday” during which two IDF soldiers were killed and four severely injured in an explosion that the army attributed to Hezbollah.
The strikes came during the last day of Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome, which a State Department official said were “productive on the technical and expert levels” and brought the parties “a lot closer on what needs to be done to advance and expand the pilot zone process”…
Jonathan Cowan, president of the center-left group Third Way, told The New York Times that the group plans to spend $15 million ahead of the 2028 presidential election to target the Democratic Socialists of America after Abdul El-Sayed’s primary win in the Michigan Senate race. “It is deeply troubling to see radical, far-left candidates winning in places that are potentially presidential swing states,” Cowan said. El-Sayed was not endorsed by the DSA, though he was championed by the far left…
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) told Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs that he believes El-Sayed’s victory has put Michigan in play for Republicans to win in November. “[El-Sayed] will quickly discover a primary is a much different situation in this state [than the general election], when you’re accountable for winning the other side. I can’t wait to see him campaign for the general. I have got my popcorn for that,” Fetterman said…
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) joined Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Reps. Brad Knott (R-NC) and Tom Suozzi (D-NY) today in introducing the Right to Worship Act, a federal bill that would ban activity that knowingly disrupts or impedes access to scheduled religious services within 100 feet of the entrance of a house of worship, JI’s Marc Rod reports…
California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Lele Yutzy as the state’s first director of its Office of Civil Rights, which was created under a bill enacted last year that acknowledged the prevalence of antisemitism in the state’s public schools and pledged to tackle discrimination. The office is also required to appoint an antisemitism prevention coordinator…
Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH) joined Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) in calling on Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), Moreno’s former son-in-law, to drop out of his reelection race and resign from Congress amid growing scrutiny of domestic violence allegations made against Miller, JI’s Marc Rod reports…
New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill‘s Mission to Deliver PAC endorsed a series of Democratic candidates with national security or military backgrounds, including Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) in his primary campaign to oust Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA).
Asked in a debate on local news earlier this week if Israel committed war crimes in Gaza, Markey answered an emphatic “yes” and called to end all military aid to Israel, while Moulton called the conflict an “absolute moral atrocity” and highlighted his rejection of AIPAC’s support but did not answer in the affirmative…
Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement today that he has been discharged from the hospital after a fall in Juneand will continue his recovery at home, without indication of when he will return to Capitol Hill…
The feud between Jerusalem and Ankara continued today as Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan claimed Israel’s “attacks targeting Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” are “among the greatest threats to the country’s stability.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar in turnaccused Fidan of hypocrisy, arguing that Turkey currently occupies 5% of Syria while the IDF holds a buffer zone “that comprises just one-tenth of one percent of Syrian territory”…
An extremist Israeli settler, Yinon Levi, was charged by the Israeli State Attorney’s Office with reckless homicide over the July 2025 killing of Palestinian activist Awdah Hathaleen, who had been featured in the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land” about home demolitions in the West Bank…
The Yemeni Defense Ministry said the Houthis attacked the internationally recognized government’s military forces in several locations — reportedly killing dozens of soldiers — and that the military would retaliate against the terror group “at the appropriate time and place.”
The hostilities mark Yemen’s latest potential slide back towards its brutal civil war that devastated the country from 2014 until the Houthis and the Saudi-backed government reached a ceasefire in 2022…
The United Arab Emirates has successfully transported more oil through the Strait of Hormuz in the last two months than any other country despite ongoing military hostilities in the area, Bloomberg reports, by utilizing tankers that switch off their transponders during the risky crossing…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the special election to replace former Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA), where AIPAC’s United Democracy Project super PAC is working to boost Dublin, Calif., Mayor Melissa Hernandez over state Sen. Aisha Wahab.
A deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz may still emerge, though its reported contours are raising concerns among experts that it could grant Tehran unprecedented oversight over the international shipping route, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
In the latest development, Iranian state media reported today that the country’s parliament is considering a preliminary bill to bar American, Israeli and other “hostile” vessels from utilizing the strait.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
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MICHIGAN MALAISE
Several Jewish Democrats in the battleground state are now indicating that they will break with a party they have long called home and instead vote for the Republican nominee, Mike Rogers, in the November election
CASE STUDY
A 42-year-old progressive state senator has quietly closed the gap on the 73-year-old pro-Israel incumbent, with internal polls showing a tightening race before Saturday’s vote
Plus, Israel-Lebanon talks wrap early after IDF strikes
Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Abdul El-Sayed speaks during a primary election night watch party at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit, Michigan early on Aug. 5, 2026.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Abdul El-Sayed’s victory today in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan rattled Jewish groups, who raised concerns about his rhetoric on Israel and the broader rise of the far left, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
The Jewish Democratic Council of America congratulated El-Sayed but said it was “disappointed” by the result and stopped short of endorsing him, while AIPAC said its members “remain determined to ensure that voters reject Dr. El-Sayed and his radical anti-Israel agenda in November”…
The Republican Jewish Coalition is urging Jewish Democrats to support the GOP nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), in the general election, calling El-Sayed “a direct threat to Michigan’s Jewish community.”
A Democratic fundraiser in Michigan told JI’s Matthew Kassel it is “absolutely certain” that “several large Jewish Democratic donors” will be backing Rogers. “I would guarantee there will be fundraisers for him hosted by high-profile Jewish Democrats,” they said…
Shortly after his win, El-Sayed previewed his evolving message to Jewish voters, saying he welcomes the opportunity to “break bread with you at Seder” and to “worship with you at shul.” He spoke of his “sisters and brothers who said, you know, ‘I want to join this movement because AIPAC doesn’t speak for me’” and vowed he would prioritize Jewish safety…
But just before he was declared the victor, El-Sayed appeared on MS NOW where he called Israel “bloodthirsty,” JI’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports. He said that “we’ve been talking about an illegal apartheid regime” in reference to Israel since before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to power, though “Netanyahu is a big reason why they’ve gotten so aggressive and frankly so bloodthirsty”…
Democrats, meanwhile, are quickly coalescing behind the new Senate nominee, JI’s Marc Rod reports. El-Sayed’s opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), promptly endorsed him upon conceding the race; Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) offered their joint support; and former Vice President Kamala Harris is fundraising for El-Sayed’s campaign alongside her PAC.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is also backing his ideological ally and left open the possibility that he’ll travel to Michigan to campaign with El-Sayed ahead of the general election, per JI’s Will Bredderman…
In another consequential Michigan race, pro-Israel Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-MI) was ousted in his primary, losing to state Rep. Donavan McKinney, a democratic socialist who cross-endorsed with El-Sayed, campaigned alongside him and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and ran on ending U.S. military aid to Israel…
Talks between Israel and Lebanon ended several hours early today “due to events on the ground,” the State Department said, but were “extremely productive” and are slated to restart tomorrow. The move came after the IDF conducted strikes in southern Lebanon due to what it said were “blatant violations“of the ongoing ceasefire by Hezbollah.
An Israeli source told The Times of Israel that the talks were cut off after Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter accused Lebanese representatives of leaking false information to the media…
The Israeli Foreign Ministry denounced a joint statement adopted by Arab states who convened in Jordan today to discuss Israel’s policies over Muslim and Christian sites in Jerusalem, which asserted that Israel “has no sovereignty” over the city and accused Israel of “altering the Arab Islamic and Christian identity of occupied Jerusalem.”
The countries also pledged to launch a “media platform to document and expose Israeli violations against the holy sites and worshipers” and hold a meeting at the U.N. General Assembly to further discuss the issue. Israel said the statement was “built on false accusations, historical distortions, and a complete disregard for the facts”…
The Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations sent a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio today renewing its call for the Trump administration to press Jordan to honor its extradition treaty obligations and send Ahlam Aref Ahmad al-Tamimi to the United States.
Al-Tamimi was convicted in Israel for her role in the 2001 bombing of the Sbarro pizzeria in Jerusalem, which killed 16 people, including three Americans. She has been charged by the Justice Department and remains on the FBI’s Most Wanted list…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Rep. Ed Case‘s (D-HI) reelection race, a primary that has largely flown under the radar but could pose a threat to one of the House’s more reliably pro-Israel moderates. While the contest has not centered on Middle East policy, it reflects the pattern seen in several recent Democratic primaries where well-established pro-Israel incumbents have faced increasingly competitive challenges from their left.
It remains to be seen if a deal will materialize between Iran, Oman and the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz (again), after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said today that Tehran and Muscat were finalizing a bilateral agreement without Washington. The latest reporting indicates that such an agreement would preclude any fees or tolls for a temporary period of time.
Tennessee will hold its primary elections tomorrow, where Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Rep. John Rose (R-TN) are the front-runners for the open governorship, Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) is expected to win renomination and Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) is running in the redrawn 5th Congressional District.
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BOOKSHELF
Five years after ‘People Love Dead Jews,’ the novelist’s new book reframes Jewish hatred as a lie about destruction — and tells Jews they don’t have to accept it
MISSILE MATH
The drawdown in U.S. stockpiles could complicate future efforts to defend Israel while deterring China, Iran and other adversaries
The Republican Jewish Coalition said that Michigan’s 100,000 Jewish voters could make the difference in the battleground race if they choose to back GOP nominee Mike Rogers
Sarah Rice/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Abdul El-Sayed speaks during a primary election night watch party at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit, Michigan early on Aug. 5, 2026.
Democrats are quickly coalescing behind Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed after the far-left candidate narrowly clinched victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary on Wednesday morning, while Republicans quickly pounced on El-Sayed’s extremist history and ties.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who came within a percentage point of defeating El-Sayed, promptly congratulated him on his victory and offered her support.
“I want to congratulate Abdul El-Sayed on winning the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate. He is a doctor, a community health official, a Rhodes Scholar, and a dedicated Michigander. I am proud to offer my support as he takes on Mike Rogers in the general election,” Stevens said. “This was a thorough and rigorous campaign that brought out the full span of views within the Democratic Party — and that is why we have primaries.”
She emphasized the need for Democrats to come together in support of El-Sayed, saying, “We must elect Democrats up and down the ballot. We need to flip some important House seats. We need to re-elect my friends Hillary Scholten and Kristen McDonald Rivet. We need to win this Senate seat, because Elissa Slotkin deserves a partner like Abdul in the U.S. Senate.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) also offered support for El-Sayed in a statement.
“Abdul El-Sayed has run an energetic campaign that inspired thousands of Michiganders across the state, with a clear focus on lowering costs and standing up for working families,” the pair said. “Democrats are united by a common purpose: putting a check on Donald Trump by defeating his Republican enablers and taking back the Senate. We look forward to working with Abdul and Democrats across Michigan to win this seat in November.”
Retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), who had initially planned to stay out of the race but ultimately endorsed Stevens, said that the party must come together behind El-Sayed to block Rogers.
“Both candidates ran strong campaigns focused on improving the lives of all Michiganders. But now it’s time to come together as a party and rally around our nominee, Abdul El-Sayed, to make sure Mike Rogers never sees the floor of the U.S. Senate,” Peters said. “I’ve repeatedly said that I will support our nominee because the most important election is in November.”
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), who declined to endorse El-Sayed in the primary, offered her support while also saying little about El-Sayed personally and focusing on the need to keep the seat in Democratic hands.
“Congratulations to @AbdulElSayed for winning the Democratic nomination for Senate. It’s been a long primary, but now it’s time to gear up to beat Mike Rogers (again) and win up and down the ticket,” Slotkin said. “There is nothing more important than the mission of the next 90 days: uniting, keeping this seat blue, flipping the House and Senate, and providing a real check on President Trump.”
Meanwhile, Republicans have quickly pounced on El-Sayed, highlighting his extreme history.
“Abdul isn’t just another liberal. He’s an extremist. He wants to empty prisons and put murderers and sex offenders back on our streets. He pledged his support to the Muslim Brotherhood and campaigns with people who refuse to condemn terrorism,” Republican nominee former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) said. “I spent years hunting terrorists and bringing Osama bin Laden to justice. Never in a million years did I think that I would be running against someone who believes America deserved 9/11.” His comment was apparently a reference to El-Sayed’s ties to far-left streamer Hasan Piker, who championed El-Sayed in the primary.
Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, declared in a statement that El-Sayed is the “most antisemitic U.S. Senate candidate in America” and called on Jewish Democrats, who he said could prove “decisive” in the November general election, to back Rogers.
“Abdul El-Sayed is a direct threat to Michigan’s Jewish community,” Brooks said. “El-Sayed has called the government of the Jewish state as ‘evil’ as Hamas, ‘struggled’ to say that Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, and empathized with a terrorist who tried to murder Jewish schoolchildren at Temple Israel in the Detroit suburbs — and yet, Michigan Democrats just picked him as their nominee for the United States Senate.”
The Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC aligned with Senate GOP leadership, announced a six-figure digital ad campaign describing El-Sayed as “dangerous.”
Phil Weiser, a Democrat, is the party’s nominee for governor
Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images
Colorado gubernatorial candidate, state Attorney General Phil Weiser speaks at an election-night watch party after winning the Democratic primary, at Ace Eat Serve on June 30, 2026 in Denver, Colorado.
A campaign poster circulating among Colorado Republicans depicts Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, who is Jewish and whose family members are Holocaust survivors, with devil horns, which critics say invokes a classic antisemitic trope.
Weiser is the Democratic nominee for governor of Colorado.
The poster promotes, but was not created by, Victor Marx, the GOP gubernatorial nominee, who has a bizarre and extremist history, including claiming to have killed and exorcised several people. It describes Weiser, depicted in front of a menacing background, as “the next threat to Colorado” and “radical,” “extreme” and “dangerous.”
Montrose County Commissioner Sean Pond, who created the image, told KUSA-TV’s Kyle Clark, who first reported on it, that he did not know Weiser is Jewish, that the poster did not have any religious message and “Weiser does not receive immunity from political satire because of a personal fact I did not even know.”
In promoting Marx, one version of the poster makes multiple references to Marx’s “faith,” including depicting him alongside an icon of a cross. Marx is the founder of a Christian humanitarian organization.
Marx responded supportively to an X post by Pond calling for unity among Colorado Republicans, which included a version of the devil horns image.
“We get one shot[,] one. If Republicans spend the next few months attacking each other instead of presenting a united front against Phil Weiser, we’ll have no one to blame but ourselves if we lose,” Marx said in his comment. “We don’t have to agree on every issue or every decision, but we do have to remember what’s at stake. Colorado can’t afford more division. It’s time to unite, stay focused, and win.”
Many Republicans in the state have kept Marx at arm’s length since his primary win, owing to his strange and controversial history, declining to endorse his campaign. During the GOP primary, his Republican rivals said they would not support him if he became the nominee.
“Depicting Jews with horns is a centuries-old antisemitic trope. Victor Marx and Colorado Republicans should reject and condemn this graphic and call it what it is — antisemitism,” Weiser said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “These images have no place in our state. Hate against any group must be treated as hate against all of us. Coloradans deserve a governor who will always fight back against bigotry and for the rights and freedoms of all.”
Marx’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
The Colorado Democratic Party called the poster “antisemitic and disgusting” and demanded that Marx and other Republicans condemn it.
Melat Kiros, a far-left Democratic congressional nominee in the state who herself has faced criticism for refusing to describe the firebombing of an Israeli hostage awareness march in Boulder, Colo., in which a Holocaust survivor died, also condemned the post.
“This is a shameful characterization that perpetuates antisemitic conspiracy theories and there is no room for this bigotry in our politics,” Kiros said.
Plus, Mamdani's anti-Bibi video features in synagogue vandal's feed
Nathan Howard-Pool/Getty Images
Delegation staff members meet in the lobby during a quadrilateral meeting between the U.S., Iran, Pakistan, and Qatar at the Lake Lucerne Summit, aimed at advancing a deal to end the Middle East conflict at the Buergenstock Resort, Lake Lucerne on June 21, 2026 near Stansstad, Switzerland.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu affirmed today that the IDF will “not withdraw from the current lines in Gaza until Hamas is completely disarmed.” President Donald Trump “thinks, and his team thinks, that Hamas can be totally disarmed and Gaza demilitarized. We’re looking into it,” Netanyahu continued in a video posted to Facebook in Hebrew. “They sent us a draft, we didn’t agree. It wasn’t our draft. We sent our responses”…
Evoking a sense of déjà vu, U.S. and Iranian officials are signaling a deal over the Strait of Hormuz is near at hand: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on CNBC this morning that “there is a chance” the U.S. and Iran “may have a deal today or tomorrow to open” the strait, while Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed al-Ansari told reporters that talks are in “very progressive stages” and that draft agreement language has been “circulated among the parties.”
Trump called Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani this afternoon to discuss “ongoing efforts to deescalate tensions” between Washington and Tehran, the emir’s office said, in order “to bring their views closer together”…
Reuters reports that the U.S. Army has depleted“virtually all” of its long-range surface-to-surface missiles in the course of the war with Iran, raising concerns about readiness for future conflicts and the potential need to carry out riskier missions if hostilities with Iran escalate. The White House disputed the report, with Trump insisting that the U.S. has “far more munitions than anyone in the world”…
A brewery in Michigan apologized for hosting an event last night for Rep. Haley Stevens’ (D-MI) campaign for Senate ahead of today’s primary election due to her support for Israel, Jewish Insider’s Gabby Deutch reports.
“We DO NOT endorse Haley Stevens,” Pux Taphouse wrote on Instagram, claiming it was not aware the event was being hosted by the campaign. “We are heartbroken as we pride ourselves on being not only a queer friendly space but also have advocated and continue to call for a Free Palestine,” the company said…
A Florida man accused of hurling a brick through the front window of a Sarasota Chabad house shared New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s video labeling Netanyahu a “war criminal” just days before the crime, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
The Sarasota Police Department stated that the alleged perpetrator, Brayton Laschinger, had admitted to targeting the synagogue in an attack last week “because it was a Jewish place of worship” — and had blamed “propaganda on social media” for enraging him in the hours before the vandalism. An Instagram account bearing Laschinger’s name, and featuring photos of him dating back more than a decade, reposted the clip, which Mamdani had published the week prior to the attack…
The Anti-Defamation League called out far-left streamer Hasan Piker for promoting a conspiracy theory claiming Israel is behind the recent migration crisis in Ceuta, Spain, going as far as to claim on his Twitch stream that Israel is working to make the antisemitic text The Protocols of the Elders of Zion“come true.”
“Saying Israel looks at those conspiracy theories and decides to make them ‘come true’ shifts responsibility for antisemitism onto the Jewish state,” the ADL said…
The Colorado Democratic Party called on Victor Marx, the GOP nominee for governor, and other state Republicans to denounce an image that Marx and others have boosted of Phil Weiser, the state’s Jewish attorney general who is Marx’s opponent, depicting Weiser with devil horns, which critics have said evokes a classic antisemitic trope.
Montrose County Commissioner Sean Pond, who created the image, claimed he was unaware Weiser is Jewish and said, “Weiser does not receive immunity from political satire because of a personal fact I did not even know”…
Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor declined a request by the Palestinian Authority and Palestine Liberation Organization to pause a $656 million judgment won by families of American victims of Palestinian terror attacks during the Second Intifada. The PA and PLO had argued that paying the sum now would “destabilize” government services in the West Bank as the bodies appeal the ruling…
Ellen Germain ended her five-year tenure as the State Department’s special envoy for Holocaust issues last week; it remains unclear if someone else will be tapped to lead the office — which deals with issues including restitution of Holocaust-era assets, Holocaust remembrance and combating Holocaust denial around the world — or if its remit will be wrapped into the Office of the Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism, currently headed by Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun. Jewish communal organizations have advocated both for and against the prospect of the consolidation…
Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison spoke out in a New York Times op-ed against those who oppose Paramount‘s ongoing acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, which he argued is at its core a concern about his own political views. “I have regularly voted for candidates of both parties; I hold some views that would be called conservative and others that would be called liberal, just like most Americans; and when it comes to our news operations, I do not aspire to lead these companies to bend their newsrooms to my views,” he wrote…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for election results from key races taking place today in Michigan and Missouri.
Talks between Israel and Lebanon will continue in Rome, where technical teams are working to advance the pilot zone process, Hezbollah’s disarmament and the IDF’s redeployment from southern Lebanon, the State Department said today.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Federal Courts subcommittee are planning to boycott a hearing tomorrow set to examine Muslim Brotherhood networks in the United States, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports, calling the hearing a “political creepshow” designed to attack Muslims broadly.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will receive a classified update on the ongoing civil war in Sudan.
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Plus, Iran’s ‘unbelievably duplicitous’ leaders irk Trump
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Israeli tanks stationed near the border with the Gaza Strip on September 17, 2025 in southern Israel.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump lambasted Iranian leadership today, calling the regime “unbelievably duplicitous” for contradicting his claim that Washington and Tehran are currently conducting negotiations, after Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said that Tehran was only in discussion with Oman about the Strait of Hormuz and had no plans to speak to the U.S.
Trump claimed in his Truth Social post that the regime had “begged” for a meeting, “with more scheduled in the immediate future,” adding, “whether Iran wants to admit it or not, we are, in fact, talking of a solution to a problem that they have caused, for decades.” Trump later told reporters that the talks were “a last chance for Iran to sign a good document” and that he wants to give Iran “every last chance before decapitation”…
Board of Peace head Nickolay Mladenov held a “constructive and detailed” meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, the board said, after the IDF continued to strike targets in Gaza over the weekend — in contravention of the Board of Peace’s Hamas disarmament plan, which called for the immediate cessation of hostilities in the enclave.
The board clarified that the IDF’s withdrawal beyond the yellow line in Gaza “will take place only once decommissioning [of Hamas’ weapons] is complete,” including all light and heavy weapons as well as terror tunnels. Netanyahu has yet to officially comment on the deal, but a senior Israeli spokesman said earlier today that the agreement “does not reflect Israel’s positions” and another Israeli official declared that the IDF “will not withdraw from the current line in the Gaza Strip”…
Israeli President Isaac Herzog received the credentials of the new ambassadors from Chile and Honduras today; the two Latin American countries had pulled their ambassadors from the Jewish state shortly after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in protest of the war in Gaza but have since elected new conservative governments that have sought to strengthen ties with Jerusalem…
Education Secretary Linda McMahon sent a letter to every university in the country today asking their leadership to publish by the end of the year a statement committing to principles including transparency in admissions, free speech, diversity of thought and keeping foreign influence out of academics.
Yeshiva University President Rabbi Ari Berman applauded the initiative, which came after most universities rejected a compact from the Trump administration last year that had asked them to agree to a set of ideological principles in order to receive federal funding, and said YU would participate in the effort to rebuild public trust of higher education…
Brown University President Christina Paxson announced today that she will step down at the end of the 2026-27 academic year, concluding her 15-year tenure at the Ivy League, during which the school increased Jewish student enrollment even as most peer institutions experienced significant drops, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
As the Israel on Campus Coalition’s National Summit continues in Washington, Noah Pollak, a senior advisor at the Education Department, debated Jonathan Rauch, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, on whether the Trump administration’s crackdown on campus antisemitism has protected or threatened America’s liberal norms. After the debate, where Pollak argued in favor of the policy and Rauch argued against, students who were polled in the audience shifted their views to align more with Rauch, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
New hate crime data released by the NYPD shows an uptick of 8.5% in hate crimes against Jews in New York City this year so far, accounting for more than half of all hate crimes in the city, despite Jewish New Yorkers only accounting for 10% of the city’s population…
A New York man was indicted on hate crimes charges on Friday for repeatedly vandalizing a kosher bagel shop, weeks after he was indicted for manslaughter for killing a prominent Jewish community member in a car crash…
Author Alyssa Rosenheck pushed back on arguments raised by Bell Bird Books, a local bookstore in Nashville, Tenn., that canceled a book launch event for Rosenheck’s White. Blond. Jew.,which the bookstore claimed was due to security concerns. Rosenheck said she had personally paid for a private firm to secure the event and was told there were no outstanding security concerns, alleging that the event was canceled “because I’m an unapologetic Jewish voice … and it provokes an online mob of hate”…
Trump is considering removing Jeanine Pirro, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, according to CNN, after he said today that she “folded like an umbrella” when she withdrew a case against an alleged vandal of the Reflecting Pool and instead blamed the Interior Department for its botched renovation…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Sen. Darline Graham’s (R-SC) bid for a full term in the Senate, where she is facing headwinds despite having secured President Donald Trump’s endorsement.
We’ll be watching tomorrow’s Democratic primaries in Michigan and Missouri — the sharpest tests yet of the party’s divide over Israel. In Michigan’s Senate race, far-left Abdul El-Sayed seems the favorite in recent polling over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI); in Missouri, Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) faces a rematch with former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO). Also on the Michigan ballot: the battleground 7th District, where DSA-backed William Lawrence is the front-runner, and the 11th District, where Jewish state Sen. Jeremy Moss is running to succeed Stevens. Kansas, Virginia and Washington state will also hold their primaries tomorrow.
Israeli and Lebanese representatives will meet tomorrow to begin another round of U.S.-led negotiations in Rome. U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon Michel Issa sounded a cautious note today on the ongoing trilateral agreement, as the Lebanese Armed Forces and the IDF continue to work toward establishing the fragile pilot zones in southern Lebanon: “A great deal of technical work remains to ensure civilian safety on the ground,” Issa said. “There is a meaningful difference between drafting an agreement on paper and implementing it responsibly — moving too quickly risks jeopardizing the very civilians this process is meant to protect.”
The Senate Judiciary Committee is set to vote tomorrow on whether to advance acting Attorney General Todd Blanche‘s nomination to lead the Justice Department, after Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) dropped their opposition to his nomination when the administration agreed to rescind its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund.
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For many Jewish Democrats in Michigan who have long called the party home, the bruising lead-up to the primary on Tuesday has been difficult to experience
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For many Jewish Democrats in Michigan who have long called the party home, the bruising lead-up to the primary on Tuesday has been difficult to experience
Sarah Rice/Getty Images
Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks at his election watch party.
As Abdul El-Sayed pulls ahead in the final days of Michigan’s bitter Democratic Senate primary race, Republicans are eyeing a chance, in the general election, to peel support from disaffected Jewish Democrats anxious about their party’s sharp turn to the left on Israel and its tolerance for actions they view as antisemitic.
For many Jewish Democrats in Michigan who have long called the party home, the bruising lead-up to the primary on Tuesday has been difficult to experience, as El-Sayed, a far-left former public health official, has continued to gain traction while fiercely attacking Israel, using anti-Zionist rhetoric and centering his messaging on opposition to AIPAC, the pro-Israel advocacy group whose super PAC is aggressively promoting Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in a record ad barrage that has exceeded $30 million.
If Stevens loses, Republicans are eager to present former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP’s presumptive nominee who was narrowly defeated in his bid for Senate last election cycle, as a safe alternative to El-Sayed for Jewish Democrats in the general election who may not be able to stomach voting along party lines.
“I think that Jewish voters and many Democrats in general feel” the party “has moved away from them,” Bobby Schostak, a former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party who sits on the Republican Jewish Coalition’s board, told Jewish Insider, calling Rogers “unconditionally and unapologetically pro-Israel and part of the fight against antisemitism in America.”
He predicted that Jewish Democrats “are going to flock to” Rogers “come November if El-Sayed wins the nomination,” referring, among other things, to the candidate’s refusal to distance himself from the antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker and controversial remarks following a foiled terrorist attack against a synagogue in Michigan in March in which he said, “Hurt people do hurt people.”
“Playing that response back is all it takes,” Schostak said of the anticipated GOP attacks against El-Sayed in the still-hypothetical general election. “That clearly showed his position and lack of concern for Jews and Jewish children,” he added of the comments. “I don’t think it takes much more than that.”
Sam Markstein, a spokesperson for the RJC, which has endorsed Rogers, said that “Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat is at the center of the political battlefield” in the fight for control of the upper chamber.
“I think there’s a real opportunity for Mike and other Republicans in Michigan to build on Jewish support,” Jason Cabel Roe, a GOP strategist who has served as the executive director of the state’s Republican Party, told JI.
“With nearly 100,000 Jewish voters in a state where the margins of victory are incredibly close,” he said in a statement to JI, “Michigan’s Jewish community will once again be a decisive group in one of the most important contests in the country this November.”
Markstein suggested that “Michigan Jews are well aware of the stakes,” pointing to divisive comments in which El-Sayed declined to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist and said “I call bullshit” on “a definition of antisemitism to include a foreign government and its leaders,” among others that have faced scrutiny.
“I think there’s a real opportunity for Mike and other Republicans in Michigan to build on Jewish support,” Jason Cabel Roe, a GOP strategist who has served as the executive director of the state’s Republican Party, told JI.
While he called El-Sayed’s rhetoric on Israel “a big factor” influencing that dynamic, Roe argued there are deeper issues at play, notably including the Democratic state party convention in April at which pro-Israel candidates were heckled by activists and an attorney with a history of praising Hezbollah was nominated to sit on the University of Michigan Board of Regents.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Jewish Democrat, said last week that she planned to skip her party’s nominating convention next month, citing the episodes as sowing fears of antisemitic harassment.
“What happened at the” state convention “has really animated Jewish donors and voters and moved them in the direction of Republicans,” Cabel Roe explained to JI. “I think it’s very significant.”
Alyssa Brouillet, a spokesperson for Rogers, said his campaign is “beginning to see more and more Jewish Democrats coming to us who feel abandoned by their party.”
“It’s easy to see why when you have a candidate in this race who fundraised off of Oct. 7 and sympathized with the terrorist attacker who attempted to mass murder 140 kids at Temple Israel synagogue. That’s terrifying,” she told JI in a statement. “Unlike his opponents, Mike Rogers stands with the Jewish community in Michigan and across the country — and he will continue fighting to make life better for working families all across the state.”
The former congressman, recognized as a pro-Israel hawk while serving in the House from 2001 to 2015, has also raised concerns over rising antisemitism as well as anti-Israel sentiment on the far right, which he has said the GOP needs to more forcefully fight.
He has said publicly that it “doesn’t matter” who he faces in the general election, claiming he is confident that he will beat either of them. During a private call with supporters last month, he said that he would be “in good shape” if El-Sayed clinched the nomination as opposed to the moderate Stevens, describing him as “so radical,” according to audio obtained by CNN.
Polling has suggested that a general election matchup between Rogers and El-Sayed would be competitive.
It remains to be seen if the depth of disillusionment among Jewish Democrats in Michigan who feel their party is abandoning them will ultimately translate to a vote for Rogers should El-Sayed be the nominee — given accompanying reservations with how it could help Republicans flip a crucial seat held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).
But Stevens herself in some ways gave Rogers a path to make inroads with Jewish Democrats who distrust El-Sayed when she directly accused her opponent of antisemitism in a fiery social media post on Thursday underscoring the increasingly personal animosities in the closing stretch of the primary.
“After Tuesday, you will see a plethora of Jewish Democrats openly supporting Mike Rogers,” said Dennis Bernard, national chair of government relations at the Jewish Federations of North America, adding such support could help tip the scales in a general election that is expected to be close. He said Rogers has been doing “significantly more events in the Jewish community” and is being more favorably received than last cycle, when he lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a Jewish Democrat.
“Everyone in America understands you want to blame all of your problems on Jewish Americans,” she wrote in the post addressed to El-Sayed, after he had taunted AIPAC and called her the “least capable candidate in America.”
A spokesperson for AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, did not return a request for comment about its plans for the general election.
A source familiar with UDP’s thinking told JI that “no decision has been taken yet because we’re not there,” but suggested that the group would support Rogers if Stevens loses to El-Sayed. “What would the expectation be?” the source told JI. “That they would do everything they can do to beat this guy.”
Dennis Bernard, a Jewish leader in Michigan who says he supports both Stevens and Rogers in their respective primaries, echoed others who told JI that even as there are Jewish Democrats planning to pull the lever for Rogers if Stevens loses on Tuesday, they are not willing to admit that publicly until the results are in.
“After Tuesday, you will see a plethora of Jewish Democrats openly supporting Mike Rogers,” said Bernard, national chair of government relations at the Jewish Federations of North America, adding such support could help tip the scales in a general election that is expected to be close. He said Rogers has been doing “significantly more events in the Jewish community” and is being more favorably received than last cycle, when he lost to Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), a Jewish Democrat.
Hannan Lis, a Democratic fundraiser and Jewish leader who splits his time between Michigan and Israel, said he would vote for Rogers in the general election if El-Sayed wins the nomination, adding he knows “many” Jewish Democrats who plan to do the same.
His reservations over the prospect of Republicans preserving their Senate majority by picking up the Michigan seat, Lis told JI, were overshadowed by his deeper objections to El-Sayed and his views on Israel and antisemitism. “El-Sayed is no Democrat,” he told JI.
“If Abdul El-Sayed wins the primary, I will have to spend more time seeing if El-Sayed is as dangerous to Israel, America and American Jews as he appears — and I haven’t seen anything so far to the contrary — and I will also spend some time examining Mike Rogers’ record on Israel and other issues that the Jewish community cares deeply about,” Asher Lopatin, a rabbi who serves as director of community relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor and is backing Stevens, told JI.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment about tensions with Jewish voters.
One pro-Israel strategist in the state who is close to Stevens estimated, on gut instinct, that it was more likely what he called mainstream Jewish Democrats who support Israel would not vote at all rather than pull the lever for Rogers if El-Sayed is the nominee, pegging that number at some 50% of the community.
He speculated that 25% of such voters would support Rogers because they are “disgusted with Democrats,” while another 25% could swallow their concerns and choose El-Sayed, motivated by loyalty to their party.
Asher Lopatin, a rabbi who serves as director of community relations at the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor and is backing Stevens, said he is trying to keep an open mind for the general election if the congresswoman loses, even as he has “been deeply disturbed by many quotes from El-Sayed regarding Israel and by many of his ads, in which AIPAC is attacked as what I see as an antisemitic dogwhistle.”
“If Abdul El-Sayed wins the primary, I will have to spend more time seeing if El-Sayed is as dangerous to Israel, America and American Jews as he appears — and I haven’t seen anything so far to the contrary — and I will also spend some time examining Mike Rogers’ record on Israel and other issues that the Jewish community cares deeply about,” he told JI.
Lopatin added that he would also “want to make sure” that Rogers is “someone who can stand up to” President Donald Trump.
Noah Arbit, a Jewish Democratic state legislator in Michigan who is outspoken against antisemitism in his party, declined to confirm how he would vote in a general election without Stevens as the nominee, even as he has accused El-Sayed of helping to “stoke and inflame hatred against Jews” and grappled with whether he belongs in a party he sees as “hostile” to his community.
For now, he told JI, “I’m entirely focused on winning a third term representing my district in Greater West Bloomfield,” a heavily Jewish suburb of Detroit, “and electing a Democratic House, Senate and governor in Michigan.”
Michael Horowitz, a Jewish community leader and Detroit businessman, was reluctant to engage in any hypotheticals before the primary’s end. “I still think Haley is going to pull it out on Tuesday,” he told JI on Friday.
Pressed to clarify how he would vote if she loses, he wrote in a text, “I try to avoid playing games with the Devil,” inserting an upside-down smiley face emoji reflective of the uncomfortable position that Jewish Democrats now find themselves confronting as the primary finally comes barreling to a close this week.
Plus, Columbia student union drops BDS demand
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks on stage during the third day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center on August 21, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. Delegates, politicians, and Democratic Party supporters are in Chicago for the convention, concluding with current Vice President Kamala Harris accepting her party's presidential nomination.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, who is Jewish, said today at an antisemitism roundtable with local Jewish community leaders that she will not be attending the Michigan state Democratic Party convention in August because she would not feel safe there…
A new Emerson College pollof the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan found far-left candidate Abdul El-Sayed surging ahead of Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) by 15 points, 54-39%…
The American Association of University Professors issued its first-ever political endorsement in its 110-year history today, backing El-Sayed ahead of next week’s primary. The professional organization has repeatedly faced criticism from Jewish groups and faculty members for straying from its mission by engaging in anti-Israel advocacy…
An Emerson College poll of next month’s special primary election to replace the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on the ballot in South Carolina found Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) at the top of the pack, leading Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) 22-19%, with a quarter of likely primary voters still undecided. If no candidate receives a majority, the top two vote-getters will advance to a runoff…
Columbia University’s student workers’ union dropped its demand that the university divest from Israel during a bargaining session on Tuesday, the Columbia Spectator reports, in a significant reversal of the union’s pro-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions advocacy. Union President Grant Miner claimed the move was a natural part of the negotiation process: “As you bargain, you have to face the realities of where you are.”
Columbia is also set to open its global center in Tel Aviv this summer, professor Nadav Eyal said on an episode of Dan Senor’s “Call Me Back” podcast earlier this week. Plans for the center were announced in April 2023, but have been on hold since the Oct. 7 attacks…
Former Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes dropped out of the Democratic primary for governor today. Barnes said in his announcement video that it’s “very clear who our nominee is going to be,” in an apparent reference to Democratic Socialists of America-backed Francesca Hong, though he did not offer her his endorsement.
Barnes dropped out shortly before The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the Wisconsin Democratic Party had investigated allegations in 2025 that he had taken advantage of his role in the party for sexual encounters with young women…
Negotiations between mediators and Hamas, taking place on Thursday in Cairo, are “making progress” on disarmament, a diplomatic official told The Times of Israel. The plan under discussion would see “all weapons decommissioned” as well as “the elimination of all tunnels, depots of weapons and any weapons production facilities” in Gaza, the official said…
Iranian hackers may have been behind a cyberattack on dozens of municipal water systems this week in Minnesota, state and federal officials told The New York Times…
The Iran-backed Houthi terror group, which is based in Yemen, reportedly attacked Saudi Arabia this week from Iraqi territory. The group may have operated with the assistance of militias in the country working with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, in an indication of the growing coordination between Tehran’s proxies…
Amid the renewed attacks it has faced from both Iran and the Houthis, Saudi Arabia hosted dozens of military officials from around the world, including the U.S., for a meeting today to establish a maritime defense alliance. Thirteen countries joined Riyadh in signing a statement of support for the effort: Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, Jordan, Yemen, Bangladesh, Nigeria, Sudan, Djibouti and Somalia…
The Senate narrowly blockedanother push by Democrats today to force an end to the Iran war, 50-49, with Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rand Paul (R-KY) again breaking with their party to vote for the war powers resolution and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voting against it…
The share of Israelis who believe President Donald Trump is “highly committed” to protecting Israel’s security interests has dropped to a new low, according to a survey from Tel Aviv University’s Institute for National Security Studies.
The organization’s July 2026 National Security Survey found that only 14% of Israelis believe the country’s security interests are a top concern for Trump, representing a significant drop from the 35% recorded in March, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports…
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) argued today at the Hudson Institute that, without regime change in Iran, the U.S. will likely need to continue to conduct periodic military operations against Iran’s nuclear program to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, JI’s Marc Rod reports…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the dynamics in the Democratic primary for the congressional seat being vacated by Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), where Jewish state Sen. Jeremy Moss’ challengers are targeting him for his ties to pro-Israel donors.
President Donald Trump is expected to hold a Cabinet meeting tomorrow at the historic Camp David retreat in Maryland.
The Democratic Socialists of America will hold its annual organizing conference this weekend in Chicago, where some programming will focus on “anti-imperialist and pro-Palestine organizing strategy” to end the “U.S.-Israeli genocide in Palestine.”
We’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
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President Donald Trump prepares to leave after speaking during an event at Verst Logistics on March 11, 2026 in Hebron, Kentucky.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump warned this morning that the U.S. would “beat the f**king sh*t out of” Iran following an attempted surprise ballistic missile attack yesterday by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on U.S. forces, even as the president signaled a willingness to keep diplomatic channels open, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Asked later if Iran was involved in a drone attack today on a U.S.-owned gas storage tanker at a shipping terminal in Egypt, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that the incident was “a little more of the same. … We’re going to be hitting [Iran] very hard ’cause it’s our turn to hit them. They know it’s coming,” he continued…
A U.S. official said last night’s retaliation by the U.S. and Saudi militaries against Iran-backed militias in Iraq resulted in the deaths of 20 Iran-linked individuals, who were a mix of IRGC members and technical advisors…
Before the latest escalation, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Trump discussed in their Oval Office meeting yesterday several potential next steps in Iran: reaching a diplomatic agreement, increasing economic pressure or intensifying military strikes, Axios reports.
The two leaders also spoke about Netanyahu’s continued insistence that the U.S. wind down aid to Israel — an effort the Israeli prime minister wants to lead publicly to give GOP lawmakers cover to support it — as well as the IDF’s continued presence in Syria…
Wrapping up his trip in Washington, Netanyahu met with Vice President JD Vance last night and hosted Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at Blair House this morning…
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met today in Ankara with new Hamas head Khalil Al-Hayya…
The Treasury Department sanctioned the Persian Gulf Marine Insurance Company and Hormuz Safe Marine Services Authority, which are backed by the IRGC, for running “insurance” schemes in the Strait of Hormuz, whereby the terror group creates threats to commercial shipping and then charges vessels for insurance coverage…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani continued to face questions today about his decision to appoint a judicial advisory committee that did not include any Jews, which critics have noted is at stark odds with the large population of Jewish attorneys working in the five boroughs, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
“Any suggestion that there would be any decision made or motivated by religion, it does bother me,” Mamdani told reporters today. “Any suggestion that the composition of the advisory committee was motivated by religion is false”…
Mamdani’s communications director disputed an account by former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel of his September 2025 meeting with Mamdani in which Emanuel said he told him, “You chant ‘[from the] river to the sea,’ and that means there will never be a homeland for Jews who had faced the Holocaust. I want you to hear this: Over my dead body.”
Anna Bahr, Mamdani’s staffer, said in a post replying to the clip of Emanuel on the “Unholy” podcast: “can confirm this … did not happen”…
A new pollof Michigan’s battleground 7th Congressional District shows progressive William Lawrence, a co-founder of the Sunrise Movement, leading the Democratic primary with a 38% plurality, followed by former Navy SEAL Matt Maasdam (27%) and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Bridget Brink (19%). The survey, which was commissioned by a group backing Maasdam, also found 16% of voters are still undecided ahead of next week’s primary…
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) predicted Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro would be a “formidable” opponent if both men run in the 2028 Democratic presidential primary and told the Washington Examiner that Shapiro “very graciously” called him after Khanna claimed he was detained by Israeli settlers in the West Bank earlier this month…
A read for Tu B’Av, the Jewish holiday of love, happening today: A new Jewish dating app combining the benefits of traditional matchmakers with technology, set to launch in the coming weeks, is exclusively made for Jewish day school grads to find their bashert, founder Erica Schwartz told JI’s Haley Cohen. The app — called The Well, in a nod to the biblical story of Eliezer finding Isaac’s wife, Rebecca — utilizes a chatbot, human intuition and no swiping at all…
CBS News announced that Wall Street Journal correspondent Dov Lieber will join its team in September as a senior reporter based in Israel…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look into the reported far-right dynamics now at play among the new employees of the Heritage Foundation, following an exodus of the organization’s traditionally conservative staff under President Kevin Roberts.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel will co-host an antisemitism roundtable with the Anti-Defamation League to hear from Jewish community leaders about the impacts of recent antisemitic incidents in the state.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a nomination hearing for Sarah Rogers, the under secretary of state for public diplomacy, to be CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media. Rogers was nominated for the role by President Donald Trump after a federal judge ruled that Kari Lake had been unlawfully serving as the agency’s acting chief executive, invalidating many of the actions she took while leading the agency.
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) will appear at the Hudson Institute for a conversation on the global threat environment.
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Leading rabbis across the state are urging their congregants to vote for Stevens — even if they’re not saying so explicitly
AID ARGUMENTS
Many of the attendees at Temple Emanuel who listened to the congressman defend his position appeared critical of the stance he’d taken and unconvinced by his explanation, Jewish constituents said
Plus, Washington bids farewell to Lindsey Graham
Prime Minister's Office
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on July 28, 2026.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed his sit-down with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office this morning as “one of the best conversations I’ve ever had with a president of the United States,” saying in a video statement that the two leaders were completely aligned “on the shared goal that Iran will not have nuclear weapons.”
Caroline Glick, Netanyahu’s international affairs advisor, also described the meeting, which was closed to the press, as “extremely positive” and pushed back against reports of a rift between Jerusalem and Washington. Netanyahu and Trump “have arguments from time to time … but they are on the same page 100% with everything relating to the goal of all operations regarding Iran,” Glick told Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea…
That rift was on display just hours before the meeting, when Trump expressed frustration with Netanyahu over reports that he planned to share with him Israeli intelligence regarding Iranian nuclear activity at Pickaxe Mountain.
“I don’t need Bibi to tell me that. Bibi is telling me that because he wants me to stay involved [in Iran],” Trump alleged in an interview on Fox News. “I know exactly what’s happening at Pickaxe, it’s not a big problem,” he said…
And in another indication of daylight emerging between the two countries, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told Israel’s Channel 14 today that Jerusalem “very much want[s] to strike Iran’s energy targets,” but Washington “is not approving it at the moment because of the concern that Iran would attack neighboring countries, causing a global oil crisis”…
The funeral of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) at the Washington National Cathedral this afternoon drew his friends and supporters from all walks of life. Among those spotted in the sanctuary were Netanyahu; Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky; Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine; Miriam Adelson; former Vice President Mike Pence; Ron Dermer, Israel’s former minister of strategic affairs; the parents of slain American Israeli hostage Omer Neutra; Reza Pahlavi, the exiled former crown prince of Iran; and a host of administration officials and members of Congress…
Despite both being in Washington today for the same reasons — White House meetings with Trump and Graham’s funeral — Netanyahu and Zelensky will not hold an official meeting, The Times of Israel reports, though the two leaders were spotted speaking in person for the first time in several years at the National Cathedral ahead of the funeral proceedings.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha also spoke by phone today, where Sa’ar invited Sybiha to visit Israel…
The Senate added a provision extending long-standing sanctions on Iran, currently set to expire at the end of the year, into a major Russia sanctions package negotiated and championed by Graham before his death, JI’s Marc Rod reports. The bill is expected to receive its first procedural vote later today, after its sponsors meet with Zelensky…
Lebanese businessman Antoun Sehnaoui and former U.S. Middle East envoy Morgan Ortagus hosted a dinner in honor of Graham last night at the Four Seasons hotel in Washington, Axios reports. Netanyahu, who attended the event with his wife, Sara, told those gathered, “America has lost a great patriot, Israel has lost one of its greatest friends and supporters, and I have lost a dear friend”…
A man armed with a hammer today entered the premises of the Lev Leviev School in Queens, N.Y., where a Jewish day camp was operating and shoved a child into a fence before being subdued by camp personnel.
Queens Shmira, a local public safety organization, told JI that the incident was not a hate crime but was rather perpetrated by an “emotionally disturbed individual.” The NYPD took a person of interest into custody and the child was treated for a laceration on site before being transported to a hospital…
A new poll shows Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) leading former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers by two points if she wins next week’s closely watched Senate Democratic primary — with her opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, trailing Rogers by seven points, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports.
United Democracy Project, the AIPAC-affiliated super PAC, is meanwhile running a new ad hitting El-Sayed over his past support of the “uncommitted” movement and his criticisms of popular Democratic leaders…
CENTCOM announced today that it has signed an agreement with the UAE to establish the first bilateral task force focused on developing military artificial intelligence. The group, named Task Force Talon Synapse, will formally launch in the coming weeks and will be based in Abu Dhabi, with around 20 American and Emirati personnel with expertise in AI, data and cybersecurity…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Jewish organizing efforts in Michigan ahead of the state’s Senate Democratic primary election next week.
Graham’s funeral will continue tomorrow in South Carolina, where he will receive a public procession at the Statehouse in Columbia and a private burial.
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Haley Stevens touted her support for a two-state solution for Israel and the Palestinians, while Abdul El-Sayed lambasted U.S. aid to the Jewish state
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Plus, El-Sayed defends leaked 'ogre' remarks
Emir of Qatar
Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met with Rabbi Mendy Chitrik on July 27, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump decided to pause military strikes on Iran because the U.S. and Tehran are “in very deep talks,” he told Axios today, but if the discussions “don’t work out, we will go back to very strong military action.”
Negotiations are thus far indirect, reportedly taking place primarily between Iran and Oman, though Trump told reporters today that Iran had requested a meeting directly with the U.S…
Asked about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s opposition to the U.S.’ planned sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, Trump said, “Turkey’s been a great ally — for me. … Nobody tells me what we should be selling,” a clip that the White House’s rapid response social media account posted to X…
Saudi Arabia intercepted drones launched by Iran-backed militias in Iraq today which were targeting oil facilities in the country’s Eastern Province and in Riyadh, according to the Saudi Defense Ministry…
The U.S. Embassy in Israel temporarily restricted travel by U.S. government employees and their families into the West Bank due to “heightened security concerns and increased volatility” in the area…
Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani publicized a meeting in Doha today with a delegation of rabbis — led by Rabbi Mendy Chitrik, chair of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States — who came to offer their condolences on the death of the emir’s father and predecessor, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
Days after an alleged hate crime against a Jewish person in Manhattan, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused to engage with suggestions from various corners that he tone down his rhetoric around Israel — or to address why he continued publicly toying with arresting Netanyahu well after city attorneys told him he couldn’t, JI’s Will Bredderman reports…
The New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is planning to lobby state lawmakers to pass the “Not on Our Dime” bill, which would revoke the tax-exempt status of New York nonprofits that support Israeli settlement activity, as well as a bill that would impose penalties on airlines that move arms shipments to Israel from JFK Airport, The New York Times reports…
Conservative writer Rod Dreher said Vice President JD Vance, with whom he used to be friends, “cut me off” after a meeting in which Dreher asked him to push back against rising antisemitism among young people on the right.
Dreher recalled on an episode of “The Jeremy Boreing Show”: “I pointed out to [Vance] these people — [neo-Nazi Nick] Fuentes, the groypers, all of them — are going to destroy conservatism and the Republican Party, and I said to him, ‘Because of your background, because of your age, you are uniquely positioned to draw a red line there’ … but he hasn’t chosen to do it”…
Far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed came under fire for leaked audio in which he said about his potential primary win, “You put one ogre on a pike, and then everyone else gets the message,” comments which some understood to refer to his opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI).
El-Sayed disputed the interpretation, telling The 19th that he was “clearly referring to supporting a primary against [Sen.] John Fetterman (D-PA), who I’ve called an ogre many, many times”…
Troy Jackson, the newly minted U.S. Senate candidate in Maine, announced he’s raised $2 million since he replaced Graham Platner as the Democratic nominee over the weekend…
The Office of the Attending Physician in Congress said in a statement today that Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who has been hospitalized since he fell in June, is still not medically cleared to leave the rehabilitation facility and return to office…
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore appeared separately at The Hampton Synagogue on Long Island over the weekend, where they both “affirmed their commitment to Israel and to combating antisemitism,” founding Rabbi Marc Schneier said…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for an interview with George Moraitis, a former Florida state representative who is running in the Republican primary for the 23rd Congressional District, hoping to unseat Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL).
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet at the White House tomorrow with President Donald Trump for the eighth time in Trump’s second term, the most of any international leader. Before departing for Washington earlier today, Netanyahu said he and Trump would “discuss all the issues on the agenda — first and foremost, Iran.”
The two leaders will also attend the funeral of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), which will begin at the U.S. Capitol and then move to a service at the National Cathedral, where Trump is slated to give remarks. Other world leaders are also expected to be in attendance, including Israeli Opposition Leader Yair Lapid, who landed in the U.S. this morning, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Central Synagogue in Manhattan will hold a memorial service for Wesley LePatner, one year after the Blackstone executive and Jewish philanthropist was killed in a shooting at the firm’s Midtown headquarters.
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How largely pro-Israel Democrats in solidly-blue districts balance the pressures from the base against their longstanding principles will speak volumes about whether the U.S.-Israel relationship can maintain support within their party
Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, during a hearing on May 14, 2026.
President Donald Trump’s capture of the Republican Party did not happen at once, and was memorably met with resistance from some lawmakers who would later become his allies.
Many Republicans, during the rise of Trump, cast mostly party-line votes alongside the president and rarely spoke out publicly when they disagreed. But there were notable times when prominent party leaders used their political capital to stand up for their principles on key issues, such as then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) outspoken advocacy for Ukraine funding or Sen. Susan Collins’ (R-ME) decisive vote against repealing Obamacare.
There may be a similar political calculus at play for some typically pro-Israel Democrats, who are facing immense political pressure from loud activists in their party base to turn against the Jewish state. Nearly half of the House Democratic caucus voted to cut off aid to Israel last week, a record number that included 18 lawmakers who had previously been endorsed by AIPAC and were seen as strong allies of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
AIPAC cut off fundraising to their reelection campaigns after the vote, and how these lawmakers will position themselves on Israel policy going forward is now uncertain.
Not all of the Democrats who supported the amendment have adopted an anti-Israel worldview. Some said that they still support Israel, but wanted to make a statement, via a bill that was certain to fail, that they disagree with many recent actions of the Israeli government.
It’s also possible that some of them — especially those in districts where they face a credible primary threat from the left — took the vote to attempt to placate anti-Israel activists without making any real change in policy, like the Republicans who would offer an olive branch to their right-wing base by voting contrary to their longstanding beliefs.
For instance, in April 2024, then-Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) voted against a sweeping foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine in the face of rising isolationist sentiment in the party, despite their hawkish records. But politically speaking, it helped maintain their credibility with a MAGA base skeptical of any foreign assistance without jeopardizing the funding.
A similar dynamic appears to be taking place among the generally pro-Israel Democrats who are trying to hold onto their place in the party as anti-Israel voices are on the rise.
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), for instance, described his “yes” vote as an attempt to “to try to get the attention of the Netanyahu government to force them to change their actions.” He also said he still supports Israel and expressed concern “about the tactics used by those on the far left to advocate for cutting off aid to Israel,” including vandalizing his family’s home. Days later, he spent time on a far-left podcast attacking the host’s anti-Israel views and explaining to her why he’s been such a strong supporter in his career of the Jewish state.
Far from sounding like an anti-Israel convert, Smith sounded like he wanted to throw the left-wing activists a bone by voting for the symbolic anti-Israel resolution without fundamentally shifting his longstanding views on Middle East policy.
In the liberal Boston suburbs, Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA) — a Jewish Democrat and strong supporter of the U.S.-Israel relationship — surprised many by voting for the amendment. But in an interview with Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod this week, he asserted that the vote was in line with his pro-Israel beliefs.
“I represent a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu district and this is a pro-Israel, anti-Netanyahu vote,” Auchincloss said, adding that he believes “a majority of my Jewish constituents would agree with me.”
How largely pro-Israel Democrats in solidly blue districts such as those represented by Smith and Auchincloss balance the pressures from the base against their longstanding principles will speak volumes about whether the U.S.-Israel relationship can maintain support within their party.
Hours later, the Senate rejected a similar measure
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
The U.S. Capitol Building is seen at sunset on May 31, 2025 in Washington, DC.
The House passed a second Iran war powers resolution on Thursday following the resumption of hostilities between the U.S. and Iran, with a handful of Republicans who have argued that continued operations violate the War Powers Act again siding with Democrats on the measure.
But hours later, the Senate blocked a separate resolution, also along narrow margins.
Reps. Tom Barrett (R-MI), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Warren Davidson (R-OH) again sided with all House Democrats to pass the resolution by a 214-208 vote.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) said prior to the vote that she planned to support the war powers resolution but ultimately did not.
The Senate resolution was blocked by a 49-47 vote, with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) voting with most Democrats in support of the resolution and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voting against it.
The House and Senate previously passed a similar resolution attempting to end the war, which Democrats have cited to describe the renewed hostilities as illegal.
The measure passed in the House on Thursday was in the form of a concurrent resolution — as was the previous resolution passed by Congress — which is not presented to the president and is generally not seen as carrying the force of law, though Democrats have been working to explore avenues to enforce it.
Also on Thursday, Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, introduced a resolution demanding that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) initiate civil action in federal courts to enforce the previously passed war powers resolution directing the removal of U.S. forces from the Iran war.
Plus, Jewish groups sound the alarm on Mamdani
Win McNamee/Getty Images
President Donald Trump (R) meets with Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia during a bilateral meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on November 18, 2025.
Good Wednesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump set a new red line on Iran today: Any time the Islamic Republic fires on a ship in the Strait of Hormuz going forward, the U.S. will “bomb and destroy one bridge or power plant,” including ones located in or near Tehran, he wrote on Truth Social.
But the president’s threat didn’t seem to sway the regime: Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in turn warned on X that “in a region where we do not sell oil, no one will sell oil,” and said Iran would further target ships in the strait…
Congressional Democrats are lining up in opposition to the Trump administration’s reported nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that would allow Riyadh to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, while Republicans are mostly supportive of the effort, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Christina Sher report.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) warned that the nuclear enrichment technology could eventually fall into the hands of a malign regime — as U.S. weapons did with the fall of the shah in Iran in 1979. “We have no idea who’s going to be running Saudi Arabia ten years from now,” Sherman told JI…
In a narrow vote, largely along partisan lines, the House passed its version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act this afternoon. All but six Democrats, as well as seven Republicans, voted against the bill in protest of issues including the continued Iran war and the proposed Defense Department budget of more than $1 trillion.
Some lawmakers, including Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), had sought to strip a provision on U.S.-Israel cooperation out of the bill, though Massie’s amendment on the issue ultimately didn’t receive a vote…
Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that the country will host another round of U.S.-led talks between Israel and Lebanon on Aug. 4…
Roman Gofman, the new head of the Mossad, reportedly traveled to Washington earlier this month for talks with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and White House officials on the Iran war and the Iranian nuclear program…
At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing today on U.N. reform, Jeff Bartos, the U.S. representative for U.N. management and reform, derided Francesca Albanese, the special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, as an “absolute lunatic” and an “anti-America, anti-capitalist, anti-West, anti-Judeo-Christian, anti-Jew, anti-Israel bigot”…
Secretary of State Marco Rubio appeared to walk back the idea previously floated by Trump that Syria could take Israel’s place in fighting Hezbollah in Lebanon: “Well, the Syrian authorities are not big fans of Hezbollah. But what we’ve encouraged Syria to do is to focus on its own internal challenges that it has in sort of building a nation state,” Rubio said when asked about the concept…
A new Politico poll found a 13-point drop in support for the Iran war among Trump’s MAGA base: In May, 50% of MAGA voters said the war was worth the economic cost, down to just over a third who say the same now…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s video released last night — in which he railed against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but confessed he couldn’t honor his campaign pledge to arrest the Israeli leader — triggered a wave of warnings from mainstream Jewish organizations that Mamdani excoriating Israel from his official platforms places Jewish New Yorkers at risk, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) also slammed Mamdani for “parroting Hamas talking points” in his video and said the mayor should be “a little less obsessed with foreign policy, and a little more obsessed with cleaning up his streets”…
The Republican Jewish Coalition endorsed Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) in the special election next month as she seeks a full term to succeed her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC). The RJC, which last night announced the creation of an award in Lindsey Graham’s memory, said he was “the best friend of the Jewish people” in the Senate and that the group “trust[s] his beloved sister to carry the fight forward”…
Connie Chan, a member of San Francisco County Board of Supervisors who is running for the seat of retiring Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), received the endorsement yesterday of Citizens Against AIPAC Corruption, the political arm of the group TrackAIPAC, and pledged to “oppose any aid to Israel and do everything in our power to stop their government’s genocidal actions.” Chan, who is endorsed by Pelosi as well as Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), is seeking to defeat state Sen. Scott Wiener in the Democrat-on-Democrat general election…
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and the Anti-Defamation League reached a settlement today with Reed College, which agreed to implement “one of the nation’s most comprehensive sets of reforms addressing campus antisemitism,” the groups said in a statement.
As part of the agreement — negotiated over allegations of Title VI civil rights violations, including a Jewish student who was struck in the head by a rock — Reed will adopt a “first-of-its-kind FAQ” into its discrimination policy detailing how anti-Zionist conduct can constitute unlawful discrimination…
California Gov. Gavin Newsom appointed Scott Galloway, the Jewish UCLA and UC Berkeley alum who is now a business professor and commentator, to serve on the University of California Board of Regents, pending state Senate confirmation. Galloway has emerged as a leading voice against campus antisemitism in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at comments by Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) on the “Breaking Points” podcast as he becomes more outspoken against far-left activists who continue to harass him, even as he takes increasingly critical stances on Israel.
The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will vote to advance acting Labor Secretary Keith Sonderling’s nomination to assume his role permanently. Read more about Sonderling’s Jewish family history, which he invoked during his confirmation hearing.
The International Criminal Court‘s 125 member states will hold a vote on Friday in a special session at U.N. headquarters in New York on whether to remove chief prosecutor Karim Khan over sexual misconduct allegations, which he denies. An absolute majority of 63 states would have to vote on the secret ballot in favor of ousting Khan — who took a leave of absence last May and was formally suspended in June — in order to remove him. The vote lands amid a renewed U.S. push, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week, to dismantle the court.
The White House Correspondents’ Association will hold its rescheduled annual dinner on Friday at the Waldorf Astoria in Washington, three months after the original gala was cut short when a gunman stormed a security checkpoint and allegedly attempted to assassinate President Donald Trump. (Read JI senior congressional reporter Marc Rod’s first-hand account of the experience here.) The president is once again expected to attend and speak at the dinner.
In observance of Tisha B’Av, the Daily Overtime will be back in your inbox on Monday, July 27.
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Rep. Brad Sherman warned that nuclear enrichment technology could fall into the hands of a malign regime
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
U.S. Capitol building on July 12, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Congressional Democrats are lining up in opposition to the Trump administration’s reported nuclear agreement with Saudi Arabia that could allow Riyadh to enrich uranium for civilian purposes, while Republicans are mostly supportive of the effort.
Critics have long warned that any civilian nuclear enrichment in Saudi Arabia could open the path for the country to obtain nuclear weapons at a later date and that it runs the risk of a nuclear enrichment race in the Middle East.
The reported deal would allow the construction, by U.S. companies, of an enrichment facility in Saudi Arabia, insulating the enrichment to some degree from the Saudi government, though that is unlikely to placate skeptics who worry that the technology could fall into malign hands in the event of a change in regime, or be used by the Saudi government for weaponization purposes.
It does not require Saudi Arabia to agree to enhanced oversight and inspections under an International Atomic Energy Agency “additional protocol,” which other U.S. nuclear deals such as the one with the United Arab Emirates have mandated.
“I have talked to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about this on a number of occasions and both of us have been in agreement that an appropriate nuclear agreement would be in the best interest of both of our countries. Idaho is the birthplace of nuclear energy, so this matters deeply to me,” Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement to Jewish Insider. “I look forward to seeing the details of the agreement and working with the Administration to review it.”
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) emphasized that, if the deal emerges as reported, the enrichment would be carried out by an American company.
“Saudi Arabia has been going after nuclear power for a while, there’s a big difference between nuclear power and nuclear weapons, with the amount of enrichment with the technology,” Lankford told JI. “Most countries that actually have nuclear power don’t enrich their own uranium, but the opportunity to be able to have our companies and entities doing it is significant.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told JI that he would be concerned if Saudi Arabia were to enrich to levels higher than necessary for civilian nuclear power uses, “but if they’re talking about just enriching it to the point where you can use it for nuclear power plant, I don’t have a problem with that. Somebody needs to do that, and it would be better to be us than anybody else.”
Rounds’ logic echoes concerns that if the U.S. did not agree to allow Saudi Arabia to enrich, it would instead pursue a deal with China or Russia.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) told reporters, “as long as they’re a friend of the United States, [the deal is] OK.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said he’s not sure “what to make of [the deal] yet” but argued that Saudi Arabia would not “necessarily … ask our permission” if it ultimately decided it wanted to enrich uranium or pursue a nuclear weapon.
“If Iran is trying to get a nuclear weapon, they’re going to do what they need to do to defend themselves,” Cornyn told JI. “But I know this is civilian nuclear for energy purposes, which generally we’ve encouraged and condoned with India, with a number of other countries, if they want to do it strictly for that. But I would think that would require some inspections and transparency by the IAEA and others.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) was the most skeptical of the Senate Republicans who spoke to JI but said he wasn’t sure at this point where he lands on the deal, expressing worries about global nuclear proliferation.
He said that he’s concerned that American allies and enemies will, as a result of rising tensions around the world, conclude they need to develop nuclear weapons of their own.
“I worry about nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, Japan, South Korea. The leaders of those countries love their countries and they love their people, and they wouldn’t be doing their job if they didn’t at least think about it,” Kennedy said. “That’s why we need to get this Middle East situation under control, as well as the war between Russia and Ukraine.”
Democrats, meanwhile, are largely opposed to the deal as publicly reported. Under the law governing nuclear agreements with foreign countries, Congress can pass a resolution to block such deals, though even if such a resolution were to pass, it would be subject to a presidential veto.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told JI that he remains opposed to any nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia separated from the normalization of relations with Israel, an arrangement that the Biden administration had been pursuing.
“It should be part of normalization of relations, a broader agreement, rather than an isolated one-off,” Blumenthal said. “I have yet to see any of the details. I haven’t been informed officially, but my feeling continues to be that the paramount goal should be normalization of relations, recognition of Israel, the peace and stability of the region, and that aid to Saudi Arabia in establishing nuclear power should be included in that larger deal.”
Asked whether he would support a legislative effort to block the agreement, Blumenthal said that he would “pretty surely oppose the deal” — pending details — because of the lack of a broader normalization agreement.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA), a longtime critic and skeptic of the prospect of Saudi nuclear enrichment, demanded prompt congressional hearings on the issue at a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on Wednesday morning.
He warned, as he has in the past, that nuclear enrichment technology could fall into the hands of a malign regime — as U.S. weapons did with the fall of the shah in Iran in 1979. “We have no idea who’s going to be running Saudi Arabia ten years from now,” Sherman said.
Sherman argued that Saudi Arabia should not be allowed to enrich if the U.S. is going to war to prevent Iranian enrichment, suggesting that the deal is being driven by a financial windfall for an American company.
He urged Congress to advance a resolution of disapproval, and noted that he worked with Secretary of State Marco Rubio when he was a senator to advocate for legislation that would have required affirmative congressional approval for a nuclear deal with Riyadh.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) told JI that he has “some issues” with the deal as presented, relating to the enrichment provisions.
“Their own ability in the future to possibly enrich uranium is something we put guardrails in place for other countries. UAE being considered the gold standard that took a long time to work through,” Kelly said. The U.S.-UAE deal prevents Abu Dhabi from enriching and reprocessing uranium and includes a series of strict oversight provisions.
Asked about a potential resolution of disapproval, Kelly reiterated his concerns about the deal but also emphasized the importance of maintaining the U.S.-Saudi relationship.
“I also recognize that specifically with regard to Saudi Arabia, we want to make sure that we’ve got a positive relationship with them,” he said. “But on this thing, with enriched uranium, I’ve got problems.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) told JI that Saudi Arabia’s failure, as part of the agreement, to agree to the IAEA additional protocol raises questions.
“My question is, why wouldn’t they? If it’s all going to be peaceful and all that, why wouldn’t you? Iran agreed to the additional protocol and the [2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], so why wouldn’t the Saudis?” Kaine said.
“We’ll see about congressional action on it, but I have said if you’re going to do this [you should be required to agree to] no enrichment and reprocessing, and you got to agree to inspections,” Kaine continued. “My understanding, from what I’ve read about the announcement, is that neither of those are in place, and then that really raises the issue of intent and proliferation.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said he hadn’t seen the deal or the reporting, but, when informed by JI and a staff member that the deal would allow for Saudi Arabia’s nuclear enrichment, indicated he was skeptical.
Plus, direct flights to Beirut cleared for takeoff
Satellite image (c) 2026 Vantor
Vantor satellite image shows tunnel construction activity and road infrastructure near the Natanz nuclear facility in the mountainous area around Pickaxe Mountain.
Good Tuesday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
Meeting with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun in the Oval Office today, President Donald Trump warned that the U.S. would “pretty soon” strike Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, the underground facility suspected of housing components of Tehran’s nuclear program, Jewish Insider’sEmily Jacobs reports.
“We’ll be hitting that area pretty soon, and very heavily,” he said, following a Wall Street Journal report that Israeli intelligence indicates Iran moved thousands of centrifuges into the site last fall…
Trump added in his comments that Iran “wants to meet desperately” with the U.S. to end the war, but “until they’re ready to meet in a meaningful way, we have no interest in meeting with them”…
Trump announced after his meeting with Aoun that he is directing his administration toallow all U.S. airlines to fly directly between the U.S. and Lebanon. The Reagan administration suspended direct flights in 1985 after Hezbollah-linked hijackers seized TWA Flight 847 and killed a U.S. service member aboard…
Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said at a conference today that Israel has “no interest” in joining the renewed U.S. campaign against Iran. “The best way to bring about the regime’s downfall is to crush it economically,” he said, pointing to the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports…
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told the Senate Appropriations Committee during a hearing this afternoon that the estimated cost of the Iran war thus far is $37.5 billion, up from $29 billion estimated by Pentagon Comptroller Jules Hurst in May.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the top Democrat on the committee, indicated that Democrats do not intend to support the Pentagon’s $88 billion supplemental funding request. The administration’s “expectation that Americans will just pay for [the war in Iran] without any explanation or transparency is disrespectful,” she said…
The IDF said its soldiers operating in southern Lebanon fired warning shots today as personnel from the Lebanese Armed Forces crossed into Israeli-controlled territory, an area the IDF said was not included in the pilot zones the LAF is meant to control. The LAF called the incident “an act of aggression” that could hinder the broader deployment plan…
A senior White House official told JI that a report that Vice President JD Vance was attempting to scuttle a potential White House meeting between Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is “completely false.”
“The idea that the vice president’s team, or any official in the administration for that matter, would try or even be able to interfere with a visit by a foreign leader with the president is laughable,” the official said…
A group of Jewish House Democrats asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio today to pressure Malaysia to walk back plans to deport Israeli citizens, JI’s Marc Rod reports, urging him to leverage U.S. military assistance to the Southeast Asian nation…
The Senate Intelligence Committee voted to advance the nomination of Jay Clayton to be director of national intelligence, Committee Chair Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) announced, sending his nomination to the full Senate for approval. Democrats who had previously wanted to see Clayton confirmed said they were disappointed by his refusal to affirm at his hearing that former President Joe Biden won the 2020 election…
The Jewish Caucus of the College Democrats of America condemned the CDA’s decision to host far-left streamer Hasan Piker at its convention over the weekend and claimed in a statement that attendees were prevented from conducting a walkout during Piker’s speech. The caucus called on CDA leadership to issue a formal apology and to publicly condemn Piker’s previous antisemitic comments, JI’s Haley Cohen reports…
Rep. Tom Tiffany (R-WI), the leading Republican candidate for governor in Wisconsin, appeared on a podcast hosted by an individual who defended Hitler and joked about the Holocaust, the Milwaukee Courier reports. Tiffany had previously criticized his likely Democratic opponent, Francesca Hong, for going on Piker’s podcast…
The now-former treasurer of the New York Young Republican Club, Nicholas T. Rafael Jr., appeared to operate an anonymous X account that posted Hitler images and antisemitic caricatures, according to New York Magazine, which also obtained a photo of Rafael making what appears to be a Nazi salute while wearing German military attire. It’s the latest scandal regarding far-right extremism for the once-influential club…
The University of New Hampshire released a new poll of the race for U.S. Senate in Maine showing former state Sen. Troy Jackson, the presumed replacement for former Democratic nominee Graham Platner, leading Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) 49-46% in the general election…
New York Assemblymember Micah Lasher, the presumed successor to retiring Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY), strongly defended his ongoing relationship with Morris Katz and said he’ll continue to work with the consultant who was behind Platner‘s failed Senate bid, a week after New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said the same…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the Democratic primary in Michigan‘s battleground 7th Congressional District, where two Democrats with national security backgrounds are facing off against a far-left activist.
The House Foreign Affairs Committee will hold a hearing on U.N. accountability and reform with U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz and U.S. Representative to the U.N. for Management and Reform Jeff Bartos.
Later, the committee’s Middle East subcommittee will hold a hearing on the “next phase of the Abraham Accords” with former U.S. Ambassadors to Israel David Friedman and Dan Shapiro as well as Asher Fredman, executive director of the Misgav Institute for National Security.
The House Ways and Means Committee will mark up several bills including the Foreign Funding Transparency Act, which would make nonprofits disclose foreign donors; the Fiscal Sponsorship Transparency Act, which would require charities to report the groups they fund; and the Fair Treatment of Religious Organizations Act, which would shield religious groups’ tax-exempt status.
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Joel Rubin: Sanders has endorsed ‘the most categorically anti-Israel, antisemitic candidates that we’ve seen in a generation, if ever’
BLUE STATE BLUES
In one of the bluest states in the country, Jewish Democrats feel increasingly estranged from a party they helped build — but the answer, they say, is to lean in
Plus, Darline Graham heads for the campaign trail
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
A U.S. Army carry team moves the flagged-draped coffins containing the remains of the U.S. soldiers killed in an Iranian strike on March 7, 2026.
Good Monday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
U.S. and Iranian leaders continued to escalate their rhetoric as renewed military hostilities entered their second week: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said today that Tehran is in “full-scale war” with the U.S., while President Donald Trump proclaimed that “every time Iran kills an American soldier” — after three service members were killed in Iranian attacks over the weekend — “they will pay for that killing many times over!” Trump said he had conveyed that directive to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and “every leader in the military”…
U.S. officials told The New York Times that dozens of U.S. service members were injuredand several helicopters damaged in previously undisclosed Iranian strikes in Jordan last week, prior to this weekend’s fatal attacks.
The deadly strikes reportedly hit housing units where U.S. forces live and sleep, with some troops unable to reach bomb shelters before the missiles struck…
The NYT also investigates the deaths of three civilian crewmembers aboard a shadow tanker carrying Iranian oil that was targeted by U.S. strikes on June 10 as part of the American blockade of Iranian ports.
The Strait of Hormuz continues to be a focal point of the conflict, as the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed today that two oil tankers had exploded after passing through the waterway…
All the while, the White House posted to its social media feed a three-week-old poll from a right-wing polling firm showing support for the now-defunct U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding signed last month, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports…
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani seemed to back away today from a campaign pledge — reiterated in an interview over the weekend — to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when he visits New York for the upcoming U.N. General Assembly, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
“My administration will follow all applicable local laws. That is our commitment,” the mayor told reporters. Trump, meanwhile, pledged on Truth Social that Netanyahu “will not be arrested, in any way, shape, or form, while in the United States of America”…
Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) confirmed on Fox News that she will run in the special election next month for U.S. Senate to fill the seat of her late brother, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); Darline Graham already has Trump’s endorsement, given as he encouraged her to run on Friday.
Not to be dissuaded, Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC), who was thought to be a front-runner before Darline Graham came on the scene, also declared his candidacy for the seattoday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told reporters he is not endorsing anyone “at the moment” in the race…
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) became the latest progressive lawmaker to endorse far-left Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed today, citing the “special interests running millions of dollars in TV ads to buy this seat,” an apparent reference to the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC supporting El-Sayed’s opponent, Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI)…
Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) pulled family pictures off of his campaign site that feature his son-in-law, who was found to have promoted white nationalism and Nazi ideology online, as he runs for U.S. Senate against Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA)…
The State Departmentannounced today that the Lebanese Armed Forces is assuming control of three villages in southern Lebanon as part of pilot zones established under the trilateral agreement between Israel, Lebanon and the U.S. The IDF, which is coordinating the effort with the LAF and U.S. military, said it will “respond forcefully to any violation of the agreement”…
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia today in retaliation for what the terror group called Riyadh’s “oppressive siege” on Yemen…
Former Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer has rejoined the Jewish Institute for National Security of America as a distinguished fellow, the organization announced…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at Ed Miliband, the member of Parliament who was tapped today by new U.K. Prime Minister Andy Burnham to serve as foreign secretary, and what his selection could mean for British policy toward Israel.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun will meet President Donald Trump at the White House. The two leaders’ first in-person meeting comes as Lebanon, the U.S. and Israel work to implement their trilateral agreement signed last month and as the Lebanese government seeks to demonstrate its ability to disarm and contain Hezbollah.
On the Hill, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine will appear before the Senate Appropriations Committee for a hearing on the Trump administration’s $88 billion supplemental funding request for the Pentagon.
The House Intelligence Committee will hold a hearing on the terror threat landscape ahead of the upcoming 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks with testimony from former National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster.
Jewish groups including the Jewish Federation of Columbia South Carolina, the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Zionist Organization of America, Young Jewish Conservatives, the Jewish Community Action Network, the Focus Project, ChaiTech and Stop Antisemitism will hold a virtual national tribute to the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
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After 104 members of the House voted last week in favor of an amendment to eliminate military aid to Israel, pro-Israel activists who have spent years building ties with lawmakers are now wondering how to approach those relationships
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Members of Congress acknowledged Israel-Syria normalization is a worthwhile goal, while recognizing the limits of the current geopolitical landscape
Sens. Blumenthal and Shaheen said the late Sen. Lindsey Graham never sought to include Iran sanctions in the legislation he spent months negotiating before his death
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
President Donald Trump during the press conference at the NATO Summit in Ankara, Turkiye on July 8, 2026.
President Donald Trump’s call for Republicans to incorporate sanctions against Iran into the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) bipartisan legislation sanctioning Russia and countries that buy Russian oil was met with confusion by some of the Democrats supporting the bill.
The legislation, which was renamed in the late senator’s honor, places sanctions on Russia and secondary sanctions on countries that buy Russian oil and gas in an effort to cut off Russian President Vladimir Putin’s ability to finance his war in Ukraine. It also codifies sanctions against Russia that have already been implemented via executive order, preventing a future president from easily terminating them.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Sunday that, “Republicans should add Iran to the Russian Sanctions Bill. That’s what Lindsey wanted to do, and it was going to happen.”
His comments come less than a week after he said that Republicans would “like to add Iran and they’d like to add Hezbollah” to the sanctions package. “That’s what I’m hearing,” the president told reporters at the White House on Tuesday.
“This is in honor of Lindsey,” Trump said when asked if he will sign the Russia sanctions bill if it reaches his desk. “This was his thing, he wanted this more than any other thing. You know how he felt.”
The president’s comments came as a surprise to the Democrats who worked with Graham on the legislation, who noted that the late senator had never sought to add sanctions on Iran or its proxies into the package.
“Our Russia sanctions bill was meticulously crafted during painstaking, sometimes painful negotiations over many months,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who spearheaded the effort alongside Graham for over a year, told Jewish Insider in a statement. “This bill should move forward as quickly as possible — as is — without additional provisions, which can be done separately.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Bloomberg’s “This Weekend” on Sunday that, “Sen. Graham never raised the concern about putting Iranian sanctions on the bill.”
“The fact is, we have significant sanctions on Iran. When the war started, we put additional sanctions on Iran. I think if the president wants to do that, let’s do it in a separate bill, but this bill is moving,” Shaheen said. “It’s targeted in a way that is important and it comes on the heels of the G7 conference, where everyone, including President Trump, signed on to a communiqué that said we need to support Ukraine and put more pressure on Putin. That was echoed at the NATO summit.”
“We know that that’s what it’s going to take to get Vladimir Putin to the table,” she continued. “So far, we have not been successful at getting him to the negotiating table. Let’s put more pressure on him to do that.”
Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL), a cosponsor of the sanctions legislation and an ally of both Graham and Trump, did not rule out Trump’s idea to add Iran sanctions to the bill during a joint appearance with Shaheen on “Fox News Sunday.”
“I think Lindsey Graham was clear-eyed about this,” Britt said. “He knew what Iran was capable of, and he knew that when they chanted, ‘Death to America,’ that they meant it. Look, he believed in President Trump and knew that President Trump had what it takes to create a resolution to what is happening there”
“Being able to move this bill across the finish line — [along with] the bipartisan support that we have gotten to hold Putin accountable, to give President Trump the flexibility and the tools he needs and the economic firepower to bring Putin to the table to create peace and resolution here — will ultimately have a lasting impact across the globe, making sure that those who are funding bad actors, whether it be Russia or those in Iran, will be held accountable,” the Alabama senator continued.
Graham and Blumenthal first introduced their legislation last April. By May, the duo had accumulated more than 80 cosponsors in the Senate for the bill, which was repeatedly stalled last year as the late senator worked to secure Trump’s support. Despite the bipartisan support, a number of Democrats and other critics, including the Wall Street Journal editorial board, expressed concern about the legislation over the fact that its language grants sweeping tariff authorities to the president.
After being sworn in last Tuesday, Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), the late senator’s sister who was appointed to serve out the remainder of his term, sponsored a revised version of the legislation, which was renamed to honor her late brother. The bill has since collected 62 cosponsors.
Plus, Jeffries vows change to Israel policy under Dems
(Photo by Nathan Howard - Pool/Getty Images)
U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance arrives at Ben Gurion airport on October 21, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.
Good Thursday afternoon.
This P.M. briefing is reserved for our premium subscribers like you — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next.
Today’s Daily Overtime was curated by JI U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) vowed today that should Democrats regain control of the House in the upcoming midterm elections, the party will adopt a “broadly inclusive” but fundamentally new approach to policy on Israel, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
“The situation relative to the United States’ relationship with Israel, the Palestinian people and policy in the Middle East has to change because the current status quo is unsustainable,” Jeffries said at a press conference, following yesterday’s vote by more than 100 House Democrats to cut aid to Israel…
Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA), the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement about his “very close” vote in support of the amendment to end aid to Israel that he’s “deeply concerned” about hostile actions taken by those on the far left to pressure him to support such a measure, including having his home vandalized, a staff member assaulted and a fire set in his driveway.
He insisted he still supports the Jewish state but said he voted in favor “to try once more to get the attention of the Israeli government,” with which he disagrees…
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) again insisted that he has no plans to leave the Democratic Party, but said he would do so if it “officially” becomes “the anti-Israel party,” during an appearance at the Hill Nation Summit in Washington yesterday…
Even as CENTCOM initiated a sixth straight day of strikes on Iran this afternoon, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Tehran “very much continues to talk to the United States of America and express that they want to make a deal with us”…
Leavitt declined to address directly if President Donald Trump agrees with the assessment shared by Vice President JD Vance on a podcast yesterday that Israeli actors are engaged in influence campaigns to change U.S. public opinion on the Iran war: “The president would certainly agree that foreign countries certainly try to persuade American public opinion. There’s no doubt about that. I think it’s just a basic fact,” she said, without addressing Israel…
Israel’s Foreign Ministry denounced as “defamatory” a story in Time magazine referenced by Vance as evidenceof his allegations about Israeli influence campaigns: “All of our activities are transparent and are conducted in strict compliance with U.S. law. … We certainly do not interfere in any U.S. foreign or domestic policy,” the Foreign Ministry stated, without referring to Vance by name.
The ministry said it had “lawfully contracted with an experienced digital agency” to work to combat antisemitism and strengthen support for the U.S.-Israel relationship…
David Alan Scheer II, the son-in-law of U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), has built a following as a pro-white nationalist social media influencer and has shared antisemitic and pro-Nazi material online, CNN reports.
Scheer has promoted conspiracies that Jews are responsible for the assassination of former President John F. Kennedy and the 9/11 terror attacks, among other claims, and said one antisemitic graphic he shared was made by his wife, Collins’ daughter. It’s the latest incident of Collins being closely tied to far-right figures as he attempts to unseat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA)…
Ossoff called on Collins to “apologize immediately for his and his office’s disqualifying ties to neo-Nazi ideology and notorious white supremacists,” calling him a “known bigot and antisemite.” Georgia state Rep. Esther Panitch, a Jewish Democrat, said of Collins, “Being pro-Israel is not a hall pass for antisemitism”…
The Wall Street Journal examines what is known about Iran’s Pickaxe Mountain, amid reports that Trump is looking into striking the highly fortified underground facility. Experts believe the site could be large enough to “hold a centrifuge enrichment plant capable of producing weapon-grade uranium” and potentially manufacture nuclear weapon delivery components…
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the leader of the Houthis in Yemen, warned today that the terror group will target “all Saudi oil installations and highly vital facilities” with drone and missile attacks if Saudi Arabia escalates its operations in Yemen, the latest sign of a potential breakdown in the yearslong truce between the Houthis and Riyadh…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye on Jewish Insider for a look at the gaps left in the Republican Party by the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and the jockeying in the Senate to fill them.
The Aspen Security Forum wraps up in Colorado tomorrow with a live taping of the “Pod Save the World” podcast with former Obama administration staffers Ben Rhodes and Tommy Vietor, in conversation with Annalena Baerbock, president of the U.N. General Assembly.
American Friends of Magen David Adom is hosting a summer conversation series across the country with “Fauda” star Lior Raz, kicking off tomorrow in Long Branch, N.J.
We’ll be back with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat shalom!
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SEAT SHAKE-UP
The president called Fry, who defeated a Republican backing his impeachment in 2021, a ‘very, very talented person’ in an interview this week
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The president called Fry, who defeated a Republican backing his impeachment in 2021, a ‘very, very talented person’ in an interview this week
Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) arrives for the House Republican Conference caucus meeting at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington on Wednesday, May 13, 2026.
The late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) understood the value of staying in President Donald Trump’s good graces — both to advance his top legislative priorities and to shield himself from challenges on his right flank.
In the wake of Graham’s sudden death, the candidates vying to succeed him have absorbed a central lesson of his career: the most decisive factor in the Republican primary will almost certainly be who wins Trump’s endorsement.
Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC), who ousted a sitting GOP lawmaker with Trump’s endorsement in 2022, is emerging as one of the leading contenders and someone who has an inside track to receive the president’s blessing. Fry’s defeat of former Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC), who was one of the few Republicans to vote for Trump’s impeachment in 2021, allowed him to build early relationships with Trump’s political circle.
Fry has been making calls to White House officials about a possible run this week, a source familiar with the matter told Jewish Insider.
Asked on Monday evening about the possibility of endorsing Fry if he launched a bid for a full term in Graham’s seat, Trump told Newsmax that Fry is “somebody you can watch out for” as a rising Republican star and did not deny he was considering backing the House lawmaker if he enters the race.
Fry, who became an ally of Graham’s while they served in Congress together, was one of the Republicans who had reached out to the White House about a possible interim appointment to the seat. South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster ultimately announced on Monday that he was appointing Sen. Darline Graham Nordone (R-SC), Graham’s younger sister, to serve out the remainder of her older brother’s Senate term, which expires next January.
“Russell Fry, a young congressman, is outstanding. That could happen. I could see that happening,” Trump said of an endorsement. “I think he’s a very, very talented person. … I mean, he’s doing much better than the person that preceded him. He’s been very popular in the state.”
Reached for comment, a White House official told JI about the president potentially endorsing Fry that, “Until the president makes an announcement, any speculation is just speculation.”
Fry has been a reliably conservative and party-line vote in the House since elected, and also holds a solidly pro-Israel voting record. AIPAC congratulated him on his primary victory in 2024.
Graham’s GOP replacement on the November ballot will be chosen in a special election scheduled for Aug. 11. Candidates can file to run for the seat starting on July 21, in accordance with the timeline required by state law, and several others are also looking to throw their hats in the ring.
Among the other Republicans who have reportedly been lobbying the White House and considering jumping into the race are Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC); Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC); former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), a Fox News host and close ally of National Republican Senatorial Committee chairman Sen. Tim Scott; and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who lost to the state’s Attorney General Alan Wilson in a runoff of South Carolina’s Republican gubernatorial primary in June.
Mark Lynch, who lost to Graham in last month’s primary by 30 points, said on Monday that he would enter the special election and committed $5 million to his campaign. During the campaign, Trump called him a “lunatic” who “would be a DISASTER for the Republican Party,” which came in response to Lynch blaming the U.S. war in Iran on Graham by arguing that the senator had convinced the president to start the conflict. Graham had criticized Lynch, a South Carolina businessman, for employing staffers with records of making antisemitic statements,
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who was also floated for a possible interim appointment, said on Sunday that he was committed to staying in the House to protect Republicans’ slim majority in the lower chamber. He has not divulged if he is considering entering the special election.
Rep. William Timmons (R-SC) said late Tuesday that he would not enter the race to replace Graham, adding in the announcement that he would not support Noman or Mace’s candidacies.
Regardless of who the nominee is, Republicans are confident that they will hold the Senate seat in November. Trump carried South Carolina in the 2024 presidential election by 18 points, 58-40%.
The Democratic nominee in the race is Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who handily won her primary. A political outsider who challenged Mace unsuccessfully in 2022, Andrews has drawn attention for her effective fundraising against Graham, outraising the incumbent in the last two quarters. National Democrats, however, have so far declined to prioritize the race, citing the need to use those resources in battleground states.
The Cook Political Report grades the race as solid Republican.
A national Democratic campaign source told JI that this is not expected to change unless Republicans were to nominate a weak candidate with a record of extremism or concerning accusations about their personal background, such as accusations of criminal activity or assault.
“If you remember back to [former Democratic National Committee Chair] Jaime Harrison’s campaign [in 2020], he was the head of the South Carolina Democratic Party and raised over $100 million and still got blown out,” Dr. Gibbs Knotts, a professor of political science at Coastal Carolina University, told JI. “South Carolina has not dipped its toe into that purple state category for two to three decades.”
“Whoever gets this [Republican] nomination, to state the obvious, is very likely to be the next senator.”
With Graham’s death, one chapter in U.S.-Israel relations has closed. Now, Rahm Emanuel and Ro Khanna are jockeying to write the next
(Amir Levy/Getty Images)
US Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) attends a press conference on US-Israel relations on February 17, 2025 at the Kempinski Hotel in Tel Aviv, Israel.
In the span of five days, one of Washington’s most vocal champions of the U.S. relationship with Israel died, while two prospective 2028 Democratic presidential contenders traveled to the Jewish state to define their approaches to the country. Though a coincidence of timing, those events, when taken together, underscored something much more significant: the passing of one generation of American politics vis-a-vis Israel and the opening contest over what will succeed it.
The events of the last week have distilled concerns that have repeatedly emerged at Jewish and Israeli gatherings, over Shabbat meals and in breakfast meetings: As the far left gains traction within the Democratic Party, and as the isolationist right increasingly finds support among Republicans, what does that mean for American Jews and U.S. support for Israel?
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who died suddenly on Saturday, represented a generation of politicians — across the political spectrum — for whom support for Israel was tied to deep, long-standing relationships with the Jewish state’s leaders, the belief in the country’s strategic positioning as a key ally and the ability of Israel’s friends in Washington to challenge Jerusalem without imperiling the relationship.
His death sent shockwaves across the Jewish community at a time when U.S. support for Israel — including among Republicans — is on the decline.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), speaking to JI earlier this week, described Graham as “a passionate and formidable defender of Israel” and noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “trusted Lindsey and listened to him.”
Cruz pointed out that “Lindsey would sometimes tell his friends messages they didn’t want to hear. Lindsey was not one to just blow smoke. He would tell people exactly what he thought, but that made him an incredibly effective advocate for Israel.”
Days before Graham died, former U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel was in Israel, where he delivered a speech — his own version of tough talk to Israelis — at Tel Aviv University on the future of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Speaking to reporters ahead of his speech, Emanuel, who served as White House chief of staff from 2009-2010, said that declining U.S. support for Israel “is not a Democratic Party problem. This is an American problem, and a generational problem.”
Emanuel pointed to an Associated Press/NORC Research poll released last week that showed declining support for Israel across both parties in the wake of the war in Gaza — though the erosion was considerably more pronounced among Democrats. The survey, which was conducted last month, also found that 3 in 10 Americans — including 2 in 10 Republicans under the age of 45 — believe Israel committed genocide in Gaza.
Meanwhile, a new survey from the Pew Research Center released on Friday found Israel underwater with young Americans across the political spectrum. Just 12% of Democrats between the ages of 18-29 have a favorable view of Israel, the survey found. Among young Republicans, that number is higher — but not by much. Twenty-eight percent of Republicans ages 18-29 had a favorable view of Israel. Contrast that with the 75% of Republicans (and 47% of Democrats) above the age of 65 who have favorable views of Israel.
Views of Israelis themselves are only somewhat less negative, with 33% of those surveyed between the ages of 18-29 having a favorable view of the people of Israel — not the government. Among young Republicans, that figure is 42% — something that should trigger flashing warning lights among those who have long relied on the support of an aging generation of politicians and voters who share Graham’s pro-Israel disposition.
While the shift among Republicans is happening at a slower rate, movement in the GOP regarding Israel is apparent as the party’s “restrainers,” led by Vice President JD Vance, gain traction among young conservatives. As if to underscore the changing party dynamics, Politico yesterday reported on concerns among Republican Jewish donors over Vance’s approach to the Jewish state, citing his tough rhetoric toward Israeli leaders and support for diplomacy with Iran.
Separate from Emanuel’s trip, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) also traveled to Israel last week, gaining attention for an incident in the West Bank in which local security forces stopped Khanna, who was accompanied by two aides and an activist with Breaking the Silence, after the congressman entered what had been until recently a closed military zone. He has since called for Israel to investigate the incident, even as Israeli officials denied elements of the congressman’s account. Khanna has not provided any evidence to back up his claim of being detained by settlers.
Speaking to The New York Times after he returned to the U.S., Khanna said, “Free advice to the Israelis: It’s not a good idea to detain long-shot presidential candidates. Not how you’re going to build good will with the next American president, whoever that is.”
In his public comments and meetings, Emanuel conveyed a desire to halt the growing daylight between future generations of Israelis and Americans. Khanna, who a decade ago was a staunch supporter of close ties with Jerusalem, has adopted a different political calculation, leaning into the growing anti-Israel sentiment in his party as a launching pad for a national campaign.
It’s no coincidence that two 2028 hopefuls chose to soft-launch their campaigns in Israel, conveying caution rather than camaraderie. It’s a sharp pivot from 18 years ago, when Barack Obama and John McCain — then their parties’ respective presidential nominees — each visited Israel in the run-up to the election, meeting with Israeli leaders and expressing support with the Israeli people.
If candidates used to travel to Israel to reassure both their constituencies and the Israeli populace of the strength of the U.S.-Israel relationship, the candidates traveling to Israel in 2026 are doing so to define themselves, and in the process treating the Jewish state as a test of political identity.
The sort of stalwart support of generations past is rapidly eroding, leaving pro-Israel Americans on both sides of the aisle battling strong headwinds as those who represent the future of their parties shift their approaches to the Jewish state. With Graham’s death, one chapter in U.S.-Israel relations has closed. Now, Emanuel and Khanna are jockeying to write the next.
Armed Services Committee chair Roger Wicker broke his silence on Thursday, warning the deal would make Iran’s Obama-era payoff ‘look like a pittance’
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Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) arrives for a confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Tuesday, May 13, 2025.
Senate Republicans continued on Thursday to air concerns about the U.S. memorandum of understanding with Iran, in some cases fueled further by Vice President JD Vance’s comments dismissing the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions and lambasting Israeli government officials who have objected to the deal.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) — the chairman of the Senate Committee on Armed Services — issued a statement ripping into the agreement, saying he’s “concerned [it] negotiates away the victories of Operation Epic Fury in ways that are completely out of step with the president’s goals.” Wicker had for days told reporters he was “withholding comment” on the MOU.
He said that, even though the $300 billion reconstruction fund outlined in the deal is not coming from U.S. taxpayer money, it “would make Iran’s payoff under President [Barack] Obama’s 2015 deal look like a pittance by comparison” and that it “would be an error to force Israel to stand down against Hezbollah.”
He said he also opposes any sanctions relief or unfreezing of funds for Iran “in exchange for Iran’s mere agreement to negotiate for another 60 days. The Iranian regime has not renounced its ultimate goal — ‘Death to America, Death to Israel.’ The regime will invest every penny it receives to further that aim.”
But Wicker pointed ultimate blame for the final shape of the deal at the “intermediaries,” rather than Trump himself.
Wicker told reporters he expects to hear from Vance about the deal but that no briefings have yet been arranged or scheduled.
Reiterating a stance he expressed a day prior, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said, “History demonstrates giving billions of dollars to theocratic lunatics who want to kill you is an exceptionally bad idea. So I hope we don’t do that.”
Asked about the comments by Vance — a potential candidate in the 2028 GOP presidential primary — Cruz, who mounted his own presidential bid a decade ago and is rumored to be considering a 2028 run, said, “I think the vice president can speak for himself.”
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said that he plans to go through the agreement in detail to compare it to the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action because “what we don’t want to do is repeat that mistake.”
Tillis rejected Vance’s comments that sanctions have not been effective. “You’ve seen all kinds of their behavior changes in reaction to sanctions,” Tillis told Jewish Insider. “To suggest it’s not working would suggest that broadly sanctions don’t work, and we all know that that’s just factually incorrect.”
He told JI that “clearly any sanctions that are subject to congressional approval, he needs to come to Congress. Pretty straightforward. They covered that on ‘Schoolhouse Rock.’”
Tillis, who is retiring, also called the deal a “very important moment” for Vance. “It’s definitely a two-edged sword. Coming up short’s probably not good for him, but it could be a great achievement for him.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told JI he hadn’t heard Vance’s comments on sanctions, but he said that “it seems to me that there are billions of dollars that have been held from Iran, which has not gone to terrorist activities, and I think that is a good thing. So, with regard to that, it clearly had an effect. Whether or not it was completely effective is debatable.”
Rounds said he was concerned that Israel was not a party to the negotiations but “there’s an expectation somehow that there would be a limitation on activity going on in Lebanon that we’re not involved with at all, but that Israel is.”
He emphasized that “the Israeli government has a right to defend its people” from the yearslong ongoing attacks from Hezbollah, “and I don’t see that necessarily correctly addressed within this original memorandum. Perhaps there’ll be more meat on it in an actual agreement.”
The senator said he’s unsure whether the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, which blocks the lifting of sanctions or unfreezing of funds for a congressional review period on any deal pertaining to Iran’s nuclear program, would be applicable, or what legislative steps would be involved if it were.
“We need to learn more about what [Trump’s] intent is and how permanent the two parties expect this to be,” Rounds said. “There’s a lot of questions we don’t have answers to yet, but it’s early in the process.”
He raised concerns about how the agreement would be enforced “particularly if you release all of their funds immediately, they’re allowed to do with it whatever they want. In the past, they’ve used that to fund terrorist activities. The first one that comes to mind is Hezbollah, which sits in Lebanon right now and has been attacking Israel relentlessly for years.”
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said that “everything I’ve heard about it causes me concern” and he believes the president agreed to the deal because he was “concerned about the midterm elections and gas prices and blockage of the Strait of Hormuz.”
“This gets that open, but I think he’s had to pay a very deal price to get that done, and I think we should be clear-eyed and realistic that this isn’t going to persuade the Iranian regime to go in peace,” Cornyn, who is retiring after being defeated by a Trump-backed primary challenger, said.
He said that the steps taken by U.S. military operations to degrade Iran’s ballistic missile program and military-industrial base and delay its nuclear program were positive, but “I think we ought to be realistic about where we are. It’s temporary. It’s certainly not a permanent solution.”
Cornyn said he does not believe that Trump was joking when he said on Wednesday that he would blame Vance if the deal goes awry, and that the outcome of the deal might affect Vance’s prospects in the 2028 presidential race.
Cornyn said he expects that Congress, in its oversight role, will be examining the release of sanctions and whether the administration has the ability to lift those sanctions unilaterally.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the Senate Intelligence Committee chair who also had not yet commented on the deal, said on Thursday that he has “concerns” over the MOU, warning that “certain aspects of this deal are a step in the wrong direction.”
The Arkansas senator told Fox News’ “The Story with Martha MacCallum” that Trump “deserves enormous credit for making Iran weaker than it’s been in decades, and we need to make sure that we don’t squander the leverage that we’ve built.” Cotton said he wished that the president “had continued with Project Freedom when it was announced a couple months ago.”
He also called on Trump to “use our military to force the Strait open and to keep it open, in addition to reimposing the blockade in the event that “Iran doesn’t keep its end of the bargain.”
Cotton pointed to the immediate lifting of sanctions on Iran’s oil exports, suggesting the funding would go toward malign activities, and raised concerns about the long-term control of the Strait of Hormuz.
“There’s certain parts of this memorandum that are a bit vaguer about Iran’s ability to access up to $100 billion of frozen funds or whether Iran can impose tolls on the Strait of Hormuz after two months,” Cotton said. “We’ll need more explanation there. I hope President Trump won’t allow those things to happen.”
Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) said that lawmakers had “very serious problems” with the JCPOA and the administration will need to come explain the deal because “I don’t want to see JCPOA 2.0.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) told JI that she expects to find out “a lot more about the real details and particulars in these next 30 days.”
The Alaska senator said Congress needs “to make sure that the way that the president and the United States are interpreting this is in sync with how Iran is interpreting this, and I’m not certain yet that we’re at that place.”
Murkowski said “they can’t tell me” how the sanctions relief and reconstruction funding will work “so I certainly have a lot of questions that have yet to be resolved, but I also appreciate that the agreement allows for this next 30 days to work through reaching it.”
Asked about Trump’s suggestion on Wednesday that he wasn’t opposed to Iran possessing ballistic missiles, Murkowski replied, “That wasn’t helpful.”
Murkowski responded affirmatively when pressed on if those types of comments from the president and senior administration officials gave her pause about what the final agreement could look like.
Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) said that “if we don’t have absolute assurances” that Iran can never obtain a nuclear weapon “then we lose,” though he said that “there’s still work to be done” in further negotiations.
“If it were to come to pass that we still have all kinds of concerns and no assurances and everything else, then it’s not good at all,” Justice said. “We have to have control one way or another” of Iran’s nuclear materials.
He said he couldn’t address disputes with Israel about the deal directly but said “the Israelis have been wonderful allies, and we’re going to stay arm-in-arm with them, period.”
Democrats, meanwhile, continued to lambast the agreement.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) told JI the administration is “desperate” and “flailing” and criticized the exclusion of Israel from the negotiations given that it continues to face attacks from Hezbollah, from which he said it must defend itself.
He said the agreement’s reliance on the U.N. as an enforcement and verification mechanism also hurts Israel.
“How can Israel trust the U.N.? Working with Israel is simply not in their toolkit. With the hundreds of billions of dollars provided, the unfreezing of sanctions immediately, the lifting of the freeze on assets, I don’t know how Republicans who attacked us with the JCPOA are going to handle that,” Blumenthal said. “This is a regime that continues to call the United States ‘the Great Satan.’ I don’t know what they’re thinking.”
And, he argued, the agreement effectively requires nothing of Iran: “I know the vice president’s line has been, ‘They only get the benefit of the bargain if they keep their side of it,’ but there is no side of it for them. They’re under no obligations here. It keeps the status quo for nuclear arms, lifting sanctions, lifting the freeze on assets, the $300 billion dollars.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) called the deal “appalling, flawed, pathetic failure” but “the inevitable conclusion of a combination of never making the case to the American people, flawed strategic provision, lack of grasp of the regional dynamics. How many ways can I say bad, bad, bad.”
On the issue of sanctions, Coons told JI, “President Trump cut a horrible deal where he is giving to Iran an enormous amount of released assets that have been frozen, sanctions relief that will generate tens of billions, if not hundreds of billions, and this reconstruction fund In combination, this is a massive infusion of cash to the mullahs and the IRGC. History shows the mullahs will not primarily use this money to build health clinics and schools.”
He said that Vance’s criticisms of Israeli officials are part and parcel of his efforts to sell an unsatisfactory agreement.
“I think JD Vance has been tasked with trying to sell a really bad deal and he is being as aggressive as he possibly can in knocking down one of the more obvious critics — a country that has a lot to lose,” he added. “If their opposition to the JCPOA was in any way principled, then they have to criticize a deal that’s worse than the JCPOA.”
Coons pointed responsibility for countering the deal toward Republicans, emphasizing that Iran will use the funding it receives under the deal for malign purposes. The Delaware senator said that there are “some things” Congress can do including conduct oversight of the congressional sanctions that the deal seeks to lift.
Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) echoed colleagues in describing the agreement as an “unconditional surrender” by the U.S. ‘because we get nothing from this deal.”
“All the specific benefits go to Iran. We get vague promises for potentially in the future hundreds of billions of dollars,” Booker said. “We’re allowing an extreme, terrorist supporting regime, that’s more extreme than when we began this, that chant ‘Death to America,’ to have more resources to do more things. So this is perhaps one of the biggest presidential blunders and failures in the last 20 years.”
He said that whether Senate Republicans stand firm and refuse to allow the administration to lift sanctions requiring congressional approval “is going to be the big test.”
“Will they just roll over and lay down for him, or will they stand up and provide the kind of checks, balances, oversight, and accountability when it comes to Iran, that they should be doing?” Booker asked. “They have a lot of levers to pull on the Republican side, where they right now control the Senate and control the House.”
He did not address what Democrats plans’ or role might be.
In the House, pro-Israel Democrats are also outraged by the deal and vowed not to support when it comes before Congress, which they said it must under INARA.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer said he is “totally dumbfounded by this agreement, and, like many, in a state of disbelief,” adding that the U.S. “got nothing” and “not one core objective was meaningfully met.”
He predicted that the next phase of the deal will never come about, and said the U.S. is “selling out Israel” and “kowtowing to Hezbollah terrorists, by tying Israel’s hands in Lebanon.”
Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL) called it a “surrender agreement” and an “unacceptable capitulation without achieving any of our objectives” that will “facilitate the rebuilding” of Iran’s military and support for proxy groups.
“Unless the agreement is changed to actually close and permanently block Iran’s path to nuclear weapons, I will vote against it,” Schneider said.
American Priorities’ spending has aided two Democratic Socialists of America-backed House hopefuls while drawing scrutiny over contributions from GOP donors and AI investors
Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
NY Assemblymember Claire Valdez
American Priorities, a new super PAC created as a progressive counterweight to pro-Israel spending in Democratic primaries, has drawn scrutiny in recent weeks for accepting contributions from donors who have given to Republicans — even as its allies on the far left have accused AIPAC, a chief rival, of serving as a Trojan horse to advance GOP-linked interests in safe blue districts.
Meanwhile, filings show that the anti-Israel group has received $250,000 from a tech executive whose firm is developing AI data centers in New York State. That money has boosted two democratic socialist House candidates in New York City who oppose efforts to expand data centers.
Claire Valdez, a state assemblymember running to succeed retiring Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-NY), and Darializa Avila Chevalier, an anti-Israel activist who is challenging Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY), have benefited from over $2 million in estimated support from American Priorities in the final stretch of their closely contested primaries set for next Tuesday.
But the source of the group’s spending has not neatly aligned with the values its preferred candidates have promoted during their campaigns, underscoring the degree to which American Priorities has become a liability as well as a financial lifeline while emerging as a dominant player in the midterms.
Both Valdez and Avila Chevalier, for instance, have advocated for a federal moratorium on AI data center construction — despite the significant contribution to American Priorities from Nazar Khan, the co-founder of TeraWulf, a bitcoin mining company pivoting to AI infrastructure development. The firm is now pressing to move forward with proposed construction of an AI data center in New York’s Finger Lakes region, which has faced local opposition from residents questioning its environmental impact.
TeraWulf is also in the process of expanding another data center in western New York that “is expected to rank among the largest” facilities of its kind in North America, according to a February press release.
Khan did not respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider, nor did campaign representatives for Valdez or Avila Chevalier.
Brad Lander, the former New York City comptroller mounting a challenge to Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), has also said he favors an AI data center moratorium. American Priorities has indicated that it would spend on his behalf as part of a multimillion-dollar pledge to elevate Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s endorsed slate of far-left House candidates, but it has yet to do so as it has focused on Valdez and Avila Chevalier, who are also backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.
The anti-Israel group has helped elevate a range of House candidates on the left this election cycle. But its aggressive spending in New York City has stoked backlash, particularly in light of its small handful of donors who have also given to far-right Republicans such as former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and recently ousted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY).
For his part, Espaillat, a veteran incumbent backed by AIPAC, has accused Avila Chevalier of accepting support from “a millionaire in Texas” who “funded [Texas Gov.] Greg Abbott,” a reference to Hussein Mahrouq, who has contributed $525,000 to American Priorities in recent months.
Avila Chevalier, who vows to ban super PAC money from elections on her campaign website, has denied knowledge of American Priorities’ spending, though she has not discouraged the group from engaging in her primary.
“I control my campaign and the money that my campaign receives,” Avila Chevalier, whose past inflammatory social media posts have featured in attack ads from pro-Espaillat groups, said recently.
Meanwhile, Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and City Councilmember Julie Won, who are both facing Valdez in the primary in the 7th District, teamed up in a joint statement last week to accuse their opponent of reneging on her pledge to reject super PAC spending.
“Claire has turned what should have been a race about our records and vision for the people of Brooklyn and Queens into a Super PAC-driven negative election,” Reynoso and Won wrote.
Valdez, who has sought to highlight small-dollar donations, has cautiously justified the super PAC investments as a response to heavy spending from the AI and crypto industries as well as AIPAC. “The way that some people are countering that is by also spending money,” she said last week.
Earlier this week, Valdez drew criticism for falsely speculating that AIPAC was behind a newly formed super PAC, Real Fight NYC, that is spending to boost Reynoso’s campaign. But AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, said it had no involvement, while the American Federation of Teachers took credit for a large donation.
While AIPAC has been a regular source of attacks from Valdez and Avila Chevalier, the group’s super PAC has not been directly involved in their primaries.
Jewish groups called the proposal, which is a slight increase from 2026 funding levels, appreciated but vastly inadequate
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A police vehicle and crime scene tape.
Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee proposed providing $315 million for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program in 2027, a slight increase from 2026 funding levels but far below the $1 billion that supporters of the program in the House and Jewish and other faith communities have called for.
The 2026 funding bill contains $300 million for the program, a marginal increase from 2025 levels. But the program has been subject to significant procedural delays — funding from the 2025 tranche has still not yet been disbursed, and the timeline for 2026 applications remains uncertain.
In 2024 — the most recent year for which data is publicly available — applicants requested $978 million in federal funding, and less than half of applications were funded with a pool of $454.5 million available.
“Any increase in Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding is welcome, but this proposed appropriation is not enough,” Rep. Gabe Amo (D-RI), who led a letter to appropriators calling for $1 billion in funding, told JI. “I’ll keep pushing to fund the NSGP at $1 billion so Americans can worship, gather, and serve their communities in safety.”
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) said that the “math doesn’t add up” for the committee’s proposal. “When houses of worship are under threat, this is not the time to lowball our safety.”
Jewish groups also called the proposal appreciated, but vastly inadequate.
“This is a modest increase from last year, but we need more to keep our community safe in the face of the explosion in antisemitic threats,” Nathan Diament, the executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, said. “We will be working with our allies on the Appropriations Committee to increase this funding level.”
“We appreciate the House proposal to provide $315 million for NSGP, but the reality is that demand continues to far outpace available funding,” Dan Granot, senior director of government relations and community engagement for the Anti-Defamation League, said. “At a time of record antisemitism and heightened security concerns, Congress should fund NSGP at no less than $1 billion, reflecting the urgent needs of vulnerable communities across the country.”
Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, said, “We are grateful for the support of the committee thus far but we will not be able to adequately address these threats until the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, which is unable to cover even half of requests at current levels, reaches $1 billion.”
He said that JFNA will work with DHS and Congress to “fully fund” the program.
In recent appropriations cycles, the House has approved modest funding increases for the program as the funding bills have worked their way through committee and the House floor.
The Appropriations Committee released a separate bill on Thursday proposing a $1.5 million increase to the Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program, to $10 million.
“We commend the House for proposing $10 million for the Holocaust Survivor Assistance Program,” Fingerhut said. “This increased investment will help ensure that survivors, many of whom continue to face significant physical, emotional, and financial challenges, receive the specialized care and support they deserve.”
The resolution passed 215-208, with four Republicans breaking ranks to vote for the resolution, and all present Democrats remaining united on the issue for the first time since the war began
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
U.S. Capitol Building on January 18, 2025 in Washington, DC.
The House passed a war powers resolution on Wednesday that would halt U.S. military operations against Iran, after House Republicans postponed an expected vote on the resolution for more than a week, in an ultimately futile effort to stave off defeat.
The resolution passed 215-208, with four Republicans breaking ranks to vote for the resolution, and all present Democrats remaining united on the issue for the first time since the war began. Six Republicans and one Democrat were absent for the vote — so the resolution likely still would have passed even with full attendance.
The vote comes after the Senate advanced a procedural vote on a similar resolution, and is a notable signal of opposition from Congress to the war in Iran, even if President Donald Trump can veto such a resolution if it passes the Senate. Some Republicans have suggested that the underlying 1973 War Powers Act is unconstitutional or invalid, and should be challenged in court or ignored by the administration.
A final Senate vote on the war powers resolution that advanced last month is still pending.
Republican Reps. Warren Davidson (R-OH), Thomas Massie (R-KY), Tom Barrett (R-MI) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) broke ranks to support the resolution. Davidson and Massie are libertarian-leaning isolationists, while Barrett and Fitzpatrick represent hotly contested swing districts.
Davidson voted for a war powers resolution at the outset of the conflict, but voted present and then against subsequent resolutions, before flipping his vote back to yes on the latest vote.
Fitzpatrick told reporters his vote was an issue of the law. The War Powers Act gives the administration 60 days to conduct military operations without congressional approval.
“We’re past the 60 days, so you have two choices: you either follow the law or you change the law,” Fitzpatrick said. “You can’t violate the law, that’s not an option. … I don’t see what’s complicated about it. Bring it to Congress, debate it on the merits and have us vote. That’s the way the system’s supposed to work.”
The administration has claimed that its military operations against Iran that began in February have concluded, and that its continued limited strikes against Iranian targets do not qualify as warfare.
Barrett, who introduced a limited Authorization for Use of Military Force in Iran, offered a similar stance in a statement.
“Congress has the exclusive authority under the Constitution to declare war and authorize the use of force,” Barrett said. “The War Powers Act of 1973 delegates some of that authority to the president for a limited period of time. That authority has expired, so my consistent belief is that it is time for Congress to decide the scope of the mission and the appropriate limits on the use of force in Iran.”
Other Republicans argue the legislation sends a message of weakness and division and strips the U.S. of leverage in the midst of negotiations.
“I think what it signals to Iran is that, especially from the Democratic standpoint, it gives them confidence to try and drag these negotiations out. So I think it undermines the position of the United States of America,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee’s Middle East subcommittee, told reporters. “They’re actively undermining the United States position in these negotiations, so, from my standpoint, I think it’s foolish, and that’s why I voted no.”
Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), the sole Democratic holdout on previous votes, also flipped his vote to support the resolution in Wednesday’s vote.
Golden said that, after the 60-day mark of the Iran war passed, the statutory cutoff for military operations undertaken without congressional authorization, he believed the war could not continue without such approval. But he described a war powers resolution the House voted on last month as textually flawed and outdated.
“The passage of my War Powers Resolution is a significant bipartisan rebuke of President Trump’s illegal and costly war in Iran, and the first step toward ending it once and for all,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Greg Meeks (D-NY) said in a statement. “The passage of this WPR today signals a significant turning point: more and more Republicans are listening to their constituents who do not want another open-ended war in the Middle East. Now the Senate must take up this measure and make clear to the President that enough is enough.”
‘We don’t have many people in the Republican Party who are running for office with Nazi tattoos on their chests,’ McCormick said, referring to Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner
AJC
Sens. Dave McCormick (R-PA) and John Fetterman (D-PA) speak with American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch at AJC's Global Forum in Washington on June 2, 2026.
Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) said on Tuesday that they believe antisemitism is worse on the left than on the right, arguing that the electoral success of far-left candidates with antisemitic records in Democratic primaries distinguished the left from the right, as similarly controversial candidates have struggled in GOP primary contests.
The Pennsylvania senators spoke to Jewish Insider on the sidelines of the American Jewish Committee’s Global Forum, where they headlined the closing plenary alongside AJC CEO Ted Deutch with a discussion on promoting bipartisanship amid expanding domestic political divisions.
While both men acknowledged on stage and to JI that antisemitism exists within the conservative movement, they rejected the notion that it had taken hold of the GOP, arguing that the rise of Graham Platner’s Senate campaign in Maine and Pennsylvania state Rep. Chris Rabb’s nomination for a Philadelphia-area House seat showed that the Democratic Party had already normalized antisemitism within their party.
Last month, Republican voters in Kentucky’s 4th District ousted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of the few anti-Israel Republicans in Congress, largely because President Donald Trump endorsed his primary opponent, Ed Gallrein. The outcome was cheered by the Republican Jewish Coalition as an example of party leaders showing no tolerance for antisemitism within the party.
“Look at the people that are winning the primaries in our party right now and look at their views on Israel. We’re old enough to remember that if somebody had a Nazi tattoo, they’re a Nazi sympathizer, but now it’s like, that’s OK. People will defend that, or they’ll just kind of explain that away,” Fetterman said of Platner and Rabb. “In our state, too, Rabb. He won, and he ran on being very, very anti-Israel. So that’s the one thing that’s not just acceptable, it’s actually a virtue.”
“Candidates and Democrats will campaign and proudly stand with Hasan Piker. This is an individual [who said] that Hamas is 1,000% better than Israel and all other kinds of things, [including that] America deserved 9/11. They will campaign with this guy, it’s like their new mascot,” he continued.
Fetterman told JI there is nothing “more damaging a Democrat can believe in” than the right of Israel to fight its enemies, and that, “For me, it’s probably the biggest concern, these people who are winning in the Democratic Party.”
Fetterman said that there is “no daylight” between the two senators on Israel or opposing antisemitism, while McCormick said they have been “joined at the hip.” Both argued Israel and the Jewish community face greater challenges from the left than the right.
“My party has a more significant problem with Israel and standing up for it, although there are fringe elements in his party as well,” Fetterman said. “I’ve isolated myself more in my party, but if you witness who is winning a lot of these primaries, even Chris Rabb in our state and the tattoo guy [Graham Platner], these are intensely anti-Israel people that are part of the primary crowd.”
McCormick echoed that, pointing out Platner’s standing in primary and general election polls and saying, “It’s certainly, I think, more pervasive on the left right now, but we have to fight back on both sides.”
“But I don’t think we can have equality there,” the Pennsylvania Republican continued. “We don’t have many people in the Republican Party who are running for office with Nazi tattoos on their chests, with mainstream Democrats going to Maine to campaign for Graham Platner, so I do think that this problem has really gained traction and become a very significant part of the Democratic Party.”
“[Neo-Nazi] Nick Fuentes is a good example. When he’s speaking out, I’m saying, ‘No, no, that’s not part of my party, that’s not part of my values, that’s not someone I want to have to Thanksgiving dinner, and we shouldn’t platform those voices as well,’” he explained. “But I would differentiate between social media, where there’s certainly a lot of that, and what’s happening on the ground.”
McCormick, who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Counterterrorism, argued that the Jewish people faced two attacks in recent years, the first being Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel and the second being a “second surprise attack” in the form of surging global antisemitism.
“What came after — on the campuses of University of Pennsylvania, on the streets of Philadelphia, in Pittsburgh, where a young campaign worker on my campaign was attacked — was this rise of antisemitism and hatred and hateful rhetoric,” the GOP senator said on stage. “That also strengthened my conviction that we need to stand up.”
Asked by JI about what concerns him regarding right-wing antisemitism, McCormick pointed to the platforming of voices like Fuentes by prominent podcasters in the conservative movement, though he did not mention any podcast hosts by name.
“I believe in free speech, but anyone who promotes pro-Hitler, pro-Nazi, antisemitic conspiracy theories should not be platformed,” he said.
McCormick told JI that he’s “skeptical that diplomacy can work” with Iran, and said that if the efforts are unsuccessful, Trump or a future president will need to take military action against Iran again.
Fetterman warned that Iran would only become more powerful with a nuclear weapon and have more leeway to impede transit in the Strait of Hormuz and drive up global energy prices.
“I am outraged at the lack of condemnation of our allies or everyone collectively demanding Iran has to relinquish its nuclear materials. I mean, every democracy, every one of our allies, we should be demanding that,” he continued.
In spite of recent Saudi hostility toward Israel and the United Arab Emirates, McCormick said he remains “optimistic that Saudi Arabia and other countries will eventually join the Abraham Accords, especially after seeing the threat of the Iranian regime.”
“If you look at the UAE and Bahrain, which have openly embraced the Abraham Accords and deepened their relationships with Israel in a short period of time, the demonstrated value of those partnerships have been born out through their collaboration during Operation Epic Fury. Only time will tell if they’ll come to the table, but I’m optimistic,” he said.
A top donor to American Priorities PAC, which has backed far-left Democratic candidates, has donated to Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Massie and Greg Abbott
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) departs a closed-door GOP caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol January 10, 2023 in Washington, DC.
A recently launched super PAC positioning itself as a progressive counterweight to AIPAC’s involvement in Democratic primary elections has accepted financial contributions from a number of individuals who have also donated to Republicans, campaign filings show.
The financial support for American Priorities PAC, created in February, has come even as AIPAC and its super PAC have faced backlash from critics on the left who accuse it of meddling in Democratic primaries as a sort of front group for GOP-funded attacks against anti-Israel candidates in safely blue districts.
AIPAC’s super PAC, United Democracy Project, has taken far more from GOP-linked donors than its new rival, American Priorities — now funded largely by a handful of deep-pocketed contributors. UDP supports both Democrats and Republicans.
But American Priorities, which has thus far only supported Democrats and pledged to spend at least $10 million during the midterms, has not acknowledged that the source of some of its funding is from donors who have at the same time given to GOP candidates and groups — and more extensively than previously reported.
A spokesperson for American Priorities did not respond to a request for comment about whether the group is comfortable with such financial support and how it views the donations in relation to AIPAC’s own pro-Israel fundraising.
American Priorities, which has raised $5.4 million thus far, has sought to mimic AIPAC’s playbook of spending aggressively in progressive congressional districts to elect its preferred primary candidates. The new group is investing significantly in New Jersey’s 12th District race on Tuesday on behalf of Adam Hamawy — a plastic surgeon who opposes all U.S. aid to Israel and whose past ties to a convicted terrorist mastermind as well as a now-shuttered al-Qaida-linked group in Bosnia have drawn scrutiny in the final weeks of the election.
The super PAC has vowed to spend around $2 million by the end of the crowded primary — where Hamawy has been surging — and it recently reached $500,000 in another race in California boosting Randy Villegas, a progressive critic of Israel running for a red-leaning seat held by Rep. David Valadao (R-CA), who is endorsed by AIPAC.
Those investments have been fueled, most notably, by at least $525,000 from Hussein Mahrouq, a Texas businessman who has backed far-right Republicans including the recently ousted Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), both of whom have been accused of using antisemitic tropes about Jews and Israel.
In 2024, Mahrouq, one of the top contributors to American Priorities, also gave $100,000 to boost Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott and donated $25,000 to Republican Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, state filings show.
Meanwhile, American Priorities accepted a $5,000 contribution from Omar Khawaja, a personal injury lawyer in Houston, who in March donated to a super PAC supporting hard-right Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who won last week’s GOP primary run-off in the state’s closely watched Senate race. Khawaja has also contributed to a Republican House candidate in Texas as well as Massie, who is among the most vocal critics of Israel in the GOP congressional caucus, according to filings.
Moiz Ali, an entrepreneur and investor in Texas who gave $150,000 to American Priorities in March, also donated to Massie last fall — shortly before he drew a challenger, Ed Gallrein, who defeated the libertarian congressman earlier this month with the backing of President Donald Trump. AIPAC also spent heavily against Massie, a top target of the group this cycle.
Another American Priorities donor, Nadeem Baig, a gastroenterologist in New Jersey who gave $50,000, has previously contributed to former Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), former Rep. Leonard Lance (R-NJ) and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), all of whom have been known as staunch supporters of Israel. LaHood is backed by AIPAC, while Lance served as a co-chair of the House Republican Israel Caucus before he was unseated in 2018.
In a statement shared with Jewish Insider by a spokesperson for Mahrouq, he called himself “an independent businessman, not affiliated with any political party,” and said that his “support has always been guided by what I believe is in the best interest of the United States, its economic strength, security and long-term prosperity.”
“I have supported individuals and organizations across the political spectrum when their positions align with those priorities,” he continued. “My focus is not partisan politics, but rather promoting policies that strengthen America, encourage opportunity, and serve the interests of American citizens. I believe decisions affecting our country should be made based on what is best for the United States, independent of pressure from any foreign government, foreign interest group or partisan agenda.”
Mahrouq was the only American Priorities donor reached for comment by JI who shared a response.
The contributions to Massie and Greene in particular suggest anti-Israel sentiment can transcend partisan boundaries, in the way pro-Israel advocacy has been seen as a bipartisan effort connecting Democrats and Republicans.
Still, American Priorities has only backed Democrats, while AIPAC has championed bipartisan advocacy — even as it has stirred controversy over its engagement in Democratic races that show the group is navigating mounting hostility toward Israel from candidates and elected officials.
American Priorities is led by Hannah Fertig, a strategist with ties to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and the far-left group Justice Democrats, which also gave to the super PAC and is likewise backing Hamawy in his primary on Tuesday. “We want our foreign policy views to reflect where the Democratic base has moved, particularly on Gaza, and on unconditional U.S. military to Israel,” Fertig told Semafor in March following the group’s launch. “We’re seeing this as a generational inflection point, and we launched because there’s a huge gap in the progressive spending ecosystem.”
The 25th overlaps with the congressman's former district, which was largely dismantled, but leans more Republican
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) speaks at a press conference on Capitol Hill on Sept. 8, 2025.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), a Jewish Democrat who is among the most vocal supporters of Israel in Congress, announced on Thursday that he would seek reelection in a new South Florida House district recently drawn to favor Republicans, after his own was largely erased, setting the stage for what is expected to be a costly and competitive race.
“The American people are struggling to afford a regular way of life. Many barely have enough money for their bills and feel squeezed by rising costs,” Moskowitz said in a statement. “We must work together to bring back the American dream for the middle class in America. I have never hesitated to work with anyone across the aisle if I think it’ll improve the lives of my constituents.”
The two-term congressman won’t be unfamiliar to voters in the new 25th Congressional District, the product of recent Republican-led redistricting that dismantled his current seat. The recently approved House map overlaps in many ways with his previous constituency, stretching along Florida’s coast from Delray Beach down south to Miami Beach. The Cook Political Report rates the race a toss-up, even as the district leans Republican.
Moskowitz’s campaign said the district is estimated to be 25% Jewish, a demographic that makes him a strong fit for the seat, according to election analysts.
“Political extremism is expanding, and antisemitism is spreading and becoming mainstream,” he said on Thursday, adding, “When I see people in my own party talking about concentration camps or deporting Jews, I am going to be an immovable object to that movement. My kids are never going to hide in attics,” referring to an antisemitic activist who had sought the Democratic nomination to a congressional seat in Texas.
Moskowitz is facing a left-wing primary challenge from Oliver Larkin, who had also been running in the congressman’s old 23rd Congressional District. The GOP primary for the 25th District is more crowded, and includes former Boca Raton Mayor Scott Singer, former state Rep. George Moraitis and Joe Kaufman, who previously ran against Moskowitz in 2024. Moskowitz reported nearly $1.22 million on hand at the close of the most recent quarter, which ended in March.
Maureen O’Toole, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said in a statement that Moskowitz had “just sealed his own political fate,” claiming that “by choosing to run in a district President Trump won by nine points, he has guaranteed a loss in November.”
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), a fellow Jewish Democrat whose South Florida seat was also eliminated, announced last week that she would run in the state’s 20th Congressional District, a safe Democratic seat that has been represented by a Black lawmaker for more than three decades.
‘Ultimately, UNRWA has not been a force for stability but has instead perpetuated the refugee crisis and reinforced the conditions that have allowed terrorism to persist,’ wrote the lawmakers, led in the house by Rep. Mike Lawler
Dawoud Abo Alkas/Anadolu via Getty Images
Palestinian families stand outside a school affiliated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at the Daraj neighborhood as the Israeli attacks continue in Gaza City, Gaza on February 6, 2024.
Republicans in both chambers of Congress are urging the Trump administration to move to permanently dismantle the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, with a new letter from House Republicans calling for a reworking of Palestinian refugee programs in the region.
In a letter sent to President Donald Trump on Tuesday, more than 90 House Republicans, led by Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY), called for a “broader view of the agency’s operations — not only in Gaza, but across the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria” and for the administration to ensure that the U.S. does not “continue to rely on failed systems that have further entrenched the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
The U.S. stopped funding UNRWA in early 2024, after revelations that several UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, and Congress has continued to impose statutory bans on such funding since then, in spite of efforts by Democrats to reinstate funding for the aid agency.
“Ultimately, UNRWA has not been a force for stability but has instead perpetuated the refugee crisis and reinforced the conditions that have allowed terrorism to persist,” the lawmakers wrote. “We strongly urge your administration to take decisive action to fully dismantle UNRWA and transition its functions to more credible and trusted partners that are demonstrably free of ties to terrorism and committed to transparency, accountability, and peace.”
The letter suggests transferring funding for Palestinian refugee programs to their host countries directly or to other non-governmental organizations.
The letter states that UNRWA has “perpetuated and expanded” the Palestinian refugee crisis by conferring heritable refugee status across generations, “transforming what was once a finite humanitarian issue into a permanent and growing political challenge.”
The lawmakers also argued that in serving as the primary provider of public services in several countries and territories, UNRWA has “has reduced incentives for host governments to pursue long-term solutions, leaving millions dependent on the agency and prolonging the refugee crisis.”
And it raises concerns about the role that UNRWA educational curricula may have played in radicalizing young Palestinians.
The House letter follows a similar letter last week led by Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) with two dozen other Senate Republicans which also calls for dismantling UNRWA both in Gaza and throughout the region.
The letter highlights that UNRWA employees were involved in the Oct. 7 attacks and that 10% of UNRWA’s employees in Gaza have been found to have ties to terrorist groups. It also notes that Hamas has diverted UNRWA’s supplies and repeatedly used the agency’s facilities for terror purposes.
The letter urges the administration to eliminate UNRWA from the U.N. budget.
“Any aid organization in Gaza or otherwise must be demonstrably free of ties to terrorism and committed to transparency, accountability, and peace,” the senators wrote. “We must ensure this failed system doesn’t continue reinforcing the conditions that have fueled terrorism from generations.”
Democrats are uniting to condemn Maureen Galindo’s extremist candidacy — and blame the GOP’s opportunistic intervention
Katina Zentz/San Antonio Express-News via Getty Images
Maureen Galindo, left, and Johnny Garcia, right, participate in a TX-35 forum in San Antonio on May 6, 2026.
A newly launched super PAC with ties to Republicans has spent nearly half a million dollars to help boost a Democrat running for a competitive open House seat in Texas who is facing growing bipartisan furor over a series of virulently antisemitic social media remarks.
Lead Left PAC, the GOP-linked group, has been aggressively promoting Maureen Galindo, a fringe San Antonio activist who finished first in the primary and has said that Jews “own Hollywood” and “worship the synagogue of Satan.” Last week, she said that, if elected, she would turn a local immigration detention center “into a prison for American Zionists and former ICE officers for human trafficking,” while adding, “It will also be a castration processing center for pedophiles which will probably be most of the Zionists.”
The comments, which circulated online Tuesday, fueled widespread condemnation from members of both parties, and drew further scrutiny to Lead Left, which has faced accusations of meddling in the race to prop up a weaker candidate in the redrawn district. Democrats see the district as winnable in November if they elect Johnny Garcia, Galindo’s moderate rival, in the May 26 runoff.
Lead Left, which has not returned requests for comment, had invested around $430,000 in the runoff to elevate Galindo as of Tuesday, according to federal filings. The shadowy PAC was expected to double that figure on Wednesday with a roughly $500,000 investment, bringing its total spending in the district to around $1 million with less than a week until the election, according to media buying figures from an internal reporting database that were shared with Jewish Insider.
Lead Left, which has not yet disclosed its donors, has also recently spent in other Democratic races across the country. While no Republicans have taken credit for the group, the metadata for its website links to a major GOP fundraising platform, strongly suggesting Republican fingerprints.
In a joint statement on Tuesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA), chair of Democratic Congressional Campaign Campaign Committee, said that “House Republican leadership must immediately cease propping up this antisemitic candidacy, pull spending in the race and forcefully condemn these comments.”
“This vile language by her is disqualifying and has no place in American politics, and certainly not in the Democratic Party,” the Democratic leaders added on Tuesday. “To embrace and uplift a fringe candidate with antisemitic — and extremely dangerous — rhetoric and views in order to win an election is beyond the pale.”
The DCCC recently added Garcia, a sheriff’s deputy in Bexar County, to its “Red to Blue” program for House candidates in battleground districts key to reclaiming the majority.
Democratic Majority for Israel’s political arm, which is also supporting Garcia, accused Republicans of “deliberately elevating one of the most grotesque antisemites in American politics this cycle because they think it helps them win.”
“It is sick, it is cynical, and it tells you everything about a party that will fund anyone, including someone openly invoking the language of pogroms, as long as it serves their politics,” Brian Romick, who leads DMFI PAC, said in a statement after Galindo’s most recent comments came to light. “Democrats across the ideological spectrum reject Maureen Galindo and everything she stands for, completely and without qualification. Republicans should explain why they’re paying to keep her viable.”
Galindo, whose endorsement from the extremist anti-Israel account Track AIPAC was rescinded on Tuesday, garnered nearly unanimous denunciations from across the political spectrum, including Reps. Elise Stefanik (R-NY), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and others who expressed outrage over her remarks.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) called Galindo’s recent comments about imprisoning and castrating Zionists “straight out of the Nazi playbook,” while Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) urged Democratic leaders to speak out against rhetoric “suggesting concentration camps for American Jews.”
Galindo, who has gained prominence on social media promoting conspiracy theories about Jews and Israel, narrowly finished first in the crowded March primary with 29% of the vote, two points ahead of Garcia, who placed second. She did not respond to a request for comment.
Galindo has attributed the surge of spending from Lead Left to “a billionaire zionist who made the pac to sabotage candidates,” according to a text message to The New York Times last week.
The motion passed with four Republicans voting in favor, teeing up a vote on the war powers resolution itself
Tyler Kaufman/Getty Images
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) speaks to media on the first day of early voting outside of the Louisiana State Archives on May 02, 2026 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) joined with Democrats to vote for a procedural motion advancing legislation that would end U.S. military operations against Iran, allowing the war powers resolution to move forward on Democrats’ eighth such attempt since the war began.
Cassidy joined three other Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rand Paul (R-KY) — in voting for the procedural motion, which was approved by a 50-47 vote. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted against the motion.
The passage of the motion will now tee up further debate and an additional vote on the resolution itself, at a time to be determined. The Senate is set to depart for a Memorial Day recess this weekend, and floor time this week is expected to be focused on a reconciliation bill funding immigration enforcement, among other issues.
Cassidy’s vote came days after he lost his primary race to a challenger backed by President Donald Trump. He’s been supportive of the Iran war to this point, but has also been critical of the administration and has voiced the need to assert congressional power, particularly in the wake of his election loss.
He emphasized to reporters on Monday evening the need to rally support from traditional U.S. allies to address the situation in the Strait of Hormuz.
“While I support the administration’s efforts to dismantle Iran’s nuclear program, the White House and Pentagon have left Congress in the dark on Operation Epic Fury,” Cassidy said on X. “In Louisiana, I’ve heard from people, including President Trump’s supporters, who are concerned about this war. Until the administration provides clarity, no congressional authorization or extension can be justified.”
The result came about in part due to absences by Sens. John Cornyn (R-TX), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). Had they been present and voted as they have in the past, the vote would have been tied, allowing Vice President JD Vance to cast a tie-breaking vote and reject the motion.
Yet, some of those votes may not be guaranteed when the resolution itself comes to the floor.
Tillis, who is retiring, has repeatedly bucked Trump and his party on a range of issues. Cornyn has been strongly supportive of the war, but Trump on Tuesday endorsed his primary opponent, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, likely setting Cornyn on the road to defeat in his primary race.
Cornyn announced on X shortly after the vote that he would be canceling campaign events in Texas on Wednesday and heading back to Washington to vote on Republicans’ reconciliation bill.
However, earlier this year, several Republicans voted with Democrats to advance a similar motion on a war powers resolution relating to Venezuela, but most of them flipped their votes under pressure from the administration and Republican leadership, ultimately blocking final passage of the resolution.
The House could pass a war powers resolution as well this week, depending on attendance. A previous vote last week was tied, 212-212, but Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), the sole Democrat to vote against the resolution, said he would vote for a future resolution.
Even if the resolutions pass, they can still be vetoed by Trump.
All living Pa. governors decry decision not to fund security upgrades to Shapiro’s home after attack
Republican state Treasurer Stacy Garrity, Shapiro’s gubernatorial opponent, said the state would not pay for the security upgrades to Shapiro’s private residence
Kyle Mazza/Anadolu via Getty Images
Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro speaks during a press conference outside of the Governor's Mansion after an arsonist sets fire to the Governor's Residence in a targeted attack in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, United States on April 13, 2025.
All five of Pennsylvania’s living former governors, both Republicans and Democrats, released a statement on Monday calling on state officials to prioritize the safety and security of Gov. Josh Shapiro.
The bipartisan letter comes days after Pennsylvania Treasurer Stacy Garrity — Shapiro’s leading Republican opponent in this year’s gubernatorial race — said the state would not pay for security upgrades at Shapiro’s private home.
“Combatting political violence and keeping our elected officials safe should always be nonpartisan and a priority,” Democratic former Govs. Tom Wolf and Ed Rendell wrote in a statement with GOP former Govs. Tom Corbett, Mark Schweiker and Tom Ridge.
The security upgrades were already made to Shapiro’s privately-owned family home in Abington, outside of Philadelphia, following the arson attack on the state-owned governor’s mansion in Harrisburg last year. State Police said such upgrades were necessary because Shapiro and his family lived in their private home while repairs were undertaken at the governor’s mansion after the fire.
Shapiro and prosecutors have said that the attack, which occurred on the first night of Passover, was antisemitic in nature, citing the perpetrator’s targeting of Shapiro over his stance on Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
The former governors did not specifically mention Garrity, though they did refer directly to the “unspeakable attack” that occurred at the governor’s residence while he and his family were asleep.
“For us, the attack on Pennsylvania’s First Family was particularly upsetting,” the governors wrote. “In the aftermath of that attack we ask the state’s current leaders and legislators to make the safety and security of the governor and his family a priority.”
Garrity told reporters last Thursday that the state’s procurement rules don’t allow public funds to be used to pay for construction work on property that is not state-owned, SpotlightPA reported.
Garrity insisted she was not motivated by politics, saying she calls “balls and strikes here at Treasury.”
A spokesperson for Shapiro said last week that Garrity’s announcement was “a completely unprecedented and shameful political action without legal basis.”
The bill introduces a new version of the provision put forward by House Republicans last year that would withhold funding for the United Nations secretariat
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) speaks at a press conference following their weekly caucus meeting in the U.S. Capitol Building on July 19, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee, in their draft 2027 funding bill for the State Department, are again aiming to leverage U.S. funding to the United Nations and other foreign programs to seek accountability for involvement by U.N. employees and others in the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
They made similar efforts during the 2026 government funding process, but the provisions were ultimately excluded from the final 2026 funding bill.
The bill introduces a new version of the provision put forward by House Republicans last year that would withhold funding for the United Nations secretariat — the U.N. management headed by the secretary-general — until the U.N. agrees to waive privileges and immunities for United Nations Relief and Works Agency employees or employees of other U.N. entities in cases involving gross violations of human rights, acts of terrorism, support for terrorism or other serious criminal conduct.
The move is an effort to respond to findings that UNRWA employees took part in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel and subsequently were involved in holding hostages and engaging in other terrorist activity in Gaza.
The provision also withholds any funding for any entities that fail to comply within 90 days with U.S. inspector general requests related to projects and programs in Gaza, the Oct. 7 attacks or support for terrorism.
“The bill also includes a provision to help provide justice for victims murdered in the October 7 terrorist attacks, including 50 American citizens, by requiring full accountability for the UNRWA staff involved in this vicious attack,” Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart (R-FL), who chairs the subcommittee with jurisdiction over the bill, said at a Thursday meeting. “In addition, the bill includes a new provision cutting off funds to any international organization that refuses to cooperate with inspector general investigations into whether October 7 terrorists are on its staff.”
Under the 2026 funding bill, 10% of U.S. funding to the U.N. and its agencies is conditioned on the State Department’s certification that the recipients of that funding are taking credible steps to counter anti-Israel bias, informing donors when aid has been diverted or destroyed and implementing policies to vet staff for terrorist affiliations, among a range of unrelated reforms.
In the new bill, House Republicans proposed increasing that to 15% of the funding in question.
More broadly, the bill would leverage U.S. foreign aid by tying aid levels to cooperation with various U.S. priorities, including recipients’ U.N. votes and their efforts to oppose U.S. adversaries, maintaining a provision first implemented in 2026.
It cuts funding for the U.N. by $1.8 billion, including slashing all funding for the U.N.’s regular budget, as well as cutting nearly $1 billion from humanitarian assistance programs generally.
It maintains the now-multiyear provision banning U.S. support for the UNRWA, as well as enhanced vetting and oversight procedures for assistance to the West Bank and Gaza. And it bans U.S. funding for the U.N. Human Rights Council and its Commission of Inquiry investigating Israel, the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
The bill eliminates a previous provision allowing the administration to waive a ban on U.S. aid to U.N. agencies or bodies led by states that support terrorism.
Overall, the bill cuts an additional $2.69 billion from the State Department budget — 6% of its 2026 funding — while maintaining the annual $3.3 billion military aid for Israel.
The bill adds a new provision prohibiting the admission or resettlement in the U.S. of any foreign national from Gaza.
It maintains bans on any effort to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel out of Jerusalem, or to establish any other U.S. diplomatic facility in Israel’s capital. It also maintains existing prohibitions and restrictions on U.S. aid to the Palestinians, and a ban on the taxation of U.S. aid, a provision crafted in response to Palestinian Authority policies.
It continues the U.S. weapons stockpile in Israel for an additional year, through 2029.
Regarding Iran, the bill would maintain bans on any Iran nuclear agreement that is not submitted to Congress for review, and would bar the revocation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ terrorism designation.
The bill would allow for continued U.S. aid to the Lebanese Armed Forces — which some Republicans argue should be cut off if Beirut’s military continues to fail to comply with its obligation to disarm Hezbollah.
House Republicans are seeking to strip out longstanding human rights conditions on a portion of the proposed $1.3 billion in U.S. military aid to Egypt, an effort that the Senate has previously rejected — though those conditions have habitually been waived by both the Trump and Biden administrations. It instructs the State Department to seek a multi-year Memorandum of Understanding with Egypt on military aid. The bill also includes $125 million in other national security aid to Egypt.
It would provide $845.1 million in budget support and $425 million in military aid to Jordan.
It fully defunds the U.S. Agency for Global Media — which, under previous leadership, faced criticism for a slow response to the protests in Iran — instead providing $540 million for a new “International Communications Activities” program requested by the president.
The results remained unchanged from previous iterations of the vote
Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images
The U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, April 1, 2026.
For the fifth time, the Senate rejected an effort by Democrats to force the administration to end the war in Iran, with the partisan battle lines on the issue remaining firmly unchanged from previous iterations of the vote.
“Democrats will continue to force votes on war powers resolutions every week until Republicans decide to put the American people over Donald Trump and end this war,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said ahead of the vote.
The vote failed 51-46, with Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA), Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and David McCormick (R-PA) not voting, and Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Rand Paul (R-KY) voting with the opposing party.
Democrats have already introduced eight other similar resolutions that will be eligible for votes in the coming days and weeks, giving them plenty of runway to continue such efforts for the foreseeable future.
In the House, Reps. Greg Meeks (D-NY) and Ro Khanna (D-CA) also introduced new war powers resolutions on Iran, after previous efforts narrowly failed. The Congressional Progressive Caucus reportedly plans to force votes on such resolutions frequently next month.
Though they haven’t broken openly with the president, dynamics for at least some Senate Republicans could begin to shift toward the end of the month; under the War Powers Act, the administration can only carry on military operations without congressional approval for 60 days, with an additional 30-day drawdown period.
Though some Republicans have said Congress and the administration should disregard that deadline, others say that some form of action will be necessary at that point, and some hope that the war will be over before then.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) who has been working with other senators on crafting an Authorization for Use of Military Force on the war, told Jewish Insider on Wednesday, “we’ve been having some good conversations, and we’re going to continue them.” She said the goal of the AUMF is to have “greater disclosure, greater transparency” about the war.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said earlier this week, ahead of the U.S. extension of the ceasefire, that he believed the president was “trending in a direction of ‘let’s end this without further involvement, including even further strikes’” and said that he hopes the war is over before the 60-day mark.
He told JI that he hasn’t been working with Murkowski on her AUMF, but said that the effort “makes sense since we’re approaching the 60-day deadline.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told JI he would “give the administration the benefit of the doubt that they will respond accordingly, in compliance with that” 60-day deadline “and if not, then we’ll have to have some discussions” around further congressional involvement through an AUMF or other avenue.
Still, other Republicans seem comfortable overlooking the 60-day deadline.
“I think the president has the authority to protect us, so we should let the president protect us,” Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) said.
Plus, Dems concerned over fraying Israel-Europe ties
Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images
President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) sit in the Situation Room as they monitor the mission that took out three Iranian nuclear enrichment sites, at the White House on June 21, 2025 in Washington, DC.
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📡On Our Radar
Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
President Donald Trump announced this afternoon, with the status of negotiations with Iran up in the air and the expiration of the ceasefire quickly approaching, that he is indefinitely extending the ceasefire at the request of Pakistani negotiators (despite having said, as recently as this morning, that he was not inclined to do so).
“Based on the fact that the Government of Iran is seriously fractured … we have been asked to hold our Attack … until such time as their leaders and representatives can come up with a unified proposal,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I have therefore directed our Military to continue the Blockade and, in all other respects, remain ready and able, and will therefore extend the Ceasefire until such time as their proposal is submitted, and discussions are concluded, one way or the other”…
Talks were meant to begin shortly in Islamabad, but Vice President JD Vance’s trip was reportedly put on hold and he remains in Washington. Vance, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were all spotted arriving at the White House for meetings this afternoon.
Iran also had not committed to sending its own delegation — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused the U.S. of violating the ceasefire through its blockade of Iranian ports and seizure of an Iranian-flagged cargo ship, calling it an “act of war. … Iran knows how to neutralize restrictions, how to defend its interests, and how to resist bullying,” he wrote…
U.S. forces boarded an oil tanker in the Indian Ocean that had been sanctioned for working with Iran which defense officials said was currently carrying Iranian oil, in a further escalation of the U.S. campaign against Tehran-aligned assets and actors outside of the Middle East.
The Treasury Department also announced sanctions on 14 individuals and entities in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates for “their involvement in procuring or transporting weapons or weapons components on behalf of the Iranian regime”…
Six weeks after he was announced as Iran’s new supreme leader after the assassination of his father, Mojtaba Khamenei has still not been seen in public, raising speculation he is incapacitated from injuries sustained in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike or has been smuggled abroad…
Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Jim Risch (R-ID) endorsed Sen. Roger Wicker’s (R-MS) view that the U.S. should reconsider its funding for the Lebanese Armed Forces in light of its continued inaction to disarm Hezbollah, in addition to the Lebanese government’s failure to “follow through on long-promised economic reform. The era of complacency & unconditional bailouts must come to end,” Risch said…
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) clarified that his post calling it “awesome” that several Iranian oil tankers had bypassed the U.S. blockade — reporting that has been disputed as Iranian propaganda — was written as sarcasm. “[O]bviously Trump’s bungled mismanagement of this war is not ‘awesome.’ As I have said a million times here, it’s a disaster and he should end the war immediately,” Murphy wrote on X…
Democratic lawmakers are expressing concern over Israel’s fracturing relationship with key European allies, while experts say the shifting dynamics could carry longer-term economic and political risks for Jerusalem, even if Israel weathers threats to unwind largely symbolic defense agreements, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Among other recent moves, Spain and Ireland led a push today to suspend the EU’s association agreement with Israel. The initiative stalled as member states remained divided on the issue; still, Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) called the developments “deeply alarming.”
“NATO allies like Spain, France and Italy are turning their backs on Israel, a key democratic partner that is actively fighting on the front lines against Iran,” Gottheimer said. “Singling out Israel represents a double standard”…
The arsonist who pleaded guilty to attacking a North London synagogue on Saturday night was released on bail by the Westminster Magistrates’ Court today, JI’s Haley Cohen reports. The 17-year-old boy who threw a bottle containing accelerant through the window of Kenton United Synagogue must live and sleep at his home address and not enter any synagogue, the judge said. It was the third such attack on a Jewish institution in London within a week…
Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL) resigned from Congress this afternoon, half an hour before her House Ethics Committee sanctions hearing was due to begin. Having lost jurisdiction in the matter, the committee canceled the hearing…
The Board of Peace is reportedly in discussion with the UAE-owned DP World logistics company about managing supply chains and humanitarian aid in Gaza, including potentially building a new port and developing a free-trade zone, according to Financial Times, as part of the Trump administration’s vision of privatizing much of Gaza’s services and infrastructure…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a look at how Jewish Democrats in Michigan are making sense of their place in the party in the wake of a state convention where pro-Israel voices were shouted down and a pro-Hezbollah candidate won the party’s nomination for a statewide race.
The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing evaluating the effectiveness of U.S. sanctions.
A vote on the fifth Iran war powers resolution in the Senate, expected today, has been pushed to tomorrow.
92NY will host a discussion on the future of New York’s Jewish community with New York City Council Speaker Julie Menin, Manhattan Borough President Brad Hoylman-Sigal and New York City Comptroller Mark Levine.
The New York City Council’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism will hold its first hearing. The task force was established by Menin in January, shortly after her election, to make recommendations and work towards her five-point plan to combat antisemitism.
Robert Kraft’s Blue Square Alliance Against Hate will host a unity dinner in partnership with the NFL, Hillel International, United Negro College Fund and the Pittsburgh Steelers for Black and Jewish college students from the Pittsburgh area. The event will include a fireside chat featuring Kraft, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch.
Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Kenyan McDuffie will hold a meet-and-greet with young Jewish professionals.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) will speak in conversation at Yeshiva University with its president, Rabbi Ari Berman, about her new book, Poisoned Ivies: The Inside Account of the Academic and Moral Rot at America’s Elite Universities.
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Two new polls suggest that the Jewish state still can rely on a sizable, if largely Republican, constituency of support
Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA/Bloomberg via Getty Images
President Donald Trump, right, and Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, during a news conference in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025.
Amid the downbeat assessment of Israel’s political standing in the U.S., two new polls that came out last week suggest that the Jewish state still can rely on a sizable, if largely Republican, constituency of support.
The biggest takeaway from these two new polls — one commissioned by NBC News and one conducted by the respected GOP firm Echelon Insights — is that Israel has become a partisan issue, with Democrats turning decidedly against the Jewish state while Republicans have become strongly supportive.
All told, the polls show the public evenly divided over Israel, with the splits largely along party, ideological and generational lines. The results indicate President Donald Trump’s embrace of the Jewish state has caused Democrats to take an instinctively more negative view — in a continuation of how politics has generally operated in the Trump era.
Echelon Insights, which surveyed 1,022 respondents from March 12-16, found 44% of respondents held a favorable view of Israel, while 38% held an unfavorable view. While Israel’s plus-6 net favorability score is nothing to write home about, the results are noticeably better than a recent Pew Research Center poll that drew outsized attention for finding Israel’s net favorability rating at a dismal minus-23 (37/60%).
The Echelon poll found support was highest for Israel among the most conservative voters, with 72% of “very conservative” voters viewing the Jewish state favorably, while 61% of “somewhat conservative” respondents said the same. Moderates broke evenly, with 40% viewing Israel favorably and 39% unfavorably.
But among “somewhat liberal” respondents, support for Israel dropped noticeably, with just 31% viewing the Jewish state favorably and 55% unfavorably. And among the “very liberal” voters, only 14% viewed Israel favorably and 70% unfavorably — a worse favorability rating than Iran and China.
The Echelon survey found the same general splits within both parties: Republicans under 50 were significantly less supportive of Israel than their older counterparts, with 44% viewing it favorably and 33% unfavorably. By contrast, 78% of Republicans over 50 gave Israel positive marks.
Similarly, there was a sizable minority of Democrats over 50 (33%) who viewed Israel favorably, compared to the smaller share of under-50 Democrats (17%) who said the same.
The NBC poll, conducted by SurveyMonkey between March 30-April 13, framed its question about Israel in a different way, asking respondents whether they were more sympathetic to Israelis or Palestinians. The poll found an even 50-50% split on the question.
The groups that were most sympathetic to Palestinians were Democrats (75% viewed Palestinians more favorably, 25% Israelis) and Gen Zers (74%/26%).
Plus, Israel-Lebanon talks to continue Thursday
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Jack Schlossberg, grandson of former President John. F Kennedy who is currently running for Congress, on Jan. 12, 2026 in New York City.
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Iranian officials have signaled they will attend talks with the U.S. in Islamabad, Pakistan, this week, with Vice President JD Vance, White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner expected to depart for the meeting tomorrow (despite President Donald Trump’s claim that they were already in transit this morning).
Negotiators are up against a running clock, as Trump said today that his two-week ceasefire with Iran will end “Wednesday evening Washington time” and it’s “highly unlikely that I’d extend it” if no deal is reached…
In a series of heated social media posts, Trump again denied that Israel dragged the U.S. into war with Iran: “[T]he results of Oct. 7th, added to my lifelong opinion that IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON,” were his motivation, he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump also boasted that the deal under negotiation will be “far better” than the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. “If a Deal happens under ‘TRUMP,’ it will guarantee Peace, Security, and Safety, not only for Israel and the Middle East, but for Europe, America, and everywhere else,” he wrote. Lashing out at the media, Trump insisted, “I’m winning a War, BY A LOT, things are going very well,” claiming the U.S. blockade, “which we will not take off until there is a ‘DEAL,’ is absolutely destroying Iran”…
The State Department confirmed that the U.S. will host the second round of ambassador-level talks between Israel and Lebanon on Thursday, as the 10-day ceasefire between the two countries that began last Thursday, after the first round of talks, continues to hold…
Republican operatives and strategists are growing increasingly concerned that the GOP may lose the Senate in the midterm elections, several told Politico, as rising gas prices and unease around the war with Iran create a poor national environment for Trump’s party.
The New York Times’ Nate Cohn argues that Democrats have a “realistic chance” to flip the four seats they need to win back the chamber because “they’ve recruited unusually strong candidates in three states that supported Mr. Trump three times: North Carolina, Ohio and Alaska.”
“In all three states, the Democrats’ likely nominees are popular recent statewide office holders. They either won their last campaign or were highly competitive in losing re-election under less favorable political conditions. So far, the polls show those Democrats running well ahead of what one might otherwise expect,” Cohn writes…
Kennedy scion Jack Schlossberg’s shifting views on Israel policy and decision to skip two upcoming Jewish community candidate forums are raising eyebrows in New York’s heavily Jewish 12th Congressional District, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
During a candidate forum at 92NY last week, for example, Schlossberg rejected continued U.S. funding for offensive weapons to Israel amid the war in Iran — even as he emphasized support for boosting the Iron Dome missile-defense system, which he described as a “critical” technology…
Minnesota’s Democratic Party is poised to endorse progressive Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan for U.S. Senate at its convention next month, Flanagan’s campaign said, after the lieutenant governor secured support from over 90% of Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party local conventions held statewide. The party endorsement, however, will not determine the nominee, as Democratic voters are set to choose their candidate in the Aug. 11 primary election.
The campaign of Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), Flanagan’s primary opponent and the favorite of pro-Israel activists, called on the DFL last week to launch a formal investigation into a series of alleged instances of antisemitic activity among its delegates. One instance at a local convention last month reportedly saw an unnamed delegate argue that “we should nuke” Israel…
The Wall Street Journal reports on the growing feud between Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, which “spilled out into public view on Thursday, when Driscoll described to lawmakers his fondness for the Army’s former top general, Randy George, whom Hegseth fired as the service’s chief of staff on April 2 while Driscoll was on vacation”…
A Washington Post investigation found that, since January 2025, neo-Nazi influencer Nick Fuentes has made nearly $900,000 through paid messages on his livestreams from roughly 11,000 fans. His top 500 donors are responsible for almost half of that amount…
The UAE has asked the U.S. to consider offering it financial assistance amid the war with Iran, as the Gulf country has borne the brunt of Iran’s drone and missile strikes, taking a heavy toll on its oil, economic and tourism industries. Emirati officials raised the idea of a currency-swap line, which would allow Abu Dhabi inexpensive access to U.S. dollars…
European officials hosted two meetings on Gaza reconstruction today — one gathering, led by EU representative Kaja Kallas and Norway, centered on coordinating aid with the U.S.-led Board of Peace, where White House advisor Josh Gruenbaum requested international assistance in rebuilding the enclave. The other forum, led by Kallas and Belgium, focused on a two-state solution and was attended by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammad Mustafa…
In response to Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar’s condemnation of an IDF soldier found to have desecrated a statue of Jesus in southern Lebanon, Radosław Sikorski, Poland’s deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, accused the IDF of committing war crimes.
“Lessons should also be drawn regarding the way they are being trained,” Sikorski wrote on X. “IDF soldiers themselves admit to war crimes. They killed not only civilian Palestinians but even their own hostages”…
Incoming Hungarian Prime Minister Peter Magyar affirmed that his country is bound by rules of the International Criminal Court to arrest those sought under its warrants, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; Magyar said he intends to prevent Hungary from leaving the ICC, a move his predecessor, Prime Minister Viktor Orban, had initiated.
Responding to questions about Netanyahu’s claim that Magyar had invited him to the country for a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Hungarian Uprising, Magyar responded, “Every leader is welcome to attend this important commemoration,” but “we have a legal obligation to enforce the court’s rulings, and I’m sure [Netanyahu] knows this”…
Apple CEO Tim Cook announced this afternoon that he will step down from the helm of the tech giant and become its executive chairman in September. Succeeding Cook is John Ternus, head of the company’s hardware engineering…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for an interview with Rachel Goldberg-Polin on the release of her book, When We See You Again, which debuts tomorrow.
The Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will hold a nomination hearing for Kevin Warsh, son-in-law of Jewish philanthropist Ronald Lauder, to be chairman of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Democrats intend to press Warsh on his personal fortune, which he has only partially disclosed thus far.
The House Ethics Committee will hold a public hearing to determine whether to apply sanctions to Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D-FL), after finding last month that she had committed serious ethics violations and campaign finance misconduct.
The U.S. Helsinki Commission will hold a hearing on Iran’s support for Russia amid its war with Ukraine.
The Senate Foreign Relation Committee’s subcommittee on Africa will hold a hearing on U.S. approaches to counterterrorism on the continent.
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The swing-district Republican is the first GOP lawmaker other than isolationist Thomas Massie to support constraining the administration’s military operations in Iran
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) talks with a reporter in the U.S. Capitol's Statuary Hall on Friday, March 27, 2026.
Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), a moderate Republican and co-chair of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, introduced a war powers resolution on Thursday that aims to enforce the deadlines for the war in Iran laid out in the 1973 War Powers Act.
Fitzpatrick is the first Republican — other than isolationist Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) — to introduce legislation that would constrain the administration’s ability to act in Iran. The move is a signal that GOP support for the effort could begin to erode if the administration disregards legal limitations on the length of its operation in Iran.
The War Powers Act limits any military operation initiated unilaterally by the executive branch to 60 days, with an additional 30-day drawdown period, unless the operations are subsequently authorized by Congress. The 60-day period will expire at the end of April.
“The War Powers Act of 1973 is the law of the land,” Fitzpatrick said. “This consistent standard must be applied to all past, current, and future administrations when it comes to military hostilities abroad. … This is the law that has applied to past administrations, and it is the law that will apply to current and future administrations. This is the law and, until it is changed, it will be consistently applied and consistently enforced across all administrations and all conflicts.”
Other Republicans, including moderates, have also indicated that they would be uncomfortable with or unable to support any military operations in Iran past the 60-day deadline without additional congressional authorization — though some have said they would support such an authorization.
Yet, others have argued that the limitations in the War Powers Act are not legally binding and say Republicans on the Hill will disregard them.
Running in a highly competitive district, Fitzpatrick’s move could also be a sign of discomfort with the continued war effort among swing-district Republicans ahead of the midterm elections.
Plus, Vance courts pro-Israel donors ahead of 2028
Adri Salido/Getty Images
The Lebanese capital is seen from a viewpoint after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon that would commence at midnight local time on April 16, 2026 in Beirut, Lebanon.
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President Donald Trump announced the start of a 10-day ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon to begin at 5 p.m. ET today, after he held phone calls with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu earlier in the day.
Trump added that he will be inviting Aoun and Netanyahu to the White House for “meaningful talks,” later telling reporters such a meeting could happen in the “next week or two.”
The text of the agreement released by the State Department indicates the ceasefire is a “gesture of goodwill” on Israel’s part “intended to enable good-faith negotiations” toward a permanent agreement. The temporary pause in hostilities could be extended if Lebanon “effectively demonstrates its ability to assert its sovereignty” and prevent Hezbollah from carrying out attacks against Israel…
Trump again indicated further talks with Iran could take place this weekend and said the two sides are “very close to making a deal,” telling reporters this afternoon that Iran has already agreed to “give us back the nuclear dust,” referring to its highly enriched uranium.
Hours earlier, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth warned at a press briefing that U.S. forces are “maximally postured” to return to military operations against Iran if negotiations are unsuccessful, and will look to attack “infrastructure, power and energy”…
The House narrowly voted to block a Democratic resolution to force an end to the war in Iran by a vote of 214-213-1, with all but one of the four Democrats who opposed a similar effort in March changing their votes to support today’s measure, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Reps. Greg Landsman (D-OH), Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Henry Cuellar (D-TX), who voted last month against a similar resolution, flipped their votes to support the war powers effort. But Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who is retiring at the end of his term, voted no again. On the Republican side, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH), who voted for the war powers resolution last time, switched his vote to “present.” Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was the only Republican who voted for the resolution…
Vice President JD Vance, the first vice president to serve simultaneously as finance chair of his party, is building donor relationships that may prove useful should he choose to run for president in 2028, The New York Times reports, including attempting to woo some pro-Israel donors who have otherwise been wary of his ties to far-right commentator Tucker Carlson.
Among others, Vance has developed relationships with Jewish philanthropists Miriam Adelson, whom he spent New Years Eve with at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and Paul Singer; has appeared as the guest of honor at a dinner hosted by Palantir and 8VC co-founder Joe Lonsdale; and has been featured at a Republican National Committee event hosted by tech executive Keith Rabois, who is married to Under Secretary of State Jacob Helberg…
With less than six weeks to go until the Texas primary runoff election, Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) is defending his seat against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton with a significantly larger war chest: As the first quarter of 2026 closed, Cornyn had more than $8 million in cash on hand (including a small donation from former President George W. Bush), while Paxton had $2.6 million in the bank. Whoever clinches the GOP nomination will face state Sen. James Talarico, who has nearly $10 million on hand…
Josef Palermo, who was the first curator of visual arts and special programming at the Kennedy Center until his dismissal last month, recounts his experience as Trump and the center’s then-President Richard Grenell initiated an overhaul of the building, a process Palermo describes as “cronyism, incompetence, and a series of bizarre moves.”
Palermo recounts an exhibition he organized commemorating the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in the building’s Israeli Lounge: “Speaking at the opening reception, Grenell warned the mostly Jewish audience that unless donors came forward to sponsor the space and pay for renovation costs, the lounge would be given away to a new donor. … Such a strong-armed fundraising pitch, at an event commemorating a pogrom, struck many of us in the room as inappropriate. I was mortified”…
Asked for his perspective on antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker’s reach on his platform, Twitch CEO Daniel Clancy said at the Semafor World Economy summit in Washington today that “one of the challenges is when you’re livestreaming you say a lot … you might say a lot of things that are over the top. … If you violate [community guidelines] then we take enforcement actions and we suspend you — it’s designed not to kick you off forever.”
“Whenever Hasan has stepped over the line, we’ve taken action … Folks will get worked up from both the right and the left on this because we have also conservative people that are saying certain things that some people don’t like. … In general, we think it is important for us to allow people to express themselves,” Clancy said…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a temperature check on support for Israel within the Democratic Party, in light of 85% of Democratic senators voting in favor of a Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT)-led measure to block military sales to the Jewish state.
France and the U.K. will co-host a conference tomorrow focused on restoring freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, with leaders from several European, Asian and Gulf countries participating via video.
Michigan’s Democratic Party will hold its endorsement convention on Sunday, where party activists will nominate their two preferred candidates for the University of Michigan’s Board of Regents. The election has reignited the campus’ debate over Israel, as candidate and anti-Israel activist Amir Makled seeks to unseat Jewish regent Jordan Acker, who became the target of antisemitic vandalism and harassment in the aftermath of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks. (The SEIU labor union recently pulled its endorsement of Makled over his past support of Hezbollah.)
National party leaders including former Vice President Kamala Harris and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) will appear at events in Detroit ahead of the convention.
We’ll be back in your inbox with the Daily Overtime on Monday. Shabbat Shalom!
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Plus, Senate Dems dominate 2026 fundraising
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) speaks at a press conference on committee assignments for the 118th U.S. Congress, at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 25, 2023, in Washington, D.C.
This P.M. edition is reserved for our premium subscribers — offering a forward-focused read on what we’re tracking now and what’s coming next. Please don’t hesitate to share your thoughts and feedback by replying to this email.
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Notable developments and interesting tidbits we’re tracking
A war powers resolution brought by Senate Democrats to force an end to the war in Iran was blocked by Republicans yet again this afternoon, the fourth failed attempt mounted by Senate Democrats since the war began in late February, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Nevertheless, top Senate Democrats have said they intend to continue forcing such votes weekly (they have nine more resolutions already filed) in the hopes that more Republicans will change their votes as the war drags on…
Texas state Sen. James Talarico announced he raised $27 million in the first quarter of 2026 in his run for U.S. Senate, a massive haul that his campaign claimed is the largest amount ever raised by a Senate candidate in the first quarter of an election year. Democrats hope the funds will put Texas in play as Talarico seeks to challenge either Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) or Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who are still locked in their own hotly contested primary.
The top Senate fundraisers behind Talarico this quarter were also Democrats: Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) brought in $14 million — breaking the record for first-quarter fundraising in Georgia — former North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper raised $13.8 million and former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) raised $12.5 million…
Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R-NJ) said he raised $1.1 million in this year’s first quarter, bringing his total to $4.4 million raised — more than any other House incumbent or candidate in New Jersey this cycle, according to the New Jersey Globe — as he defends his swing seat from several well-funded Democratic challengers.
But even as he’s pulled in plenty of support, Kean has missed a month’s worth of votes on Capitol Hill due to an unspecified medical issue, with his staff declining to say when he will return…
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) in an interview on the “Pod Save America” podcast praised former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) — once a vocal Omar foe who called for the congresswoman’s deportation while they were both in the House — and far-right influencer Candace Owens over the pair’s break with President Donald Trump, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
“I believe the thing that has been very fascinating, especially about Marjorie and Candace, is that … they’re saying, ‘This action is wrong,’ right? They’re saying, ‘I am done with you.’ We should give them credit for that, the fact that they’ve had this wake-up call to finally seeing this con man, this corrupt, chaotic man for what he is,” Omar said…
Sebastian Gorka, the White House senior director for counterterrorism and a deputy assistant to the president, is reportedly angling for the position of director of the National Counterterrorism Center, which was recently vacated by Joe Kent amid Kent’s opposition to the Iran war. Gorka has been a staunch defender of Trump and backed his war with Iran, as well as repeatedly praised Israel amid its war in Gaza…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke with Péter Magyar, the presumptive next prime minister of Hungary, for the first time today, calling the conversation “warm” and saying that Magyar indicated he will continue the close relationship the countries enjoyed under his predecessor, outgoing Prime Minister Viktor Orbán…
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul defended her proposal to bar demonstrations of more than two people from occurring within 25 feet of a house of worship today, JI’s Will Bredderman reports, legislation that has drawn legal scrutiny over its creation of a new felony offense for violators.
“I believe I have the right to protect people’s constitutional right to free exercise of religion,” Hochul told reporters when asked if she had concerns that the legislation might provoke challenges on First Amendment grounds. “So if that means we test it in court, bring it on”…
After holding its final public hearing earlier this week, the White House Religious Liberty Commission is now preparing a set of recommendations to be presented to the president next month. Ambiguity and confusion about the commission’s mandate has left commissioners unsure if they’ll continue to meet — their first year on the panel was marred by the firing of one commissioner over her disruption of a hearing on antisemitism…
Progressive media organization More Perfect Union is launching More Perfect University, an effort aimed at college students to act as an alternative to the conservative Turning Point USA, with a focus on urging young people to share left-wing political and economic messaging through social media. Faiz Shakir, the head of More Perfect Union who is also chief political advisor to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) campaign, said he hopes to jump-start “an economic populist movement for the next generation”…
Duke University’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter has been suspended as a student group and had its funding frozen after it posted virulently antisemitic imagery depicting Israel and the U.S. as pigs frothing at the mouth on its Instagram page, prompting student complaints to campus administration…
University of Michigan President-elect Kent Syverud announced today he has been diagnosed with brain cancer and will no longer assume the presidency, leaving the future of the school’s leadership in question. Jewish leaders had praised Syverud’s appointment as a positive development for UM, which had seen rampant anti-Israel activity in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks…
⏩ Tomorrow’s Agenda, Today
An early look at tomorrow’s storylines and schedule to keep you a step ahead
Keep an eye out in Jewish Insider for a preview of a first-of-its-kind antisemitism conference taking place tomorrow at Harvard, created as an outcome of last year’s settlement of a Title VI lawsuit against the school.
New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District will hold its special election for the remainder of Gov. Mikie Sherrill’s congressional term, where progressive Analilia Mejia is expected to prevail against Republican Joe Hathaway.
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold nomination hearings for John Breslow to be U.S. ambassador to Cyprus, Todd Steggerda to be U.S. representative to the U.N. in Geneva and Preston Wells to be U.S. representative to the International Atomic Energy Agency, among others.
The Shalom Hartman Institute will host a discussion at the Capitol Jewish Museum in Washington with Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, on American Jewry ahead of the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States.
The House Appropriations Committee will hold a budget hearing on the Department of Homeland Security, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which oversees the Nonprofit Security Grant Program.
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Even after their fourth failed attempt, Democrats say they intend to continue forcing such votes weekly
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
The U.S. Capitol Building is seen at sunset on May 31, 2025 in Washington, DC.
An effort by Senate Democrats to force an end to the war in Iran was again blocked by Republicans on Wednesday, the fourth such failed attempt mounted by Senate Democrats since the war began in late February.
The measure failed by a vote of 52-47, with all Democrats except Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voting for a procedural motion on the war powers resolution, and all Republicans except Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) voting against it. Sen. Jim Justice (R-WV) was not present for the vote.
Nevertheless, Democrats intend to continue their efforts. They have nine such resolutions that have been filed, and top Senate Democrats said this week they intend to continue forcing such votes weekly, in the hopes that more Republicans will change their votes as the war drags on.
Some Republicans have begun to express hesitation about the war, and top members of the caucus have said they hope it comes to an end soon. But thus far most have not been willing to openly break with President Donald Trump on the effort.
Separately, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) plans to call up a vote later on Wednesday on a pair of measures to block sales of bombs and bulldozers to Israel, which Sanders has also framed as referenda on the war in Iran. Twenty-seven Democrats have previously voted for such resolutions, and supporters of the effort expect that number to increase this time.
But at least one lawmaker, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who introduced a war powers resolution on Iran this week, for future consideration, said that she views the two issues differently.
“I think of them very differently,” Gillibrand told Jewish Insider during a virtual press conference on Wednesday. “I oppose the war in Iran, but I do not believe we should leave an ally who is being attacked without support,” she said, referring to Israel.
Majority Leader Thune said about a congressional vote to extend the war, ‘hopefully that question won't be a necessary one that we’ll have to answer’
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) calls on reporters at the U.S. Capitol on January 14, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said Tuesday that he’s hopeful that the war in Iran is close to winding down, in advance of a deadline that could require congressional action for the war to continue.
Under the War Powers Act, unilateral military action undertaken by the president without congressional authority is limited to 60 days — with a 30-day extension for draw-down purposes.
Thune emphasized that the administration’s current goal is to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and that Senate Republicans support efforts to isolate the Iranian regime and their economy.
“We get the strait open again — and that’s sort of their last resort. The military effort here has been extraordinarily successful. This is sort of the last dying gasp of this regime, is to try and shut down the strait,” Thune said in a press conference after a GOP conference meeting. “The administration is making an effort to ensure that it’s open, that there’ll be traffic in and out there. And hopefully that will be successful and we can begin to see this thing wind down.”
Pressed on whether Republicans would be open to voting to continue the war if it extends beyond 90 days, Thune suggested that wouldn’t be necessary.
“At this point, most of us, I believe, feel pretty good about what the American military has achieved there in terms of its objectives,” Thune said. “It’s a hypothetical down the road. … I think the administration has a clear objective, a clear plan, and if they can execute on it, hopefully that question won’t be a necessary one that we’ll have to answer.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) said that it’s “not quite time” yet for a full Senate discussion on the war, but said that he does want to see the administration more fully lay out its strategy and plan as the war continues and approaches the 60-day deadline at the end of April.
“We do expect that the administration will be laying out their plan for after the end of seven, eight, nine weeks,” Rounds said. “We have to know what the next steps are, and that’s part of our due diligence that we have to do.”
Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) said that Republicans did not discuss the possibility of an authorization for the war during their meeting.
Other Republicans have argued that the provision of the War Powers Act that sets out the 60-day deadline, is not enforceable and that Republicans on Capitol Hill are not paying attention to it.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said that the U.S. should “finish the job” rather than extending a ceasefire agreement with Iran if the regime is not willing to agree to U.S. demands, including a permanent end to nuclear enrichment, surrendering all of its already enriched uranium, fully reopening the strait and abandoning its ballistic missile program and support for terrorism.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that Senate Democrats plan to bring forward another war powers resolution to stop the war on Wednesday, and will continue to force votes on similar resolutions weekly until the war ends. For now, most Republicans seem likely to continue to vote against the legislation.
Senate Republicans also indicated that they’re not likely to attempt to include supplemental funding for the Iran war in an upcoming partisan budget reconciliation package, which is focused on border security and immigration funding currently being blocked by Democrats.
Thune, who has said he wants an “anorexic-like” reconciliation package, again indicated on Tuesday at a press conference after a Senate Republican lunch meeting that the package will be tightly “focused” to fund immigration enforcement.
“I think we’re going to do a very skinny reconciliation,” Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said when asked about Republicans’ discussions on Iran during the conference meeting.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said that he has not heard anything about either the timing or the size of the supplemental request the administration plans to submit. Initial reports indicated that the Pentagon wanted to ask for $200 billion, but more recent reports have indicated that the final request will be lower.
Republicans have discussed advancing another reconciliation package before the end of the year, though some members of the conference, like Kennedy, have openly expressed skepticism that such an effort would be possible.
At this point, given the strong and widespread opposition among Democrats to the war in Iran, it’s unclear whether a funding package for the war would be able to clear the 60-vote filibuster threshold necessary for passage in the Senate.
Sen. Lindsey Graham: ‘I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives’
Office of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC)
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) hold a joint press conference on Iranian nuclear negotiations at the U.S. Capitol on May 8, 2025.
Despite skepticism over the terms and reports of ongoing Iranian strikes, several prominent hawkish Republicans are voicing support for President Donald Trump’s fragile two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), among the most prominent backers of the war in the Senate, said in a post on X that a “diplomatic solution to end the reign of terror in Iran is the preferred outcome” but said he has concerns about the supposed 10-point plan presented by Iran, which would require the lifting of all U.S. sanctions on Iran, among other steps.
U.S. officials, including Vice President J.D. Vance, said the U.S. did not agree to that version of the deal, but that at least three versions of the Iranian proposal have circulated. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Wednesday that the original 10-point plan proposed by Iran was “fundamentally unserious” and was “literally thrown into the garbage by President Trump and his team.”
“I look forward to the architects of this proposal, the Vice President and others, coming forward to Congress and explaining how a negotiated deal meets our national security objectives in Iran,” Graham said.
He added that all of Iran’s enriched uranium must be turned over to the United States and that Iran cannot have any enrichment capacity.
“To those who say, Iran needs to save face by having a small enrichment program, I’m not remotely interested in providing face-saving cover to a regime that murders its own people, beats a 16-year-old girl to death for not wearing a headscarf appropriately, and is dripping in American blood,” Graham said.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) said on his podcast that he believes Trump was prepared to follow through on his threats against Iran, but agreed to hold off in response to Pakistan’s mediation efforts and Iran’s agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as he had demanded.
“Many of the military objectives have been accomplished. The military has been degraded almost out of existence,” Cruz said, though he acknowledged that it doesn’t take much for Iran to disrupt trade in the Strait of Hormuz. “There’s virtually no military left. It’s like four guys with a slingshot sitting on the back of a camel.”
But Cruz said he would be skeptical that the ceasefire would hold if Iran’s attacks on its neighbors continued.
He said his definition of success in Iran would be taking away Iran’s ability to kill Americans and innocent people in the region and its ability to become a nuclear power. He said that full regime change is the responsibility of the Iranian people, not the United States.
Responding to a post by Trump about the agreement and the damage to Iran’s nuclear program, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR) said, “President Trump has always been crystal clear: there must be no uranium enrichment for Iran. And he’s absolutely right. That was a central flaw in Obama’s disastrous deal. Because the only reason Iran would demand to enrich uranium is to build a nuclear weapon.”
He didn’t address the substance of the ceasefire deal itself.
Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) praised Trump’s execution of the war and the ceasefire, saying that the war had shown that the U.S. is the strongest nation and has the strongest military on the planet.
“He has made it clear – Iran will not get a nuclear weapon. And so, it’s really through his efforts that the U.S. not only secured a temporary ceasefire but more importantly, they obtained a commitment from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz,” Cramer said in a statement. “That has been his short-term goal in recent days, and it’s an important goal that affects a lot of people, not just the United States but our Middle East friends and certainly Europe.”
He called on other allies to step up — and predicted they would following the ceasefire agreement. But he also urged continued caution.
“Now we have to keep our eyes wide open obviously, it’s not like the Iranian regime is good for keeping its word, but in my mind, this is a pretty good breakthrough,” Cramer continued. “I’m grateful for President Trump’s unwavering dedication to defending our country and holding our adversaries accountable, and frankly, holding some allies accountable as well. I certainly hope they learned from this lesson.”
Other senior Republicans haven’t commented on the ceasefire agreement yet.
Off Capitol Hill, some prominent right-wing voices who have had the president’s ear are taking a different view of the deal.
Conservative commentator Mark Levin emphasized that Iran violated the ceasefire deal shortly after it was signed. He accused Iran of trying to use the negotiations to “blackmail us and Israel” to allow Hezbollah to continue its attacks on Israel and divide the U.S. and its allies.
“The 2-week ceasefire is being violated right now by the Iranian-Nazi regime. Missiles are being fired into Israel and perhaps other countries in the region. Are they able to defend themselves?” he said on X. We have the right man as president, and I bet he’s furious about this.”
“But this will be the question throughout — that is, do we expect the Iranian regime to honor a deal, how will we monitor it, and how will we enforce it. These will all be very difficult issues to resolve,” he continued.
Responding to the 10-point Iranian proposal, Levin said simply, “Uh oh.”
Far-right influencer Laura Loomer said on X the deal is “a negative for our country” and “we didn’t really get anything out of it.”
Under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, passed in response to the Obama administration’s negotiations with Iran in 2015, any agreement pertaining to Iran’s nuclear capabilities must be submitted to Congress for its review, and Congress has the ability to vote to block any such agreement.
In spite of the ceasefire, Democrats are continuing to agitate for Trump’s removal from office and plan to pursue war powers resolutions to force an end to the war.
In a Dear Colleague letter on Wednesday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said that Democrats plan to attempt to pass a war powers resolution during a pro-forma session on Thursday by unanimous consent — an effort that is likely to fail.
Jeffries also said that Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and committee Democrats plan to hold a briefing on Friday on “Trump administration accountability and the 25th Amendment” — indicating that the doomed push to remove Trump from office has backing from the top echelons of the Democratic Party.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that Democrats are planning to force a vote on a war powers resolution next week, the fourth since the war began on Feb. 28, when the Senate returns from its own recess.
At least 50 House Democrats are calling for Trump’s immediate removal from office
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks during his weekly press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on March 19, 2026.
Top Democrats across both chambers condemned President Donald Trump for threatening that “a whole civilization will die tonight” in Iran, with some pushing for Trump’s immediate removal from office over the threat and his conduct of the war.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and other members of Democratic leadership including Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Joe Neguse (D-CO) and Suzan DelBene (D-WA), issued a statement calling Trump “unhinged” and saying that he risks bringing the country “into World War III” unless Congress reconvenes to vote to bring the war to an end.
“For years, Republicans have enabled and excused Donald Trump’s deeply dangerous and extreme behavior. Enough is enough,” the leaders said. “Our brave men and women in uniform have been put into harm’s way in the Middle East. Over a dozen have already been killed and hundreds injured. Gas prices are skyrocketing, the cost of living in America is out of control and billions of taxpayer dollars are being wasted on a reckless war of choice.”
In another joint statement, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Jack Reed (D-RI) and Brian Schatz (D-HI), who are the top Democrats on several relevant committees and subcommittees, similarly condemned Trump’s comments, saying they indicate an intent to commit war crimes.
“This is not strength. Intentionally destroying the power, water, or basic infrastructure upon which tens of millions of civilians depend to punish the very civilians who suffer at the hands of the Iranian regime would constitute a war crime, a betrayal of the values this nation was founded on, and a moral failure,” the lawmakers said. “It’s unconscionable to threaten the lives of so many people — grandparents, children, families — simply because they were born in Iran.”
They said that Trump’s comment “makes Americans less safe, further destabilizes our nation and economy, and puts at greater risk U.S. service members,” as well as makes a diplomatic solution — ”the only viable solution to this war” — harder to achieve.
In a separate statement, Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, also said that Trump’s threat constitutes a war crime and an illegal action under international law which risks tens of millions of Iranian civilians, and potentially catastrophic after-effects.
“At this critical moment, the United States must pursue immediate de-escalation and a coordinated diplomatic strategy with our allies. We cannot allow Iran to simply reset to a dangerous status quo — but the answer is not to threaten war crimes and isolate us from every partner we need to end this conflict,” Meeks said. Trump’s threat is “recklessness that America and the region will pay for long after this president is gone,” he added.
Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), who prior to the war was one of the few Democrats who said he would oppose a war powers resolution — though he ultimately voted for it after the war began — demanded that the House immediately reconvene for a war powers vote. Moskowitz’s comments are a sign that Trump’s latest comments have crossed a line even for some of the most hawkish Democrats in the House.
“Speaker Johnson must immediately reconvene the House to vote on a war powers resolution. It’s beyond clear we are at war,” Moskowitz said. “The Speaker’s legacy will be that he made Congress so irrelevant that a president can threaten to wipe out a civilization while Congress is on vacation.”
Jeffries said Democrats plan to bring up another war powers resolution to halt the conflict in Iran, which stands a stronger chance of passing than a previous one, when the House returns from its recess. At least some of the Democrats who voted against the previous resolution are expected to support this one, and a small number of additional Republicans may join them.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX), one of four House Democrats who voted against the previous war powers resolution on the war in Iran last month, announced he will now support such an effort because the administration has failed to provide adequate answers about its goals and its exit strategy.
“[W]e must be careful with the language we use. Strength and destruction are not the same,” Cuellar added. “When the United States echoes the rhetoric of its adversaries, we risk weakening the values that have long defined our leadership.”
Several Democrats have described Trump’s comments as a threat to commit genocide.
Trump’s threat has also prompted growing calls from at least 70 House Democrats for his removal from office, either through impeachment or the invocation of the 25th Amendment, which allows the involuntary removal of a president from power if he is mentally or physically unfit to govern.
Sens. Ed Markey (D-MA) and Ron Wyden (D-OR) joined those calls.
“Donald Trump is deranged,” Wyden said. “He must be impeached and removed from office. Republicans who don’t stop him will have blood on their hands, and anyone who carries out an order to bomb civilian targets will be complicit in war crimes and will be held accountable.”
Markey called the president “unstable and a clear and present danger, not just to the American people but to the world” and said he “must be removed from office before he causes incalculable and unfathomable harm.” He said that a war powers resolution to stop the war is now insufficient to address the situation.
A small number of Republicans are also airing concerns with Trump’s threat.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), one of the few Republicans who has been openly skeptical of the war effort in Iran, said that Trump’s threat “cannot be excused away as an attempt to gain leverage in negotiations with Iran.”
“This type of rhetoric is an affront to the ideals our nation has sought to uphold and promote around the world for nearly 250 years. It undermines our long-standing role as a global beacon of freedom and directly endangers Americans both abroad and at home,” Murkowski said, calling for deescalation by both Trump and Iran, and insisting that the U.S. must draw a distinction between the Iranian regime and the Iranian people.
Rep. Nathaniel Moran (R-TX) said that, while he has supported the war thus far, “I do not support the destruction of a ‘whole civilization.’ That is not who we are, and it is not consistent with the principles that have long guided America.”
“[W]hat sets America apart is not only our strength, but how we use it. Our nation has always conducted military operations for just causes and through just and moral means. This must continue in the future; otherwise we forfeit our legitimacy to lead the world,” Moran said. “[H]ow we protect the lives of the innocent is just as important as how we engage the enemy.”
Rep. Kevin Kiley (I-CA), who recently left the Republican Party but remains part of the GOP caucus and has generally been hawkish on Iran, said that the U.S. “does not destroy civilizations. Nor do we threaten to do so as some sort of negotiating tactic.”
“Congress has a responsibility to conduct oversight with respect to ongoing military operations and our obligations under both U.S. law and international agreements to which we are a signatory,” Kiley said.
The former secretary of state also said he questions whether the U.S. could have done more to save lives in Gaza
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Then-Secretary of State Antony Blinken delivers remarks during a NATO public forum as part of the 2024 NATO Summit on July 10, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Former Secretary of State Tony Blinken said at a Harvard Kennedy School event this week that he warned Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a few months into the war in Gaza that Israel was going to lose support among not just Democrats, but also Republicans and evangelical Christians.
“Israel was mostly seen as the David and other forces were seen as the Goliath. That is now flipped,” Blinken said. “One of the things that I told Netanyahu was, ‘You may not care that you’re losing the Democratic Party, but trust me, you are going to lose young Republicans. You’re going to lose young evangelicals. This is generational.’ And he moved on to something else.”
The conversation took place early in 2024, a few months after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed 1,200 people in Israel. During his remarks at Harvard, Blinken said he wonders if there is more the U.S. could have done to protect Palestinians in Gaza. But he also called on people not to be “binary” in their thinking about the Middle East.
“Of course, for me, coulda-woulda-shoulda is something that will always be there when it comes to Gaza. It could not help but be given the level of human suffering,” said Blinken.
“But where did we start? We started with Oct. 7. We started with the most horrific massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” Blinken added. “It’s very easy to say, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s a given.’ Except it wasn’t a given for Israelis and Israeli society. It became one for the rest of the world, but not for Israelis.”
Blinken was being interviewed by New York Times reporter David Sanger, who said that history books written about President Joe Biden will show his administration as “strongest on Ukraine and weakest on Gaza.”
Asked whether the Biden administration could have done things differently in Gaza to save lives, Blinken said, “Could we, should we have done things differently such that the suffering that people endured, the loss of the children you just listed and so many others could have been averted? The short answer is: Maybe yes.”
“We had to make judgments in real time about how to try to get to a better place. We made those judgments. People will make their own judgments about what we did and what we didn’t do,” said Blinken.
Despite the humanitarian crisis that emerged in Gaza, the U.S. pushed Israel to do more for Palestinians and to allow more aid into Gaza, Blinken said.
“That didn’t just happen. It happened because every single day we were on the Israelis to try to get assistance in, to open more crossing points, to flood the zone. They did that profoundly inadequately. They did that in ways that were not the way I would like to have seen it done, but we got some of that done,” said Blinken. “But yes, of course, you couldn’t be and I wouldn’t be human if I didn’t ask myself every day, could we have done things differently.”
Blinken said that the trauma Israelis experienced after Oct. 7 was so severe that Israel’s war in Gaza would have continued, even without American support — and that cutting off American weapons sales to Israel may have actually lengthened the war.
“Cutting off arms, sure, that was an option. But I don’t actually believe that at least in the near term, it would have changed things,” said Blinken. “I also believe it would have led to an even wider war as Israel’s enemies, and they were multiple, jumped in, and that only would have extended the war in Gaza, not ended the war in Gaza.”
The main focus of the Biden administration, according to Blinken, was to reach a ceasefire, “with hostages coming out and with aid going in.” He acknowledged the pain of people who were angry about the situation in Gaza, but questioned why so little anger was directed at Hamas.
“I empathize with people who felt this so deeply,” said Blinken. “I do remain with a question in my mind about why barely a word was spoken in all those months about Hamas, which was an actor too, and is responsible for so much of what happened.”
The vote again fell largely along party lines, with only Sens. John Fetterman and Rand Paul defecting from their parties
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The U.S. Capitol Building is seen at sunset on May 31, 2025 in Washington, DC.
For the third time in a month, Senate Republicans on Tuesday evening blocked an effort by Democrats to halt U.S. operations in Iran.
The war powers resolution, this time led by Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), is part of a series of efforts by Senate Democrats to disrupt business on the Senate floor to force a reckoning and public testimony by Cabinet officials about the war in Iran.
Democrats have four other such resolutions filed, which they could call up for votes at a time of their choosing, using special procedures allowing lawmakers to force votes on war powers resolutions.
The Senate again rejected the resolution 53-47, with Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) once again voting in favor of the war effort and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) again voting against it.
The mostly party-line vote comes in spite of recent comments by some Senate Republicans pushing for the war to come to an end.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), another leader of the Democratic war powers push, said that the group plans to continue to force weekly votes on the issue. He acknowledged before the vote that the results might not change this week, but suggested that some Republican colleagues might be won over if the war continues to drag on, troops are sent to invade Iran or oil prices continue to spike.
Kaine indicated that he was not encouraged by President Donald Trump’s comments that he considered the U.S. to have “won” the war in Iran or his recent claims of engaging in productive talks with the regime.
“If he announces that it’s over, that will be good news,” Kaine told Jewish Insider. “Now, the consequences are not going to be over for a very long time, and Virginians are going to be suffering the consequences of something that lacked a rationale and lacked a plan for a very long time, in all likelihood. But the minute he announces it’s over, that will be positive — if he doesn’t change his mind, but he could change his mind.”
The House is expected to vote this week on a similar measure led by Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY). A separate House measure led by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and other pro-Israel moderates which would limit the war effort to 30 days — a period which will expire next week — could also come to a vote soon.
At least one House Democrat who voted previously against a war powers resolution and backed the U.S. operations in Iran has said he plans to vote for the Meeks resolution this week.
Democrats began calling out those who traffic in antisemitic rhetoric when they offered platitudes after an attack on a Michigan synagogue
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A vigil is held near the scene of a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade, on July 5, 2022 in Highland Park, Illinois.
American antisemitism is having its “thoughts and prayers” moment.
Whenever there is a mass shooting in the United States, the immediate reaction has become something of a meme. “Sending thoughts and prayers,” politicians — mostly Republicans — will inevitably write in a social media post expressing grief at the murder of innocent people at an elementary school, in a bowling alley or at a Walmart.
Gun violence prevention advocates roll their eyes. They see the oft-repeated sentiment as disingenuous, given how little action Congress has taken to enact gun control measures. During the 2018 March for Our Lives, when hundreds of thousands of Americans took to the streets to demand action after 17 people were killed at a high school in Parkland, Fla., scores of people carried signs with the words “thoughts and prayers” crossed out, and the phrase “policy and change” written underneath.
A similar phenomenon was on display after a heavily armed man drove a car into a synagogue in suburban Detroit on Thursday. He was killed by a security guard before he was able to enter the building, where 140 preschool and kindergarten students were locked down in their classrooms.
Afterward, politicians with a history of promoting antisemitic tropes began bemoaning antisemitism. And Jewish politicians and activists in the Democratic party who had grown exasperated over the hypocrisy of it all started calling them out.
Noah Arbit, the Jewish state representative whose district includes West Bloomfield Township, where the attack took place, called out Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed for his “crocodile tears” expressing concern about the shooting. Arbit grew up attending Temple Israel.
“Amazed by the crocodile tears from someone who’s done more than most to stoke & inflame hatred against Jews. It’s a very small logical leap from ‘AIPAC controls the US government,’ ‘Israel is committing genocide,’ ‘Zionists kill Arab babies’ to ‘kill Jews in West Bloomfield,’” Arbit, a Democrat, wrote in a post on X replying to El-Sayed.
El-Sayed, a progressive running a campaign with an anti-Israel message, sent a fundraising email on the two-year anniversary of Oct. 7 accusing Israel of genocide and calling out AIPAC. “If you’re asking yourself, ‘Why on Earth are politicians in Washington continuing to add fuel to the fire?’ The answer is money. AIPAC is funneling millions into campaigns in exchange for loyalty,” El-Sayed wrote in the Oct. 7 email, referring to the war in Gaza.
As the attack was unfolding, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) took to social media to respond to a message by a junior staffer at the centrist think tank Third Way that called for Democrats to do more to address antisemitism within their ranks. Rather than taking the criticism seriously, Khanna said he was “proud” to stand by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and far-left antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, and took aim at “neocons” in the party. (Forty minutes later, Khanna condemned the shooting and said “antisemitism and violence have no place in America.”)
“What the hell is wrong with you? 48 hours ago two men were beaten in your district for speaking Hebrew. Earlier today there was a shooting at a Jewish school in Michigan. Is it politics? Lack of empathy? Are you actually racist?” Ethan Agarwal, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur challenging Khanna in this year’s Democratic primary, wrote in response.
Earlier in the day, Khanna had tweeted in defense of Pat Buchanan, President Ronald Reagan’s communications director who has a lengthy history of making overtly antisemitic arguments.
“The same Pat Buchanan who wrote that Hitler was ‘a man of great courage’? Who called Capitol Hill ‘Israeli-occupied territory’? Who said there was ‘No evidence exists that any Jews were gassed at Treblinka’? Pretty sure he was antisemitic,” said Shannon Watts, a liberal activist who started the advocacy group “Moms Demand Action” after the Sandy Hook shooting in 2012, when 26 students and teachers were killed at a Connecticut elementary school.
Khanna doubled down afterward.
Later, Watts — who has called Republicans’ “thoughts and prayers” framing a form of gaslighting — said Democrats need to do more to combat antisemitism among members of their own party.
“The Democratic Party has been infected by antisemitism and it’s spreading. It isn’t (yet) as virulent as it is on the right, but it’s insidious and we have to stop pretending it doesn’t exist,” Watts wrote on X.
In West Bloomfield, tragedy was averted, miraculously, because of the actions of a security guard who quickly put himself in harm’s way.
But if the response to rising antisemitism begins to resemble the country’s response to gun violence — expressions of outrage followed by little introspection — the result may be a familiar one: condemnation after the antisemitic incident, but little reckoning with the permissive culture that helped create the danger in the first place.
But with Iran maintaining various capabilities and continuing its attacks, other leading GOP senators say it would be premature to end the war now
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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks to reporters prior to the Senate Republicans weekly policy luncheon, in the US Capitol on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Both of Missouri’s Republican senators, Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, argued that the administration seems to have largely achieved its key objectives for the war in Iran — a posture that distinguishes him from most GOP colleagues and highlights subtle but emerging divisions among Republicans on the proper scope and duration of the war.
Pointing to comments by President Donald Trump saying that the war was substantially complete and that the U.S. had achieved its objectives, Hawley said on Fox News earlier this week, “I agree with what the president said last night. You look at all the success that we’ve had in the last 10 days. I mean, this thing is a victory. I think we should be hailing our military. We ought to be saying we’ve achieved our objectives here. … If this isn’t success, I don’t know what would be. … Now it’s time to declare victory.”
He also posited that Iran has nothing remaining with which to reconstitute its nuclear program — though the regime maintains a stockpile of enriched nuclear material which many experts argue cannot be fully secured without some form of on-the-ground presence.
Continuing a trend of making contradictory comments on the war’s timeline, Trump had said the same day that the U.S. could and would go much further in Iran, and that the U.S.’ aims could expand significantly.
Asked by Jewish Insider on Thursday about the metrics by which he was judging the success of the war, Hawley — who is one of the more prominent senators from the populist wing of the GOP — said he was referring to Trump’s own comments on the subject.
“I assume our overriding national security objective when it comes to Iran is to prevent them from getting nukes. And between our bombing last June and in the last … 12 days, I don’t know how they’re going to reconstitute their nuclear program anytime in, maybe, our lifetimes,” Hawley said.
“Our military has done an amazing job. I think it’s been an overwhelming display of force,” Hawley continued. “I know my Democrat colleagues, a bunch of them are saying, ‘This has accomplished nothing, nothing’s happened.’ It seems to me a lot has happened. And I think we should say that’s a good thing.”
Pressed on whether the war can be ended while Iran continues to fire missiles and drones at countries throughout the Middle East and is dropping mines in the Strait of Hormuz, Hawley said he would defer to Trump’s judgement on when to end the war.
“My point is just that I think the military has achieved a tremendous amount. It has ended [Iran’s] nuclear program for all intents and purposes. It has destroyed their navy. It has eliminated most of their ballistic missiles — those are good things,” he continued. “I’d be glad to take that [win].”
“Seems pretty good to me,” Hawley added.
Schmitt, who is also aligned with the populist wing of the party, likewise emphasized the progress the U.S. has made and pushed for a quick conclusion to the war.
“I know they’re way ahead of schedule. I’d look for a swift end to it,” Schmitt told JI. “I’m not interested in forever war in the Middle East, I don’t think the president is either. And I think that, again, they’ve laid out clear objectives and [are] making a lot of progress.”
Other Republicans are taking a distinctly different approach. Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) told reporters on Thursday that “victory isn’t determined by declaration, it’s determined by the outcome.” He argued that the U.S. can’t and shouldn’t end the war prematurely.
“If you pull 90% of the weeds of our garden and you leave 10%, you’re going to have a weedy garden,” Cramer continued. “The last 10% are the hardest, in many cases.”
The North Dakota senator, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, expressed surprise that the U.S. had not been better prepared to secure the Strait of Hormuz, calling it a potential “miscalculation” and saying that the attacks on ships in the critical waterway “could have been avoided.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), one of the most vocal supporters of the Iran war on Capitol Hill, said that he thinks there are “weeks more of this coming.”
“I don’t see this conflict ending today. I think the mission is to make sure they cannot regenerate, that they’re going to be beyond capable of building missiles to hit us, and they’ll never go back to the nuclear business,” Graham continued.
Also on Thursday, in a rare Senate floor speech, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), emphasized that the war against Iran cannot be decoupled from the global axis, including Russia and China, with which Iran is aligned.
Russia, McConnell emphasized, has reportedly been providing Iran with targeting intelligence. He criticized Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, who said earlier this week that he takes Russia at its word that it has not been doing that.
“I’ve warned successive presidents to take the Russian-Iranian axis, actually, more seriously,” McConnell said. He emphasized the supportive role that Ukraine has taken in helping to protect the U.S.’ allies in the Gulf, and criticized administration officials for not moving more quickly in pre-war discussions to acquire Ukrainian anti-drone technology.
He also urged lawmakers who oppose the war to nonetheless support an expected request for supplemental military funding as “an overdue opportunity to invest in urgent and strategic defense priorities.”
While Republicans are now rejoicing over their narrow win, it otherwise largely demonstrated how Democratic leaders effectively sacrificed the seat to the GOP rather than elevate an extremist member of their own party
Muhammed Casim's campaign page
Muhammed Casim
In a low-profile electoral upset that defied the difficult national political environment facing the GOP, a Republican candidate declared victory this week in a down-ballot race for a seat on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors in Virginia — for the first time in nearly 40 years.
But while Republicans are now rejoicing over their narrow win, it otherwise largely demonstrated how Democratic leaders effectively sacrificed the seat to the GOP rather than elevate an extremist member of their own party who had claimed the nomination.
The result underscored the extent to which local Democrats had swiftly mobilized to oppose their own nominee, Muhammed Casim, who faced backlash over a series of recently uncovered past social media comments in which he used racist, misogynistic and antisemitic language. The posts, written more than a decade ago, used the n-word as well as demeaning rhetoric targeting women. He also accused Israel of genocide and promoted a conspiratorial post about U.S. financial assistance to the Jewish state, among other extreme comments.
More broadly, the outcome is an atypical example of how the Democratic Party worked to meaningfully confront extremism within its own ranks, even if its efforts came at the expense of an easily winnable local seat that instead flipped to Republicans for the first time in decades.
Casim apologized for his comments but refused bipartisan calls to drop out of the race, which had motivated a Democratic challenger to launch a write-in campaign that ultimately helped siphon votes away from his embattled bid. He lost to Republican Jeannie LaCroix by a margin of 258 votes. Write-in candidates pulled in 744 votes — a relatively sizable total that appeared to have made a difference in the closely contested race.
“Opposing antisemitism, racism or misogyny isn’t a partisan position,” Marc Broklawski, a Jewish vice chair of the Virginia Democratic Party, told Jewish Insider on Wednesday. “It’s a floor, not a ceiling, and the least we should expect from any party, official candidate or voter. When Democrats hold that floor even when it’s costly, that’s something to be proud of. When we don’t, voters notice that too.”
Casim’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.
Though some prominent Democrats have sought to reject radicalism in their party, many Jewish party activists have begun to express a growing sense of unease about whether their longtime political home will remain welcoming, amid rising hostility toward Israel that has frequently crossed into antisemitism while producing alliances with controversial figures.
This week, for instance, leading Jewish groups spoke out against New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s decision to host Mahmoud Khalil, the campus anti-Israel activist facing deportation who had justified Hamas’ terror attacks, for dinner at his official residence, while Democratic officials largely stayed silent.
Likewise, a mounting number of Senate Democrats have endorsed Graham Platner in his insurgent bid for Senate in Maine, brushing aside concerns about a recently covered Nazi tattoo whose provenance he has struggled to explain as well as associations with antisemitic conspiracy theorists that have continued to raise alarms among many Jewish party members.
And in Virginia, Jewish Democrats have denounced an anti-Israel state legislator, Sam Rasoul, who has called Zionism “evil” and a “supremacist ideology,” even as high-ranking state party officials have been reluctant to weigh in on his incendiary commentary.
By contrast, several Jewish activists and party strategists said they were encouraged that most Democratic leaders had enforced red lines in the Virginia supervisor election. Even if the party had been forced to endure a short-term hit in losing the seat, they suggested, it was healthy to set standards — particularly in a time of rising extremism on both sides of the aisle.
“Virginia Democratic leaders were clearly repulsed by Muhammed Casim’s racist, misogynistic and antisemitic social media posts,” Sara Forman, a Jewish party strategist who previously worked in the state, told JI. “Their actions, including calling Casim out publicly, should send a strong signal nationally that the entirety of the Democratic Party has not capitulated to the leftist narrative entirely.”
Such opposition was not unanimous, however, as the local party accepted Casim’s apology and said it would stand behind his campaign. “There’s a lesson in there about the integrity of voters and the lack of integrity — and therefore weakened legacy — among some Dem leaders,” Shannon Watts, a gun control activist who has also criticized Platner, wrote in an X post on Wednesday.
“Leadership means speaking out clearly and consistently against antisemitism, racism, misogyny, and not only when it is easy, but especially when it is not — and from whomever,” Eileen Filler-Corn, a Jewish Democrat and former speaker of Virginia’s House of Delegates, told JI. “These values should unite us. We can disagree on policy and politics, but standing against hate and discrimination in all forms should never be up for debate. Our credibility with voters depends on our willingness to apply that standard fairly and without hesitation.”
Still, with most Democratic elected officials in the county refusing to support Casim after his posts had surfaced near the end of the race, nonpartisan Jewish leaders and members of both parties voiced satisfaction regarding the strong show of resistance.
“We think it is imperative that both parties call out the fringe and hateful elements in their own parties, so we’re certainly glad to see the Democratic Party do it in this instance — especially when it was hard and cost them a seat,” Vicki Fishman, the director of Virginia government and community relations at the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, told JI. “It’s an important lesson for everybody that hate is hate, and when you see the ugly rhetoric in your own house for what it is, it’s important to call it out.”
Gary Katz, a Jewish Republican activist in nearby Loudoun County, said he was “encouraged by the outcome” of Tuesday’s race, “where principled voices within the Democratic Party chose to reject a nominee whose past comments reflected racism, misogyny and antisemitism — even at the risk of losing the seat to a Republican.”
He said the dynamic “mirrors efforts we’ve seen in the GOP, such as in Fairfax County, to keep hateful elements from gaining leadership roles,” referring to a recent election where Republicans beat back an extreme candidate for county chair who had spread antisemitic conspiracy theories.
“It’s a reminder that combating the rising scourge of antisemitism requires people of good conscience in both parties to prioritize our shared values over partisan wins,” Katz told JI on Wednesday. “We need more of this vigilance to ensure that extreme fringes on either side never hold power, and that we support responsible leadership, even when we disagree politically, rather than those who align with us but betray our core principles.”
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