The congresswoman will join El-Sayed for a bus tour and rallies as Republicans seek to tie him to the Democratic Party's left wing
Sarah Rice/Getty Images
(L-R) U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Michigan Democratic candidate for Senate Abdul El-Sayed and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at the Detroit Opera House on July 18, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.
Add JewishInsider on GoogleRep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) will campaign alongside Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed next week, joining him for a bus tour across the state’s Upper Peninsula before holding several rallies in the Detroit area on Friday.
Ocasio-Cortez and El-Sayed are scheduled to make stops on Thursday in Escanaba, Iron Mountain and Marquette as part of his campaign’s “Shouldn’t Be This Hard” tour. On Friday, the congresswoman will hold rallies at Oakland University in Rochester and Eastern Michigan University in Ypsilanti, along with a “Latinos for Abdul” event in Detroit.
The trip will mark Ocasio-Cortez’s first campaign appearance for El-Sayed during the general election, following her endorsement and appearances on his behalf during the Democratic primary. El-Sayed faces former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), who narrowly lost Michigan’s 2024 Senate race, in a closely watched contest for the seat being vacated by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI).
At a New York City fundraiser for El-Sayed earlier this week, Ocasio-Cortez described his campaign as part of a broader “generational project” for the progressive movement, according to audio obtained by The New York Times. She argued that an El-Sayed victory would “break open the entire political calculus” of what progressives could accomplish.
“Because if you can win, if Abdul can win in Michigan, anybody can win anywhere,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Ocasio-Cortez, who is thought to be considering a potential 2028 presidential bid, has become a prominent ally of El-Sayed as Republicans have sought to portray him as too liberal for the swing state of Michigan.
El-Sayed welcomed Ocasio-Cortez’s support, praising her leadership and calling her a “critical partner in the primary.” Former President Barack Obama is also scheduled to campaign with El-Sayed on Oct. 24.
Ossoff also hammered Rep. Mike Collins as a bigot in ‘cahoots with some of the most notorious white supremacists in America’ allowing antisemitic propaganda to be spread under his own roof
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) in the Senate Select Intelligence Committee on July 15, 2026.
In Georgia’s first Senate debate on Thursday, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) said he would defer to the International Criminal Court on whether Israel has committed genocide in Gaza, but said that he believes Israel has violated international law.
Ossoff also repeatedly hammered his opponent, Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), as a bigot who had hired, amplified and even welcomed into his home and family antisemitic and white supremacist figures.
Collins’ official congressional account amplified an antisemitic post from a white nationalist Twitter account, his former chief of staff was a member of a group chat with white nationalists where he discussed using congressional authority to free a Holocaust denier from prison and his son-in-law is a white nationalist influencer.
“The question of genocide is a question of whether a government has the specific intent to destroy a national ethnic group, and that is a question for the International Criminal Court,” Ossoff said at the debate. “There is no doubt in my mind that Israeli forces prosecuting the war in Gaza violated the law of armed conflict and international humanitarian law.”
Neither Israel nor the U.S. are members of the ICC.
Ossoff said that he “care[s] deeply about the security of the Israeli people,” including some members of his own family, as well as about innocent Palestinians, and said that he stands by his votes to halt arms sales to the Jewish state.
He went on to attack Collins for voting to sanction the ICC.
“His view is there should not be accountability for crimes against humanity, no matter who commits them, and that’s because the congressman is deeply disconnected from our state’s tradition of civil rights and human rights,” Ossoff said.
Sen. Jon Ossoff said during last night’s debate that whether the IDF committed genocide in Gaza "is a question for the International Criminal Court," but he has "no doubt" that Israel violated international law in the course of the war. https://t.co/SDjI8Cplgn
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) October 9, 2026
Collins responded by accusing Ossoff of being a far-left extremist, highlighting his support for Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, and antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker’s backing — since retracted — for Ossoff. He also accused Ossoff of hating Israel and loving Iran.
Collins, for his part, faced grilling from both Ossoff and the debate moderators over his ties to various antisemitic and white nationalist figures, including his own son-in-law.
“You’ve hired half the Third Reich to staff your congressional office and you have promoted neo-Nazi content online,” Ossoff said. “Imagine running for the U.S. Senate while neo-Nazi propaganda is disseminated to an audience of millions from your home. That’s Mike Collins.”
Ossoff continued: “Mike Collins’ office intervened at the Department of Justice on behalf of a Holocaust denier, while his office was in cahoots with some of the nation’s most notorious white supremacists. Mike Collins is a bigot, and it’s disqualifying for a candidate for the U.S. Senate.”
Ossoff suggested that, had the Civil Rights Movement been happening today, Collins would have been personally involved in brutalizing protesters.
Asked by moderators about what conversations he’s had with his daughter and son-in-law about the latter’s online activity, Collins suggested that Ossoff’s attacks on him have endangered his family.
“That’s my family. That’s the craziness that John Ossoff has been spewing out there,” he said. “I actually had a crazy person get put in jail this weekend because he not only wanted to kill my son-in-law, but he wanted to kill me.”
He went on to say that he’s condemned racism, antisemitism and hate, regardless of the source, and said he’s told his son-in-law that as well, and said he’s fired staff with problematic ties when made aware of them.
“It’s wrong. We have no place in this world for that,” Collins said, going on to say that Ossoff has failed to condemn figures like El-Sayed and Piker. (Ossoff belatedly condemned Piker in August after Piker suggested that American Jews were responsible for inciting antisemitic attacks on themselves, months after Piker named him as among his favored candidates for the 2028 presidential election.)
Ossoff also attacked Collins over his support for the war in Iran and its impacts on gas and other prices domestically.
Ossoff said that the U.S. was “lied into” the war. “They told us last year that they obliterated Iran’s nuclear program. This year they told us it posed an imminent threat. So on top of the tariffs now, we have eight months of war, 18 Americans killed in action, hundreds wounded. Iran still has its uranium. Iran still has its drones and missiles,” Ossoff said.
Collins said that President Donald Trump “had every right to go in there and make sure that Iran does not get a nuclear weapon,” pointing to warnings from the International Atomic Energy Agency that Iran was approaching nuclear weapons capability.
He said that Iran, were it to obtain nuclear weapons, would attack both Israel and the United States, and that it has been attacking and killing Americans for 47 years.
Plus, Jewish preschool teachers' Italy trip nixed over Israel litmus test
Paul Sancya, Pool/AP
Republican nominee for U.S. Senate Mike Rogers, right, speaks during a televised debate with Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed on Oct. 8, 2026, in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Good Friday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover last night’s contentiousMichigan Senate debate between Mike Rogers and Abdul El-Sayed, report on the cancellation of a program for Israeli and American Jewish preschool educators in Italy after organizers asked them to condemn Israel, and spotlight conversations and addresses at the National Conservatism Conference in Jerusalem in which speakers criticized Jews for raising concerns about antisemitism. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Hakeem Jeffries, Asaf Rajuan and Nechumi Yaffe.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss, with assists from Tamara Zieve and Danielle Cohen-Kanik.
For less-distracted reading over the weekend, browse this week’s edition of The Weekly Print, featuring stories from Jewish Insider and eJewishPhilanthropy, including: Three years after Oct. 7, Israel’s security is ‘much better,’ but risks loom; Michigan Hillel’s break with Israel advocacy groups raises questions about where it stands; and The Siegels lost their home and community on Oct. 7. Now they’re finding their way forward. Print the latest edition here.
Today’s Agenda
With weeks to go before the midterms, President Donald Trump ruled out a resumption of strikes on Iran before Election Day, saying on Truth Social that the U.S. is having “productive discussions” with the Islamic Republic.
The president’s comments could be taken with a grain of salt: In June 2025, he suggested that the U.S. was pursuing diplomacy a day before joining Israel’s attacks on the Islamic Republic, and earlier this year, he said he had not decided on whether to attack Iran, hours before the U.S. and Israel launched coordinated military strikes that took out the top echelon of Iranian leadership.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced Navi Pillay, a former U.N. high commissioner for human rights and International Criminal Court judge, as the winner of this year’s peace prize. Pillay, a South African jurist and sharp critic of Israel, served as the head of the U.N.’s Commission of Inquiry targeting Israel, which has been condemned by members of the international body over its anti-Israel bias.
We’re keeping an eye on the political situation in the U.K., where Green Party leader Zack Polanski lost his House of Commons by-election bid overnight, days after his party passed a resolution declaring Zionism to be racism. Polanski has said he will stay on as party leader following his defeat, despite questions over his ability to lead the Greens going forward. The Campaign Against Antisemitism, meanwhile, has reported Polanski’s party to the U.K.’s Equality and Human Rights Commission over the Zionism motion passed earlier this week, saying that such a move has “real potential to embolden expressions of antisemitism.”
One Thing To Know
DEBATE DEBACLE
By Marc Rod
In the first debate of the general election for Senate in Michigan, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) repeatedly hit Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed over his supporters’ ties to and support for terrorist groups and El-Sayed’s comments on the Temple Israel terrorist attack — accusations that El-Sayed largely did not respond to during the deeply acrimonious exchange.
El-Sayed, for his part, said he would not support defensive aid to Israel even if it was under attack, framed Israel as a threat to the United States comparable to Iran, defended his decision not to issue a statement honoring the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and continued to sidestep questions on Iran’s persecution of its own civilians.
“He has taken money from groups in support of the Muslim Brotherhood. He has taken money from individuals on his campaign who openly support Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaida,” Rogers said several times throughout the debate, and accused El-Sayed of failing to condemn terrorist groups and attacks.
The Big Reads
Arrivederci, Reggio
A planned study trip to Italy for some 100 Jewish early childhood educators from the U.S. and Israel was canceled after participants were required to sign a statement condemning Israel’s actions in Gaza, prompting organizers to conclude that the trip’s political litmus test made such a trip untenable, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports. The educators — members of the U.S.-based Paradigm Project — were scheduled to travel to Reggio Emilia, Italy, from Oct. 11–16. Their goal was to study the Reggio Emilia Approach to early childhood education, a method long embraced by Jewish preschools, and bring those insights back to their classrooms. But ahead of the trip, participants were asked to sign a statement declaring, “I distance myself from the occupation of Gaza and the violation of children’s and human beings’ rights in the occupied territories as well as in every places [sic] in the world,” according to a screenshot obtained by JI.
mayor unmoved
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Thursday shrugged off the protest — which featured jeers of “traitor” at the democratic socialist leader, and chants of “long live Hamas” — that sought to drown out an event he attended the night prior memorializing the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, Jewish Insider’s Will Bredderman reports. “I was proud to attend last night’s vigil, as I did last year, to listen to testimonies from family members of those who were killed on Oct. 7, and those who’ve been killed in the three years since, and all of whom united in a vision for peace and an end to the genocide in Gaza,” Mamdani told journalists after an unrelated event in Brooklyn. “As for those protesting me, I am the mayor of New York City, and this is what I signed up for.”
Buddy backlash: Politico spotlights concerns from Jewish allies of Mamdani who were dismayed over his Oct. 7 statement, among them T’ruah’s Rabbi Jill Jacobs, a backer of the mayor’s recently announced antisemitism plan who said Mamdani’s comments “missed the mark.”
conference quotables
Several speakers at the right-wing National Conservatism Conference in Jerusalem said on Wednesday that Jews complain too much about antisemitism — on the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, which were followed by a sharp increase in hate crimes against Jews around the world, Jewish Insider’s Lahav Harkov reports. NatCon, as the conference spearheaded by right-wing Israeli American intellectual Yoram Hazony is known, was held in Israel for the first time this week. In a plenary on Wednesday titled “American Right: The Next Generation,” multiple speakers berated Jews for speaking out against antisemitism, accused Israel of drawing the U.S. into wars and mocked evangelical Christians’ beliefs about Israel. They also blamed liberal and neoconservative Jews for mass immigration to the U.S.
The Rundown
exclusive
back from the gulf
cross-party call
TORAH AND TAXES
On Our Radar
● The Live Briefing. Word on the street, clips, podcasts and quick updates — the items we’re tracking all day in our Live Briefing on the app (on Apple and Android) and website.
The Treasury Department announced sanctions on 17 new vessels tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ “shadow fleet” used to clandestinely move oil and gas out of Iran…
OpenAI said on Thursday that Iranian operatives used ChatGPT to help place nearly 100 articles criticizing the Iran war under fake journalist bylines in roughly a dozen online outlets around the world…
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said he “strongly” backs the creation of an Oct. 7 memorial in Brooklyn; any future memorial, the funds for which are being privately raised, would require the approval of the mayor’s office to move forward…
The Denver school board voted to censure its vice president, Monica Hunter, over allegations she had made antisemitic comments to a Jewish member of the board; an independent investigation was inconclusive, finding that the allegations amounted to a “he said, she said” situation…
The former head of the Middle Eastern studies department at the University of Arkansas — who called for Israel to be “dismantled” and shared a social media post calling for someone to “thrust the dagger from Doha into the throats of the Zionists, so that all of them howl” — is seeking for a court to strike down the state’s recently adopted antisemitism law, saying it was used for her dismissal from the university…
A district court judge in California ruled that German singer-songwriter Alice Merton’s copyright lawsuit against Kanye West, now known as Ye, can proceed with references to the Holocaust and West’s documented history of antisemitism; West had sought permission to sample one of Merton’s songs for his 2024 track “Gun to My Head,” and chose to use it after Merton, who is a descendant of Holocaust survivors, refused…
Germany’s Left Party, which won a plurality of votes in last month’s state elections in Berlin, agreed to measures to address antisemitism within the party as part of coalition talks with the Social Democrats and Greens…
The Royal College of Pharmacy ended its relationship with the U.K. arm of Teva Pharmaceuticals, becoming the second British institution after the Royal College of Nursing to do so; the college cited the Israeli pharmaceutical company’s unspecified “activities” as the reason for its cutting of ties, which came amid pressure from anti-Israel activists…
British counterterrorism police arrested two Latvian men after they were found inside RAF Molesworth, an air base used by the U.S. military and NATO for intelligence operations. Police said there is no evidence at this stage linking the incident to the suspected Iran-related plot at RAF Fairford…
The Israeli Defense Ministry opened a national pavilion and led a delegation of defense firms — including Elbit Systems, Israel Aerospace Industries and Rafael — at the Marrakech Airshow in Morocco this week, marking Israel’s first official participation in a Moroccan defense exhibition since signing the Abraham Accords…
The Gaza Children’s Village network, a U.S. nonprofit providing food, medical care and education to Palestinian children in Gaza, is planning to use AI to monitor classroom lessons for “hateful” speech and ensure teachers adhere to a peace-focused curriculum…
Three Saudi citizens were killed in Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and a Saudia Airlines aircraft…
Canadian philanthropist and investor Stephen Jarislowsky died at 101…
Worthy Reads
Hatred on the March: In Fox News, Jeff Miller and Stuart Eizenstat, respectively the current and former chairs of the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, raise concerns about the rise of antisemitism, aided by malign actors. “Furthermore, state actors like Iran, Qatar, China and Russia spread antisemitic and anti-Israel conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial to stir hatred of Jews and sow chaos in democracies. They are succeeding. Antisemitism is no longer lurking at society’s fringes. It is marching openly through its institutions. Violent antisemitism is at levels not seen since the Holocaust.” [FoxNews]
Facing the Palestinian Question: In The New York Times, Shira Efron, a senior fellow at RAND, posits that Israel’s next government must address questions around the Palestinians in order to improve the country’s global social standing. “No amount of walking is going to make the Palestinian question go away. The current government tried to settle the matter for good, seeking to bury the idea of the Palestinian question once and for all. Instead, this government may have exhumed it, turning it into a domestic issue in nations around the world and leaving whichever government comes next no choice but to finally reckon with it.” [NYTimes]
The Meaning of Mourning: In The Wall Street Journal, Kenneth Brander, the president and rosh yeshiva of Ohr Torah Stone, reflects on Jewish mourning practices. “We need the dead to take on an enduring role in the lives of the living. That takes time, and the shaping of time spent mourning is one of the purposes of ritual. In Jewish practice, when one says the name of a deceased person, one adds the phrase “may his memory be a blessing.” The goal of mourning is to make that phrase true: The memory of the dead actually improves our physical lives and our moral selves.” [WSJ]
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Picture of the Day
Israeli President Isaac Herzog presented FlyDubai 1073 passenger Asaf Rajuan with the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism during a ceremony yesterday at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem. Herzog and his wife, First Lady Michal Herzog, honored Rajuan and five other Israelis for their successful efforts for their efforts to thwart an attempted hijacking by the plane’s co-pilot, who had attacked his Indian captain and attempted to crash the plane with 174 people, most of whom were Israelis, on board. Haim Zach/GPO
Wine of the Week
Tzora Vineyards Shoresh Blanc 2025
Shoresh is the Hebrew word for root, and this week I was shown what grows from it. I was at Tzora Vineyards, in the Judean Hills, in the company of my dear friend Yoram, tasting the 2025 Shoresh Blanc, arguably one of the three finest white wines produced in Israel today, when the winery manager insisted on opening the same wine from the 2016 vintage. With nearly a decade in the bottle, the older wine was significantly better than the 2025, and the pairing of the two made for a wine tasting made in heaven.
A blend of predominantly sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, and semillon, the wine holds a subtle sweetness and a bright acidity in graceful balance. The front palate is overwhelmingly citrus; the mid-palate carries a whisper of vanilla, in the elegant, restrained manner of French chardonnay; and the finish is still sitting on my tongue three days later. This is a wine that will hold for a very long time. Serve it with the best cheese in your refrigerator. Buy the 2025 now, and give the roots time.
Birthdays
Evgeny Kissin, concert pianist and composer, turns 55 on Saturday
FRIDAY
Brian Lamb, founder and retired executive chairman and CEO of C-SPAN, known for his unique interview style, turns 85
Charles Miller, retired federal government manager and analyst
Bernard Dov Cooperman, associate professor of Jewish history at the University of Maryland, turns 80
Richard Marpet, Burbank, Calif., resident
David Jacobson, U.S. ambassador to Canada during the Obama administration, then vice-chair of BMO from 2013 to 2024, turns 75
Don Garber, commissioner of Major League Soccer since 1999, turns 69
David Gerstman, research analyst at the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting and Analysis
Eric S. Kassoff, president of Wilkes Artis, he is active in AIPAC, the Washington JCC and the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, turns 66
Debby Arzt-Mor, retired director of Jewish learning at the Brandeis School of San Francisco
Todd Richman, managing director and financial advisor at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management and chair emeritus of Democratic Majority For Israel
Simon Sinek, best-selling author and motivational speaker, his 2010 TED Talk about leadership is one of the most popular talks of all time, turns 53
Rabbi Shmuel Herzfeld, rosh yeshiva at Yeshivas Elimelech following 17 years as rabbi at Ohev Shalom Synagogue in Washington, D.C., turns 52
Neshama Carlebach, musician and singer, the protégé of her late father, singer-songwriter Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach, turns 52
Karin Elharar Hartstein, member of the Knesset for Yesh Atid., turns 49
Benjamin Berger, SVP for Jewish education, community and culture at Hillel International
Justin Barasky, partner at TKO Political
Ben Lusher, CEO at Denver-based energy firm Nexus Energy Partners, he was the national board chair of Moishe House (now known as Mem Global) until 2022
David Meyerson, executive director of international initiatives at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Institute for Legal Reform
Ian Karmel, stand-up comedian and Emmy Award-winning television writer, turns 42
Lily Goldstein, VP of portfolio management for LEO Impact Capital
David Cohen, counsel in O’Melveny’s NYC office, he was an executive assistant and advance associate in the Obama White House
Chaya Notik, physical therapist in Montreal
Jason Kaplan, VP at L’Oréal, turns 36
Julia Schechter, senior manager of policy communications at Snap
Daniel Rubin, Israel-based VP at JP Morgan
Kayla Levinson Segal, manager of in-stock management at Amazon in NYC
Inbal Rabin-Lieberman, security coordinator of Kibbutz Nir Am on Oct. 7, 2023, where her team killed 25 terrorists and the kibbutz suffered no casualties, turns 28
Nick Itkin, foil fencer, he won a team bronze medal at the 2020 Olympics (Tokyo) and an individual bronze medal at the 2024 Olympics (Paris), turns 27
SATURDAY
Laurence Tribe, professor emeritus of constitutional law at Harvard Law School, he has argued 36 cases at the U.S. Supreme Court, turns 85
Bruce Karatz, past chairman and CEO of KB Home, a nationwide home builder, turns 81
Miriam Adelson, physician, philanthropist and the majority owner of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation and the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, turns 81
Ronald Maurice “Ronny” Naftaniel, former director of the Center for Information and Documentation Israel in The Hague, promoting a positive view of Israel within Dutch society, turns 78
Meir Sheetrit, former member of the Knesset for 30 years on behalf of three political parties, he has served in seven ministerial roles, turns 78
Yedidya Atlas, longtime IDF chaplain
Diane Schmidt, award-winning writer and photographer based in Albuquerque, N.M.
David Lee Roth, vocalist and songwriter best known as the lead singer of Van Halen, he is an inductee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, turns 72
Bruce Karsh, co-chairman and chief investment officer of Oaktree Capital Management, turns 71
John M. Grunsfeld, former NASA astronaut who flew on five space shuttle missions, he has held many positions at NASA including chief scientist, turns 68
Neil Gurvitch, senior counsel at the Bethesda, Md., law firm of Selzer Gurvitch
John C. P. Goldberg, dean of Harvard Law School, turns 65
Rodney Freeman, founder and principal of Los Angeles-based real estate firm, Freeman Group
Sam Lauter, governmental relations and strategic communications principal at BMWL Public Affairs
Mark H. Shpall, head of school at de Toledo High School, a Jewish school in northern Los Angeles County
Gavin Newsom, governor of California since 2019, turns 59
Asi Cohen, Israeli comedian and actor, twice voted as the funniest Israeli, turns 52
Rabbi Schlomo Elieser Hofmeister, community rabbi of Vienna and chief rabbi of the Austrian Armed Forces, turns 51
Matti Friedman, columnist for The Free Press, he is the author of five acclaimed books, turns 49
Chanan Weissman, Jewish liaison during the first two years of the Biden administration, now the director of emerging technologies at the Maimonides Fund
Ian Sugar, president of Ian Sugar Strategies
Seth Levey, head of U.S. government relations and corporate affairs at Glencore
Avi Davidoff, VP in the Chicago office of Goldman Sachs
Rabbi Elliot Schrier, rabbi of Congregation Bnai Yeshurun in Teaneck, N.J., turns 37
Hali Haber Spiegel, director of education at CAMERA
Avner Netanyahu, winner of Israel’s National Bible Quiz as a teen and then a soldier in the IDF’s Combat Intelligence Collection Corps, he is a son of PM Benjamin Netanyahu, turns 32
Or Shaked, U.S. correspondent at Israel Hayom and deputy director at Jewish Virtual Library
SUNDAY
Saul Friedländer, professor emeritus of history at UCLA, winner of both a Pulitzer Prize and the Israel Prize, he won a MacArthur Genius fellowship in 1999, Saul Friedländer, turns 94
Ronald S. Liebman, former assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted then-VPOTUS Spiro T. Agnew in 1973, he is the author of four novels, turns 83
Amos Gitai, Israeli filmmaker and artist, turns 76
Patty Murray, U.S. senator (D-WA), turns 76
Barry G. Silverman, senior judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, turns 75
Helane Goldstein, past president and then board chair of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Potomac, Md., turns 73
Ron Prosor, Israeli ambassador to Germany, he has also been Israel’s ambassador to both the U.K. and the U.N., turns 68
Shari Aronson, NYC-based philanthropist
Mark Gurvis, former EVP at JFNA, now CEO at the Vancouver, British Columbia-based Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation, turns 67
Sharon Rockman, owner of Sababa Travel
Peter Turman, Los Angeles-based real estate agent
Rob Speyer, president and CEO of NYC-based real estate firm Tishman Speyer, turns 57
Asher Epstein, CEO of Focus at 50, helping Israeli companies break into the U.S. market
Joshua London, head of philanthropy at the University of Haifa UK, also an advisor at the Yad Vashem UK Foundation, turns 51
Michael Dickson, executive director of the StandWithUs Israel office in Jerusalem, turns 49
Brianne Nadeau, member of the Council of the District of Columbia since 2015, turns 46
Jamie Weinstein, political journalist, opinion commentator and satirist, he is the host of “The Dispatch” podcast, turns 43
A super PAC supporting Rogers ran an ad during the debate featuring a mother whose child attended school at Temple Israel and said she couldn’t vote for El-Sayed
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed campaigns at The Meanwhile Bar on October 8, 2026 in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
In the first debate of the general election for Senate in Michigan, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) repeatedly hit Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed over his supporters’ ties to and support for terrorist groups and El-Sayed’s comments on the Temple Israel terrorist attack — accusations that El-Sayed largely did not respond to during the deeply acrimonious exchange.
El-Sayed, for his part, said he would not support defensive aid to Israel even if it was under attack, framed Israel as a threat to the United States comparable to Iran, defended his decision not to issue a statement honoring the anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and continued to sidestep questions on Iran’s persecution of its own civilians.
“He has taken money from groups in support of the Muslim Brotherhood. He has taken money from individuals on his campaign who openly support Hamas, Hezbollah, al-Qaida,” Rogers said several times throughout the debate, and accused El-Sayed of failing to condemn terrorist groups and attacks.
“The prattling and repetition of his argument does not solve the dismantling of terrorist networks that America demands,” Rogers added, framing himself — with a military and FBI background — as the clear choice for those concerned about national security, while El-Sayed repeatedly dinged Rogers as a war hawk who had been an avid cheerleader for the war in Iran and other conflicts.
At one point, Rogers suggested that El-Sayed opposed federal counterterrorism programs because people in El-Sayed’s family were tied to terrorism, leading El-Sayed to goad him, “Go ahead and say that I’m a — go ahead and say it. You’ve been tiptoeing around it the whole time. Just say it.”
Though he fired back at most of the attacks Rogers leveled throughout the debate, El-Sayed offered no direct response or rebuttal to Rogers’ barbs about his ties to terrorism. “He wants this to be about anything but his own record … going after my mom, my sister, got nothing to actually say about me. I’m a dad and a doctor,” the Democratic nominee said.
El-Sayed’s mother worked for the Islamic American Relief Agency, which was designated as a terrorist organization for supporting al-Qaida, and his sister-in-law sued to be removed from a federal terrorism watchlist, according to recent reports.
He also insisted that he had condemned the Temple Israel attack. (El-Sayed apologized for his initial response to the attack, which many in the Jewish community saw as justifying or excusing it, as he tried to appeal to Jewish voters this summer.)
Asked whether he considered Israel or Iran a bigger threat to the United States — a question he dismissed earlier this week when asked by a reporter — El-Sayed again called the question a “ridiculous hypothetical.”
“Our ostensible ally in Israel has lobbied us to go to war with Iran. We have watched as Iran has responded by bombing all kinds of countries in the Middle East, and then choking off the world’s energy supply,” he continued. “I think both of them have proven dangerous in their own way, one at risk of attacking us, one getting us into wars we have no business fighting.”
El-Sayed said he would not support providing defensive weapons to Israel if it were attacked by Iran or another state, and framed Israel as the aggressor against Iran, with the aim of drawing the U.S. into the Iran war and annexing southern Lebanon.
Abdul El-Sayed would not vote to provide defensive military weapons to Israel if it were under attack, the Michigan Democratic Senate nominee said during last night’s debate. Read more: https://t.co/HzcvnWB5Fg https://t.co/RbMKkzJwbf
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) October 9, 2026
When Rogers raised the fact that El-Sayed had not issued a statement to commemorate the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks — describing in detail some of Hamas’ atrocities — El-Sayed responded, “I’m not somebody who tries to make political theater out of other people’s pain.”
Later, in the post-debate spin room, El-Sayed reportedly said, “Let me make a clear point here: I learned that when people are grieving, don’t step on their grief, and I know that how much things were being watched that this was going to be — whatever I said — it was going to feel like politicizing that moment. So I decided not to say anything.”
Pressed during the debate on whether he would condemn the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, El-Sayed broadly said he “will condemn any use of force against a diplomatic population abroad,” but focused his response primarily on condemning the war in Iran.
El-Sayed said that he believes that the U.S. can end the war in Iran without reopening the Strait of Hormuz or ensuring Iran cannot produce nuclear weapon and address those issues diplomatically after the end of the fighting.
Rogers, who has recently urged an end to the Iran war, said the conflict cannot end if Iran maintains the capability to produce nuclear weapons, but argued that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back 20 years so that is not a relevant concern at this point.
He also said that the use of nuclear weapons would be the only red line that Israel could cross that would cause him to withdraw support for the Jewish state.
Asked whether he would welcome public support from AIPAC, given reporting that his allies had urged the group not to get openly involved in the general election, Rogers sidestepped the issue but said that he would welcome anybody “that wants to help my campaign stop a guy who can’t condemn terrorism in our own country because he’s so close to the people who are supporting the Muslim Brotherhood.”
A newly formed super PAC, Together for Michigan, ran an ad during the debate featuring comments from Taylor Weintraub, a mother of a student at the Temple Israel preschool that was attacked by a terrorist earlier this year.
“Since I could vote, [I] have been a Democrat and have considered myself a Democrat. When Abdul El-Sayed said, ‘Hurt people hurt people,’ it allows people to believe that this is acceptable,” Weintraub said in the ad. “It was justification as to why a terrorist would want to hurt all of these children. … He put the words out there and he cannot take them back.”
“Mike Rogers is here to listen to us and here to help us feel safe,” Weintraub continued.
The ad directed viewers to a website for Democrats supporting Rogers.
Ahead of the debate, members of the Nonnegotiable Michigan campaign, which has been pressuring El-Sayed to make commitments to Jewish safety and Israel’s right to exist, held a call with reporters on Thursday to urge both candidates to address their concerns during the debate.
Organizers said that thousands of people have now signed onto the movement, but they still haven’t received sufficient responses from El-Sayed’s campaign.
“If anything, he’s only given a lot of Jewish Michiganders reasons not to vote for him,” Rabbi Aaron Starr, one of the organizers of the effort said. “It’s been very alarming to see that he hasn’t shown more support.”
But Starr emphasized that members of his community aren’t just choosing between Rogers and El-Sayed — some are also considering writing in a candidate or sitting out the Senate race altogether.
Two leaders of the group, Rabbi Josh Whinston and Joan Lowenstein, a member of the Michigan Democratic Party Central Committee and president of the Jewish Federation of Ann Arbor, said that — despite Rogers’ public appeals and private outreach to members of the Jewish community — they haven’t heard from Rogers or his camp directly about trying to secure their backing.
Lowenstein noted that she’s a longtime AIPAC club member, “so I’m definitely on a list if he was going to reach out — and I have not gotten anything.”
Some other leaders of the campaign have been in touch with Rogers’ team, however: another leader of the Nonnegotiable campaign told Jewish Insider Rogers had reached out to them, while El-Sayed had not. Starr did not say specifically which candidates he had met or spoken with, but told JI that he had “outreach from a variety of candidates, both Democrat and Republican.”
The Nonnegotiable organizers also emphasized that their message is not just one for the Michigan Senate race, but also for the Democratic Party as a whole and the 2028 presidential field. Starr said that, even if El-Sayed wins, the difference in the margin of victory between himself and other statewide Democratic candidates will also be a significant message to the party.
The Nonnegotiable members said they were disappointed by El-Sayed’s failure to issue a statement on Oct. 7, particularly given that he has been consistent in honoring other Jewish holidays in the past month.
“His lack of communication is noticeable, and it comes back to what we’ve been saying — I’ve been saying now for a while is — when he communicates, he often communicates out of both sides of his mouth, and when he doesn’t communicate, it also becomes noticeable,” Starr said.
Members of the Nonnegotiable group emphasized that they wanted to hear from Rogers at the debate not only about support for Israel and the Jewish community, but also about standing up for other priority issues including civil rights, democracy, abortion rights, the Supreme Court and other issues they consider to be Jewish values.
Several Jewish university students in Michigan also joined Thursday’s press call, having publicly signed onto the Nonnegotiable petition.
Jacob Reich, a sophomore at the University of Michigan, said that he is organizing for and supporting Democratic candidates in other states, but in Michigan feels “torn between both my Jewish identity and supporting the Democratic candidate in my state.”
“We don’t have a candidate who supports all of my beliefs,” Robert Kashan, a freshman at the University of Michigan, agreed.
Reich emphasized that he saw multiple people on his campus on the Oct. 7 anniversary wearing Hamas T-shirts, but “I expect a lot more from a leader, especially someone who would be representing me in the Senate … so I would expect at least a statement memorializing Oct. 7.”
A provision in draft versions of the 2027 NDAA mandating a department-wide hate symbols policy was prompted by a Coast Guard effort to reclassify swastikas as ‘potentially divisive’
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Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Subcomittee on Cybersecurity, speaks during a hearing on Artificial Intelligence cyber capabilities, on Capitol Hill on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) and Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) wrote to the leaders of the Senate and House Armed Services Committees on Thursday to urge them to ensure that a provision mandating the creation of a Department of Defense-wide policy on hate symbols remains in the final version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act.
Similar language was adopted in both the Senate and House versions of the bills, but the final NDAA remains under negotiation by lawmakers. The push comes largely in response to a back-and-forth last year in the Coast Guard over whether displays of swastikas and nooses would be considered banned hate symbols or only “potentially divisive.”
“Existing DoD hate symbol policies vary across our military service branches, creating inconsistent standards and potential enforcement gaps when it comes to addressing their display,” the three lawmakers said. “This lack of uniformity makes it harder to prevent, identify, and address symbols that promote hate, and can even allow displays to go unaddressed depending on branch-specific rules.”
They emphasized that such symbols in the military workplace “undermine unit cohesion, erode morale, and threaten … good order and discipline.” Bell’s amendment adding the hate symbols provision was adopted by a voice vote in the House Armed Services Committee’s NDAA markup.
The lawmakers emphasized that it was only sustained pushback from lawmakers that prompted the Coast Guard and Department of Homeland Security, which has oversight over the Coast Guard, to reverse course.
“The swastika is not potentially divisive,” the lawmakers continued. “It is one of the most universally recognized symbols of hatred in human history. It represents antisemitism, racial supremacy, violent extremism, and the systematic persecution and murder of millions.”
The lawmakers similarly said that the noose is a “symbol of racial terror,” representing the lynching and terror used to threaten and deny the rights of Black Americans.
The GOP Michigan Senate nominee said, ‘When people tell you who they are, believe them’
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Michigan Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers.
Former Rep. Mike Rogers, the Michigan Republican nominee for Senate, issued a statement Wednesday commemorating the third anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and bashing his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, while El-Sayed remained silent.
El-Sayed’s rhetoric and stances on Israel and other issues of concern to the Jewish community have been heavily scrutinized, and he is facing significant skepticism from traditional Jewish Democrats in Michigan, as some community leaders and elected officials say they plan to sit out the Senate race or support Rogers.
El-Sayed’s campaign did not respond to multiple inquiries from JI about whether he planned to issue a statement on the Oct. 7 anniversary, and has not shared any such statement publicly.
“Three years ago today, the world witnessed in horror the worst massacre of Jewish people since the Holocaust,” Rogers said. “This dark day is a sad reminder that evil exists all around us. And how we respond to evil determines how much it grows.”
Rogers went on accuse El-Sayed of stoking hate and violence, pointing to a fundraising message his campaign sent on the second anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks criticizing Israel (his campaign has said it was sent in error); criticizing El-Sayed for campaigning with Hasan Piker, who has been dismissive of the attacks; and issuing a widely criticized statement following the terrorist attack on Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich.
“Hate like that has no home in Michigan,” Rogers continued. “You have my work, I will always stand proudly alongside Michigan’s Jewish community, against terrorism, and for Israel’s right to defend itself. We must root out antisemitic hate in all forms — because when we say ‘never again,’ we must mean it.”
Rogers later called out El-Sayed for not issuing a statement.
“Radio silence from Abdul El-Sayed about the anniversary of the Oct. 7 attacks. … I wish I could say this is shocking,” Rogers said in a late-afternoon post on X. “When people tell you who they are, believe them.”
Jocelyn Benson, the party’s gubernatorial nominee, is also slated to attend the Oct. 24 event
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Former U.S. President Barack Obama waves to players at Obama Presidential Center on July 24, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
Former President Barack Obama is set to campaign on Oct. 24 in Detroit with Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson, around the beginning of early voting in the state.
Holding the Michigan Senate seat is among Democrats’ top priorities in the midterm elections. Polling has shown the race between El-Sayed and Republican former Rep. Mike Rogers is highly competitive, with Republicans making the seat one of their top targets.
El-Sayed has struggled to consolidate support from Jewish Democratic voters and is also working to win over Black voters.
El-Sayed campaigned over the weekend with Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), their first joint appearance since El-Sayed became the nominee.
Slotkin: ‘People want to see a Jewish woman and a Muslim man being able to get along, debate, push and pull each other’
JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images
Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed (L) reacts as Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) speaks during a town hall campaign event in Warren, Michigan, on October 3, 2026.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) argued during her first joint campaign appearance with Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed that the Jewish vote is not a monolith and that some Jewish voters are prioritizing other issues than Israel and antisemitism in the state’s upcoming competitive Senate race.
Many prominent Jewish Democrats in Michigan have offered strident criticism of El-Sayed, saying they will not vote for him without major commitments on Israel policy and antisemitism — or they plan to vote for his opponent. Slotkin is Jewish.
“There’s no such thing as the Jewish voters, just like there’s no such thing as the Muslim voters or the Black voters. People have their own views and the things that they prioritize are going to drive their vote,” she said during a joint appearance on MS NOW after participating in a joint town hall event.
“People want to see a Jewish woman and a Muslim man being able to get along, debate, push and pull each other, and move the state forward.”
"People want to see a Jewish woman and Muslim man … move the state forward." Sen. Elissa Slotkin and Abdul El-Sayed spoke to MS NOW about their first joint appearance on the campaign trail, as El-Sayed’s race against Mike Rogers appears neck and neck. https://t.co/y8aVj0CEkp
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) October 5, 2026
El-Sayed said that he and Slotkin agree that “you ought to be safe in your place of worship” regardless of religion. El-Sayed has faced criticism from many in the Jewish community for responding to the terrorist attack targeting Temple Israel in West Bloomfield, Mich., by saying “hurt people hurt people.” He has since apologized for those remarks.
During their joint appearance at the town hall in Macomb County, Mich., on Saturday, Slotkin downplayed disagreements between moderate and progressive Democrats, arguing that the “real debate among Democrats right now is fight versus flight,” she said. “I am on Team Fight and I need someone with me who is on Team Fight.”
El-Sayed also emphasized that the Iran war is driving up prices at home, and said that the U.S. has “no business fighting” the war.
Slotkin also called Trump “the most successful corrupt leader in the history of the world” and said that former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein “would spit out his tea at the amount of money that Donald Trump has stolen from his own people.”
The president posted the GOP senator’s personal cell phone number online, urging constituents to pressure him directly
CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images
This illustration photo shows a clock in the background of a smartphone showing the time after daylight saving time was implemented in Los Angeles, California, on March 15, 2022.
President Donald Trump and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) publicly sparred over the weekend about legislation that Trump supports, and Cotton opposes, to make daylight saving time permanent.
Trump has been pressuring the Senate to pass the legislation, which the House passed on a bipartisan basis, while Cotton has been its most visible opponent in the Senate. Orthodox Jewish groups have opposed the push to eliminate the time changes, warning of the impact on morning prayer and schoolchildren’s schedules. Barring that, Orthodox groups have urged making standard time permanent instead.
In a major broadside against Cotton, Trump posted the senator’s cell phone number on Truth Social, urging constituents to contact him personally.
“Everyone in Arkansas, a State I love, and won 3 times, the last by … 34 points, tell Tom to, GET IT DONE!” Trump wrote. “It’s very expensive for our Nation where you have high and dangerous steeples to reach, like on churches and municipal buildings. Almost everybody wants ‘The Sunshine Protection Act’ to pass, except for Tom Cotton.”
Trump attached a letter from PGA Tour President Brian Rolapp to his message to Cotton. The golf and leisure industries, particularly in Florida, have been among the most prominent advocates for permanent daylight saving time. The agricultural industry, particularly in northern states, has generally opposed the change, despite claims by Trump.
Though he didn’t address Trump directly, Cotton responded by highlighting a past experiment with ending time changes several decades ago, which quickly became unpopular and was reversed.
“No one likes changing the clock, me included, but Congress has enacted permanent Daylight Savings Time multiple times before and repealed it each time once Americans experienced absurdly late sunrises in the winter,” Cotton said. “Arkansans don’t want their kids going to school in the pitch dark, and I’ll always put Arkansas first.”
Trump fired back by accusing Cotton of blocking the legislation over “ego,” dismissing the past overturning of permanent daylight saving time as a result of congressional negotiating and asserting — contrary to polling from the time that showed substantial opposition to the policy after it was put in place — that “everybody loved it.”
“If Tom Cotton were putting Arkansas first, he would give them an extra hour of daylight and, more importantly, they wouldn’t have to run all over their houses, farms, work places, and everywhere else, twice a year, having to change their Clocks, and often forgetting to do so. That is really putting Arkansas FIRST, and I know, because, unlike Tom, I won that Great State, three times, and by almost 40 points,” Trump said, also emphasizing that Cotton and other Senate Republicans “NEED” the “WIN.”
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), whose state has utilized permanent standard time for decades, chimed in to say, “Senator Cotton is right. Permanent Daylight Savings has been tried and Americans didn’t like it.”
“The better way is permanent Standard Time because it’s based on science. No dark mornings, it keeps our time in sync with the Sun, and no more changing the clocks. Arizona has been on Standard Time year round since 1968 without issue,” Kelly wrote on X.
The ad features an Iranian American who pressed El-Sayed to condemn Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
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Michigan Senate candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Mike Rogers.
Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee for Senate in Michigan, released a new ad featuring the University of Michigan student who confronted his Democratic opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, over his positions on Iran and its repressive Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in a viral exchange last week.
In the 30-second campaign ad posted on Friday, Iman Dashti, who identifies as Persian American, says that his family “escaped oppression in Iran and found freedom in America,” before calling El-Sayed “a real threat to our national security and our values.”
“Abdul raises money from dangerous people who finance terrorist networks, and his family has been linked to the Muslim Brotherhood and al-Qaida,” Dashti alleges. “I know the threats of radical Islam, and I know Abdul El-Sayed can never, ever be a U.S. senator.”
A spokesperson for Rogers’ campaign confirmed to Jewish Insider the seven-figure ad buy, launched in conjunction with the National Republican Senatorial Committee, is running statewide on digital platforms and will begin airing on TV on Saturday.
The ad comes after Dashti had confronted El-Sayed during a town hall last week at the University of Michigan, pressing the Democrat to unequivocally condemn the Iranian regime. He also voiced dismay over leaked audio in which El-Sayed admitted he did not want to comment publicly on the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, after he was killed during U.S.-Israeli airstrikes in February at the start of the Iran war.
“That silence had a gaping hole in our community,” Dashti said, asking El-Sayed if he stands “unequivocally against the IRGC,” the Islamic Republic’s hardline military force.
In his response, El-Sayed did not explicitly denounce Iran or the IRGC even as he also clarified during a heated back-and-forth that he wants “freedom and democracy for the people of Iran — no question.”
El-Sayed further confirmed that he will “always stand for and with democratic movements,” but clarified he did not “believe that we were in the right to go to war to topple the government of Iran,” reiterating his criticism of President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a war against the Islamic Republic.
While El-Sayed’s comments drew applause at the town hall, his answers soon faced backlash after they had circulated online. Dashti later went on Fox News to speak out against El-Sayed before shooting the ad for Rogers.
In a social media message accompanying the ad, Rogers said that Dashti “and his family deserve better than someone connected to the Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda.”
“They deserve someone who stands up to the IRGC, not someone who defends it,” he added. “Michigan deserves better.”
A spokesperson for El-Sayed did not respond to a request for comment about the ad, the latest in a series of attacks from Rogers seeking to cast his opponent as a terrorist sympathizer aligned with extremists.
Rogers, a former congressman who unsuccessfully ran for Senate last cycle, has long been a vocal critic of Iran and had initially backed Trump’s decision to attack the Islamic Republic.
But as the war has emerged as a vulnerability for Republicans amid voter dissatisfaction with rising prices, Rogers has more recently called for an end to the conflict — underscoring a rare point of alignment with El-Sayed in their bitterly contested race to win a key battleground state.
“The war in Iran needs to end, and end quickly,” Rogers argued in an ad his campaign released last month. “When it does, energy costs will plummet — but Michigan families can’t afford to wait for that to happen.”
The resolution, if it passed, could have triggered a cutoff of U.S. aid to Israel
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at a press conference, alongside Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), on upcoming Joint Resolutions of Disapproval aimed at blocking weapon sales to Israel on Nov. 19, 2024.
Nearly all Senate Democrats voted on Tuesday for a resolution requiring the State Department to produce a report for Congress on violence by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank, with a focus on the killings and detentions of Americans.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was the only Democratic senator to vote against the resolution — a striking turnabout from a vote on a similar resolution more than two years ago, when a small minority of Democrats voted in favor. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the sole Republican to support the measure. The resolution failed by a 51-47 vote.
If the resolution had passed, and the State Department failed to produce the report in 30 days, most U.S. security assistance to Israel would have been cut off. After such a report was delivered, any senator would also have been able to force a vote on cutting off aid to Israel.
The last time the Senate voted on a similar resolution in January 2024 — which would have mandated a State Department investigation of Israel for potential war crimes — just 11 Democrats voted for it, with many raising concerns about the automatic 30-day cutoff deadline for U.S. aid and arguing that it would be impractical and unreasonable to expect a report to be completed on such a timeline.
But this resolution, led by Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT), had 23 total co-sponsors at its introduction, including historically staunch supporters of Israel who have opposed more direct Sanders-led efforts to block specific U.S. arms sales to Israel.
The broad Democratic support for the new resolution is a signal both of the party’s shift against Israel over the past two years in the wake of the Gaza war, as well as the particular concern and outrage among even reliably pro-Israel Democrats over settler violence and other incidents in the West Bank, a likely focus for Israel policy in a potential Democratic congressional majority.
Leaders of the legislation, like Kaine, argued that it was necessary because Israel had continuously ignored entreaties from the United States.
In a statement to Jewish Insider, Fetterman said, “This evening, as the third anniversary of the October 7 massacre approaches, my caucus used another vote to target Israel — not Iran, Hezbollah or Hamas. I stood with Israel.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), a reliable supporter of Israel who cosponsored the resolution said in a statement that, “Violent, lethal lawlessness on the West Bank is a betrayal of Israel’s moral standing and our shared values, and must be stopped.”
“This resolution is now necessary, after so many have urged action and violence only continues to rise,” he continued. “Failing to enforce clear legal prohibitions and protections has cost American and Palestinian lives — and deeply threatens a peaceful, stable future for all Israelis and Palestinians.”
Ahead of the vote, Paul introduced a bill targeting U.S. aid to the Palestinian Authority “and other Palestinian governing entities in the West Bank and Gaza” until such entity recognizes Israel and its right to exist as a Jewish state, renounces terrorism, removes any terror-tied individuals from its security services, ends funding for anti-American and anti-Israel incitement, renounces Hamas and its Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel and complies with “previous diplomatic agreements.”
The bill would also require a report within 30 days on the human rights practices of the PA, Hamas and other governing entities in the West Bank and Gaza, including killings of Israelis, Jews and other minority groups and the use of torture and detention without trial.
Unlike the Democratic-led resolution, the Paul bill does not enjoy privileged status and would have to be passed by both chambers, rather than just the Senate, before taking effect.
The U.S. already bans direct aid to the PA under the Taylor Force Act until the PA ends support for terrorists and their families, and it is subject to a range of other restrictions, but Paul’s legislation would expand those limitations.
Paul said on the Senate floor that it should not be controversial to know the circumstances of the deaths of U.S. citizens and human rights abuses in areas where the U.S. has sent billions in taxpayer money.
Paul requested that the Senate pass the bill by unanimous consent, but Van Hollen objected, emphasizing that the U.S. does not provide taxpayer funding to Hamas and in fact imposes sanctions on the terrorist group. He also acknowledged human rights abuses by the PA, but said that the Paul bill would cut off U.S. counterterrorism cooperation with the PA.
Van Hollen said he would happily support legislation seeking a deeper report on the PA or a resolution condemning Hamas, but said he objected to the conflation of the PA and Hamas.
“Congress must at least ensure that those taxpayer dollars advance our core interests, let alone not reward those who seek to harm us or our allies,” Paul said. “Yet, despite American generosity, human rights abuses in the West Bank and Gaza, committed by the Palestinian Authority, Hamas and other groups, have been well documented over the years.”
“Funding Palestinian entities that do not recognize Israel’s right to exist and fund anti-American and anti-Israel activities makes no sense. At its core, this legislation establishes a principle of accountability,” Paul continued.
Rep. Wesley Hunt, made a series of inflammatory remarks about Saudi Arabia during his military service and failed Senate bid that could complicate his confirmation
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
Before being nominated to be U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia earlier this week, Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) pointed to his experience serving as a military diplomatic liaison to Saudi Arabia to offer strident criticisms of the U.S. ally.
The past comments could prove to be an issue in his confirmation process, or lead to a frosty reception if he is confirmed, a prospect that currently appears uncertain.
As previously reported by Jewish Insider, in 2022, Hunt suggested that he did not view Saudi Arabia as a “true ally” and highlighted the Saudi nationality of many involved in the 9/11 attacks.
“I learned a lot about what our interests need to be and who we need to be in the business of supporting for the future, because [Israel is] our one true ally in the region,” Hunt said during a virtual event with AIPAC.
He added that the U.S. “cannot let our guard down” with Middle East partners generally because “some of these countries are bad actors. They’re rogue nations, some of them.”
During his failed Senate campaign, Hunt — along with many other Texas Republicans — made his opposition to Islamic Sharia law a central element of his campaign, repeatedly pointing to his own experience in Saudi Arabia and Iraq as an example of its dangers.
“People who dismiss Sharia law as fear-mongering have never lived under it,” Hunt said. “I lived in Saudi Arabia. I lived in Iraq. I’ve seen what that system looks like in real life, not on cable news. Public beheadings happened there not long ago. Women couldn’t even drive when I was stationed there.”
Hunt also said, of Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), “He’s been soft on this because he’s never faced what I’ve seen. He’s never stood face-to-face with evil in its purest form. He’s never witnessed the public beheadings, the brutal treatment of women, or the barbaric enforcement of Sharia law.”
He said that Sharia law “should be banned in America” and joined the Sharia-Free America Caucus, warning that Sharia law is on the rise in America, though no U.S. jurisdiction enforces the Muslim legal code.
Other U.S. officials have historically been critical of Saudi Arabia’s restrictive laws for women and other elements of the country’s judicial system, which have since been loosened.
Also during the Senate campaign, Hunt said he had not felt safe, during his time living in Saudi Arabia, from jihadi sympathizers following the killing of Osama bin Laden.
“These are our allies that we are working with every single day, and we were actually fearful of our lives,” Hunt said at the time. “Now, imagine letting people, with that mindset, come to our country, and you wonder why we are waking up to having dead national guardsmen … the mentality of these people never ended. It never stops. The jihad never ends. We are the infidel.”
Semafor reported on Thursday that some Republican senators harbor concerns about Hunt’s nomination and are unlikely to allow it to move forward quickly.
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.
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 congressman previously served as a military diplomatic liaison in the kingdom; it’s unclear whether the Senate will be able to process his nomination before the end of the current Congress
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Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
President Donald Trump on Monday informed the Senate that he plans to nominate Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX) as the U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia, moving toward filling one of the numerous Middle East ambassadorship posts that have sat vacant since the start of his second administration.
Hunt, a former Army officer and Apache helicopter pilot, served two deployments in Saudi Arabia as a military diplomatic liaison. He is serving his second term in the House, but lost a primary bid for Texas’ Senate seat earlier this year.
“It is the honor of a lifetime to accept President Trump’s nomination to serve as the next United States Ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” Hunt said in a statement on X. “Having served in the region both in combat as an Army officer and for two years as a diplomatic liaison in the Kingdom, I understand the strategic importance of the partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia and the profound responsibility of this position.”
Hunt said in 2022 during a virtual event with AIPAC that Israel is the “one true ally” of the United States in the Middle East, while noting that many of 9/11 hijackers, as well as Osama Bin Laden himself, were from Saudi Arabia.
“I learned a lot about what our interests need to be and who we need to be in the business of supporting for the future, because that’s our one true ally in the region,” Hunt said at the event.
Addressing the then-fledgling Abraham Accords, Hunt was supportive but cautious. “Some of these countries are bad actors. They’re rogue nations, some of them,” he continued. “Just because we have something set up like the Abraham Accords — which I think is good for the entire world, especially for the region — we cannot let our guard down.”
He recently joined a letter calling for a Department of Justice investigation into efforts by an official in New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s administration to meet with the Iranian ambassador to the United Nations.
Hunt has been a co-chair of the Congressional Caucus on Black-Jewish Relations.
But he was one of just 21 House members who voted last year against a resolution expressing support for the State Department’s global guidelines on combating antisemitism. Antisemitism envoy Ambassador Yehuda Kaploun has been working to tackle antisemitism in Saudi Arabia, including stripping antisemitic content from the country’s school curricula.
During the AIPAC event, Hunt also described himself as the “energy congressman of the world,” given that he represents the offices of many major energy companies in Houston, making it part of his job to defend the energy industry — also a major industry for Saudi Arabia.
It will be logistically difficult for the Senate to consider Hunt’s nomination before the midterm elections, and with a slew of previous nominees still under consideration, it’s unclear whether the Senate will be able to process Hunt’s nomination before the end of the year. Should Democrats retake the upper chamber, Hunt’s confirmation would be more difficult.
The nomination comes at a highly sensitive time in the U.S.-Saudi relationship, as the two countries move toward a nuclear deal that would reportedly allow for nuclear enrichment inside Saudi Arabia, which is set to be reviewed by Congress in the coming months.
Saudi Arabia is also at a major crisis point with the Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen as hostilities have flared after several years of quiet. The Houthis this weekend seized critical port cities and islands along the coastline of the Red Sea and launched missiles from Iraq that disabled the pipeline that Saudi Arabia had been using to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
President Donald Trump said he doesn’t plan to intervene, despite reported Saudi pleas.
The kingdom has also recently been recalibrating its regional position, with Saudi Arabia moving away from normalization with Israel, experiencing tensions with its regional rival the United Arab Emirates, forming new ties with Turkey and Pakistan and again allowing the promotion of Islamist extremism.
While an anti-Israel activist was defeated in the Senate primary, another prominent candidate who attacked AIPAC won her hotly contested congressional primary
(Joseph Prezioso/Getty Images)
New Hampshire Democratic Senate candidate, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) speaks to supporters as he attends a canvass launch rally as he campaigns for office on September 6, 2026 in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Tuesday night’s Democratic primaries in New Hampshire delivered mixed results for candidates who made attacks on Israel a centerpiece of their closing arguments.
Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) trounced progressive activist Karishma Manzur by nearly a 2-to-1 margin (65%-33%) in the Senate primary, after Manzur attacked Pappas for his stance on Israel and called him a “shill for AIPAC” as a central message of her campaign.
Pappas is now facing a competitive general election against former Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), who is running to rejoin the Senate after nearly two decades out of office. Sununu is expected to be a formidable challenger who holds a narrow lead over Pappas in recent public polling.
The Cook Political Report rates the race as “Lean Democratic.” A longtime New Hampshire pollster told JI last week that Sununu is the underdog but is a strong and experienced candidate, and has a well-known and popular family name in the state, with a record of support from moderates and independents whom Pappas has previously worked to attract.
Pappas will likely be buoyed, however, by the strong national environment for Democrats, while Sununu will need to hold together a coalition of moderates skeptical of President Donald Trump and MAGA diehards in the GOP base.
Meanwhile, Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), narrowly beat military veteran and second-time candidate Maura Sullivan. Shaheen closed out the race with claims that AIPAC, which did not endorse and was not involved in either race, had been bundling contributions for Sullivan.
Shaheen’s advantage is partly attributable to her family name — but Sullivan came close to overcoming that advantage despite starting the race trailing Shaheen by double digits.
Shaheen went on air in the closing days of the race with ads accusing Sullivan of being “bankrolled” by AIPAC, and leaned into her opposition to Israel in interviews. Sullivan hit back in her own ad saying she doesn’t take any money from AIPAC.
Under pressure from the left in the wake of the war in Gaza, both Pappas and Sullivan recalibrated their stances on Israel during their primary races. Pappas, a pro-Israel moderate for most of his time in the House, backed away from his previous relationship with AIPAC and called for a “reset” of the U.S.-Israel relationship while voting “present” on an amendment to strip aid from Israel.
Democratic Majority for Israel and the Jewish Democratic Council of America congratulated Pappas on his victory.
Sullivan, who rejected efforts to cut aid to Israel earlier in the race, came around to supporting the suspension of at least some weapons sales to Israel.
The pro-Israel moderate has been recalibrating his foreign policy views under pressure from a far-left anti-Israel opponent
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Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH), Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, talks with voters on August 16, 2026.
Moderate Rep. Chris Pappas (D-NH) remains favored to win the New Hampshire Democratic Senate primary, but the race is shaping up to be more competitive than expected, both in the Democratic primary and in the general election.
In the primary, Pappas’ progressive challenger, Karishma Manzur, has been gaining ground against him, and leveling attacks related to Pappas’ past support from AIPAC and backing of the U.S.-Israel relationship. Pappas has subtly recalibrated his foreign policy views during the primary.
An Aug. 20-24 poll by the University of New Hampshire showed Pappas’ lead had shrunk to 13 percentage points — though other surveys have shown Pappas with a more significant lead, including a mid-August St. Anselm poll that put him up 31 points and an internal campaign poll that showed him with a 56-point lead.
Pappas has been a pro-Israel moderate in the House, though he voted “present” on the recent amendment by Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) to cut off U.S. aid to Israel and, with most Democrats, against a college campus anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions bill. He was endorsed by AIPAC in his House races, but the group has not yet made any endorsements in the Senate race.
Manzur, who accuses Israel of genocide, has made attacks on Pappas for past support from AIPAC a central element of her campaign, going after him for “tak[ing] money from corporate PACs, super PACs, AIPAC, foreign lobbyists” (foreign political donations are illegal) while stating she only takes donations from “regular American folks,” a comment that the New Hampshire Jewish Federation has described as offensive.
She has also accused Pappas of taking a “payoff” from AIPAC in exchange for voting “against humanitarian aid to starving children.”
Her campaign has rented a billboard in Pappas’ home city attacking him over his ties to AIPAC.
Manzur, in a statement to Jewish Insider on Friday, said that Pappas was “unwilling to answer a simple question about AIPAC’s endorsement” and accused him of “hypocrisy.”
“Pappas is a shill for AIPAC and corporations supporting the war machine, so it’s no surprise that special interests are pouring in millions to buy this seat,” she said. That’s exactly why I’m surging in the polls: people are sick and tired of business-as-usual politicians like Pappas who serve their wealthy donors instead of the people they represent. Granite Staters deserve leaders with honesty, integrity, and accountability. I am honest, un-bought, and the people’s candidate, fighting every day to improve people’s lives. That’s why I will win this primary.”
Pappas, for his part, has toned down his past support for the Jewish state, saying after the vote on the Massie amendment, “I cannot support this amendment as written, but also cannot support the disproportionate, extreme policies of the Netanyahu government” and calling for a “reset” of the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Despite appearing at an AIPAC summit earlier this year, and recording a video in front of an AIPAC backdrop expressing support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, he has more recently downplayed that appearance as a meeting with local constituents, rather than with AIPAC as an organization.
Asked recently on CNN about his past support from AIPAC, he downplayed his relationship with the group, saying, “I appreciate the support I have from individuals out there” and said he’s working to change campaign finance laws, as well as emphasized his criticisms of the Israeli government and efforts to push for a two-state solution.
Andrew Smith, the director of the University of New Hampshire Survey Center, attributed Manzur’s growing share of the vote to left-wing energy in the party. New Hampshire Democrats, he explained, have traditionally put forward “people who are kind of middle of the road, not flashy, somewhat boring as candidates … who [aren’t] going to be the most dynamic campaigners,” including Pappas.
“That I think is the biggest problem that Pappas has right now. He’s seen as part of that old guard of the Democratic Party here, even though he’s pretty young,” he continued. “He’s not really, I think, reflecting the energy and anger that you’re seeing from the progressive left of the party.”
That said, he predicted that Pappas is still favored to be the nominee, given the strong support he receives from older voters. Younger voters, who are Manzur’s base, are less likely to turn out on Election Day.
General election polling is also pointing to a competitive race for Pappas in November. A UNH poll in late August showed former Sen. John Sununu (R-NH), the likely GOP nominee, with a narrow lead over Pappas, a result matched by a GOP-sponsored Fabrizio, Lee & Associates poll last week. The nonpartisan elections handicapper Inside Elections shifted the race to a toss-up on Thursday.
A St. Anselm College poll in mid-August had shown Pappas with a seven-point lead over Sununu.
Smith said that Pappas, assuming he’s the nominee, would face a competitive race in the general election, despite the environment otherwise favoring Democrats. Sununu’s family name is well-known throughout the state, he was popular during his time in office and his brother Chris Sununu was a popular recent governor, Smith explained.
“He’s getting more support from more moderate voters and more independent voters who either don’t know Pappas or maybe they are just looking for somebody different,” Smith said. “Sununu is maybe the underdog, but … he knows how to run,” is very sharp and is a strong debater.
Sununu’s biggest challenge will be to distance himself enough from President Donald Trump to win over moderate voters without angering Trump voters in the GOP base.
Steve Gold said the candidate’s refusal to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state and opposing Iron Dome funding are making it hard for him to make any inroads
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Abdul El-Sayed at the Bridge Center on Dec. 16, 2025, in Detroit, Michigan.
A co-founder of “Jews for Abdul,” a loose coalition of Jewish activists backing Abdul El-Sayed, Michigan’s Democratic nominee for Senate, voiced reservations over the nominee’s approach to Israel in a recent organizing call, arguing he could “do a better job” toning down harsh rhetoric that has alienated many Jewish voters in the key battleground state.
Steve Gold, a “Jews for Abdul” member in a heavily Jewish Detroit suburb, said during the mid-August call that there were “three issues” about which El-Sayed has been “less than effective in communicating” his views, citing his refusal to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state, his “insistence on using the word genocide” to describe Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza and his opposition to all U.S. funding for Israel, including defensive aid.
Gold confirmed to Jewish Insider on Thursday that his comments made on the private organizing call, a video of which was first reported by The Midwesterner, were authentic.
His remarks underscore how even some Jewish supporters of El-Sayed recognize that his hostile statements against Israel could cost him votes in the broader Jewish community, which he will likely need to prevail in the closely contested election. Michigan is home to around 100,000 Jewish voters, many of whom have raised concerns about rising antisemitism within the Democratic Party.
Even as El-Sayed has recently apologized for his comments equivocating over a violent terror attack against a synagogue outside Detroit in March, some Jewish Democrats remain skeptical of his campaign and feel his outreach has been politically calculated.
Meanwhile, a growing number of Jewish Democrats have gravitated to El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), a vocal supporter of Israel.
Even “without changing his policies and feelings,” Gold said during the video call that El-Sayed “could do a better job” of articulating his views in a manner that is less alienating to Jewish community members who do not share his views.
The question over whether Israel has a right to exist “needs to be answered ‘yes,’ full stop, and then go on to explaining the nuances,” Gold said, while warning that El-Sayed’s frequent accusations of genocide have also been unhelpful. “It’s something that makes some Jews stop as though he is denigrating the significance and importance of the Holocaust, which of course he is not,” he explained.
Gold noted that he was “just talking about problems” and was not casting judgement on “whether they’re right or wrong.”
With regard to El-Sayed’s “statement that all aid to Israel,” including for its Iron Dome missile-defense system, “should be cut off,” Gold told the organizers, “people stop listening when they” hear “Israel doesn’t have a right to defend itself,” using air quotes around the oft-repeated line.
“I think that those are three things that turn off a lot of Jews,” he concluded, “and if Abdul did a better job talking about them, it would help.”
In a brief phone interview on Thursday, however, Gold downplayed his feedback, saying “it was just a random moment” caught on video. He noted that he has “no access or policy input” with El-Sayed’s team, even as he told the organizers he would be “trying to take up” the issues he raised on the call last month.
“Everybody I talk to has a different take on all of these questions,” he told JI, emphasizing that Don Greenspon, a fellow co-founder of “Jews for Abdul,” did not agree with his criticism. “The old joke,” Gold quipped, “is three Jews, five opinions.”
Gold, who has called Israel “genocidal” in a social media post, declined to share if he believes Israel should receive defensive aid, in contrast to El-Sayed. “I think Abdul’s positions that he’s expressed about Israel are right on the money,” he stated. “I have no difference of opinion with Abdul on withholding tax dollars.”
Still, he said he had “no expertise” on the topic and was not authorized to speak on behalf of El-Sayed’s campaign, noting he was just a “volunteer” and one of some 150 members of the “Jews for Abdul” group.
“There’s no reason to solicit my opinion,” he told JI. “I’m not going to make any more of it than it was.”
The vice president didn’t address the podcaster’s platforming of antisemitic guests, but noted his differences with Carlson over Trump and the Michigan Senate race
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Vice President JD Vance speaks during a news briefing in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on Sept. 3, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Vice President JD Vance defended his friendship with antisemitic podcaster Tucker Carlson at a White House press briefing on Thursday, saying that he would not “play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them.”
Vance made the comments after being asked to respond to the concerns raised by his continued association with the far-right commentator and accusations that he has been “avoiding addressing a lot of these issues,” as Carlson has increasingly used his show to promote antisemitic conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial.
Vice President JD Vance defended his friendship with Tucker Carlson at a White House press briefing, saying that he would not “play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them.”
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) September 3, 2026
Read more: https://t.co/GeViZuaJUL pic.twitter.com/r7nYHYBOEe
While Vance criticized Carlson’s attacks on President Donald Trump and his recent comments expressing support for Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed over former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) in Michigan’s Senate race, he did not mention Carlson’s extreme rhetoric and views.
“Look, I’m not avoiding addressing anything. Everybody knows that Tucker Carlson and I are friends,” Vance said. “I think it’s very obvious that Tucker has said some things that I disagree with.”
The vice president acknowledged his friendship with Carlson again before urging all Americans to maintain their personal relationships regardless of political disagreements, explaining that his “attitude towards this” was shaped by his and Second Lady Usha Vance’s experience on the campaign trail in 2024.
“I remember when I became the vice presidential nominee, one of the hardest things for me personally is not when people attacked me, but when people attacked my wife, including friends of hers who knew her heart, who knew what a good person she was,” Vance said. “I remember thinking to myself, ‘What a travesty it is that in the United States of America we let political disagreements define who our friends are going to be and not going to be.’ So yeah, Tucker is a friend of mine.”
“Tucker is a friend despite the fact that we disagree on a number of things. And I’m not going to play the game where I throw friends under the bus because I have political disagreements with them. I think that is a terrible place for the United States to go,” he said.
“If you have a disagreement with somebody politically, even over a deeply held issue, you should still be friends with that person, because the whole republic depends on people of different perspectives being able to talk to one another. That’s how I try to live my life, and I encourage everybody else to do the same.”
The North Carolina Republican Senate nominee said support for Israel is a top-tier issue for his state’s voters
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Michael Whatley, GOP Senate candidate for North Carolina, speaks during the Conservative Political Action Conference in Grapevine, Texas, on March 26, 2026.
LAS VEGAS — North Carolina Republican Senate nominee Michael Whatley is emphasizing that he stands firmly with Israel as he seeks to attract votes from the state’s Jewish community.
North Carolina Jewish Democrats have found themselves increasingly alienated from their state party in recent years, as the party resisted efforts to establish a Jewish caucus and approved various anti-Israel measures. But with a formidable and moderate nominee in former Gov. Roy Cooper at the top of the ticket, who has a generally strong record on Jewish community issues from his time in office, it remains to be seen how many Jewish votes will be up for grabs in November.
“The Jewish people matter [and] our relationship with Israel matters,” Whatley told Jewish Insider during the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership summit in Las Vegas. “Israel has been and will be our No. 1 ally in the Middle East and they need to be and we need to make absolutely sure that we have a senator who is going to fight for that relationship.”
Beyond just the Jewish community, during the RJC event, Whatley described support for Israel as a top-priority issue for North Carolina voters. He expressed unequivocal support for continued U.S. military aid to Israel.
Whatley has sought to cast Cooper as an extremist unfriendly to the Jewish community, highlighting, in his interview with JI, a Washington Free Beacon report that the governor had hosted an imam with extremist ties at a 2018 Iftar dinner at the governor’s mansion and criticizing him for not dispatching state police to stop university campus protests against the war in Gaza or speaking out against the state party’s anti-Israel resolutions.
“I think that there’s a track record that he has that Jewish voters should take a look at and understand there’s a very clear distinction,” he continued.
“These are more lies from a desperate candidate. Roy has been a strong advocate for and friend to the Jewish community throughout his career, hosting the first ever Passover Seder and Menorah Lighting at the Executive Mansion and working to stem the tide of antisemitism and he’ll continue that work as U.S. Senator,” a Cooper campaign spokesperson said in a statement to JI.
During his time as governor, Cooper signed anti-Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions legislation and a bill codifying the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism into state law, as well as hosted various events with the Jewish community and condemned antisemitism.
Whatley also noted that he spent a summer living in Israel, interning at an archeological site in Caesarea while he was a graduate student at Wake Forest University. He called Israel “truly remarkable” and a “fantastic country” with “fantastic people.”
He visited Israel as Republican National Committee chairman following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks, meeting with senior Israeli leaders and visiting sites of the Hamas assault.
Despite its political unpopularity, Whatley expressed support for the war in Iran, emphasizing the need to block Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon and arguing that it is “long past time for presidents to quit kicking this can down the road. When President Trump made the call that Iran was too close to a nuclear weapon and went in — I think that is where we need to be.”
In spite of skepticism from many political observers about his chances, and Cooper leading in the polls, Whatley expressed confidence that he is going to win the race.
“We feel very good about where the polls are right now,” Whatley said. “I’m down four points going into Labor Day. That is absolutely within striking distance.”
He said his campaign just began to run TV ads in the past few weeks, which he suggested would help him close the gap.
“The fact is that the people of North Carolina are not going to vote for the worst governor in the history of North Carolina,” Whatley insisted, pointing to Cooper’s record on criminal justice, immigration, transgender issues and the economy. “We are prosecuting this case from one end of the state to the other.”
Whatley said he entered the race after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) announced his retirement at the urging of people in the state as well as President Donald Trump.
“Fundamentally, [I’m running] because I want to represent this state. I want to fight for the people of North Carolina,” Whatley said. “I want to make sure that I’m representing every family and every community across the state and to make sure that we have a conservative champion in the Senate.”
The resolution could prompt the cutoff of U.S. military aid to Israel
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks at a press conference, alongside Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Peter Welch (D-VT) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR), on upcoming Joint Resolutions of Disapproval aimed at blocking weapon sales to Israel on Nov. 19, 2024.
Sens. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and eight Democratic colleagues plan to force a vote in the Senate in the coming weeks to require the State Department to produce a report for Congress on violence by settlers and Israeli forces in the West Bank, including killings and detentions of Americans.
If the resolution were to pass — which is unlikely — and the State Department were to fail to produce the report within 30 days, most U.S. security assistance to Israel would be cut off. After such a report was delivered, any senator would also be able to force a vote on cutting off aid to Israel.
The last time the Senate voted on a similar resolution, demanding an investigation of Israel for potential war crimes, in January 2024, just eleven senators voted for it — so the new resolution is already set to meet and very likely exceed that benchmark.
The resolution accuses both the Israeli and American governments of failing to seek accountability for the killings of U.S. citizens. The legislation also raises concerns about the detention of Palestinian minors, alleged widespread human rights abuses in Israeli prisons, settlement expansion and settler violence in the West Bank. And it highlights attacks on Christians and churches in Israel in the West Bank.
The report required by the bill demands details of any investigations of or evidence gathered by the U.S., Israel, Palestinian Authority or nongovernmental organizations related to killings of nine Americans in the West Bank in recent years, including potential suspects; details about Palestinian minors detained by Israel; the identities of individuals accused of human rights violations in Israeli prisons; and details of U.S. efforts to address these activities.
Van Hollen, in a statement, accused the administration of failing to seek justice or accountability for Americans killed in the West Bank.
“It’s past time we get answers on their deaths — and on the growing violent instability in the West Bank and the injustices facing Palestinian civilians on a daily basis,” Van Hollen said. “This resolution will require the State Department to begin to produce these answers, which are owed to the families of those who have lost loved ones, to the American people, and to all of those who want to ensure recipients of U.S. taxpayer dollars are acting in line with our laws and our values.”
The Maryland senator, who is considering a 2028 presidential bid and is also seen as a potential contender for Senate Democratic leader, has been working to push the party to the left on Israel policy issues.
Kaine said that violence by Israeli settlers “is reaching an unprecedented level.”
“These actions — and the Israeli government’s lack of response to this violence — are unacceptable and threaten the long-term safety and security of the entire region,” Kaine said in a statement. “Friends need to listen to each other, and my colleagues and I have repeatedly urged Israeli leaders to take firmer action to curtail illegal settlements in the West Bank, prosecute violent settlers, and protect Palestinian residents as well as American citizens living in or visiting the West Bank.”
Sanders said in a statement, “Every day, Palestinians in the West Bank experience horrific violence at the hands of Israeli settlers and security forces — and for years, the Israeli government has offered impunity instead of accountability. Enough is enough. The United States cannot keep bankrolling this violence and looking the other way — it’s time to end our complicity, once and for all.”
Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-OR.), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Tina Smith (D-MN), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) and Peter Welch (D-VT) are cosponsoring the resolution.
If Darline Graham falls short on Tuesday, it could be an indication that a Trump endorsement is no longer the automatic ticket to victory
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President Donald Trump congratulates Sen. Darline Graham after she spoke during a campaign rally at Myrtle Beach Convention Center in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina on August 21, 2026.
Today’s special election GOP runoff for Senate in South Carolina between appointed Sen. Darline Graham and five-term Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) will be a clear test over just how much juice President Donald Trump’s endorsement carries within the Republican Party, at a time when his overall political standing has been on the decline.
Graham has struggled through the shortened campaign to fill the seat of her late brother, dodging the media spotlight (unlike her brother) and sticking to generic talking points in talking about the issues. She faced blowback after admitting she didn’t know enough about foreign policy to answer a debate question about Taiwan — underscoring how much of a novice she is on an issue that defined Lindsey Graham’s legacy.
But Trump has been a loyal backer, holding a rally last Friday for her campaign, which featured appearances from the state’s Republican leadership, including Gov. Henry McMaster and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who is also the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Norman also hardly fits the profile of the up-and-coming challenger. He’s 73 and would be one of the oldest freshman senators in recent memory. And for more-moderate Republicans, his record of antagonism towards House Republican leadership and support for declaring martial law in the days leading up to President Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration make him a deeply flawed choice.
For national security hawks, Norman’s votes against several Israel aid packages and opposition to Ukraine assistance are also some notable red flags that make Darline Graham the candidate more aligned with her brother’s worldview.
Trump’s endorsement record has been mixed this year, initially backing the losing gubernatorial candidate (Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette) in South Carolina — while endorsing unsuccessful candidates for governor in Georgia, Iowa, Minnesota and Wyoming. All told, he’s backed 10 unsuccessful candidates in primaries this cycle. But the president’s record in Senate races this year is still perfect, having successfully backed insurgent challengers to Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and John Cornyn (R-TX).
In fact, only three of Trump’s Senate endorsees throughout his political career have lost in primaries (Alabama GOP Sen. Luther Strange in 2017; West Virginia Senate candidate Evan Jenkins in 2018; Utah Senate candidate Trent Staggs in 2024).
Graham is hoping to avoid joining that club, and despite her flubs, she’s still got a strong chance of prevailing. She won the first round of balloting with 33% of the vote — eight points ahead of Norman — and finished a respectable second place in the northeastern corner of the state that makes up Rep. Russell Fry’s (R-SC) home base. (Fry endorsed Graham’s candidacy after finishing in third place in the primary.)
But if Graham falls short, it would not just be a sign that South Carolina voters were wary of her policy inexperience. It would be an indication that the Trump endorsement, while still valuable in Republican primaries, isn’t the automatic ticket to victory that it was for so long.
The Michigan Democratic Senate nominee didn't address Piker's role in promoting his campaign or his attack on congressional nominee Jeremy Moss
JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP via Getty Images
Abdul El-Sayed addresses supporters at his election night event at The Majestic Theatre in Detroit, Michigan, on August 4, 2026
Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed distanced himself, to a degree, from antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker, who has been a prominent surrogate of his campaign, after Piker attacked Democratic state Sen. Jeremy Moss and argued that Jews are inciting antisemitic violence against themselves by supporting Israel.
But, in the statement — posted on X under the heading, “My statement on Hasan Piker’s comments regarding Jeremy Moss” — El-Sayed didn’t name Piker or Moss, and didn’t directly address Piker’s comments.
“I believe all Americans deserve the right to advocate what they believe without fear of violence,” El-Sayed said. “This is particularly true for communities that have been intimidated for their beliefs in the past.”
Amid ongoing attacks on him for his association with Piker, El-Sayed also insisted that “nobody speaks for this campaign besides me and my campaign spokespeople.”
He went on to downplay Piker as “a Twitch streamer” who will not define the race or his own campaign. He did not say whether his or his campaign’s relationship with Piker will change going forward.
“My commitment to Jewish safety is the same as my commitment to the safety of my own daughters,” El-Sayed added. “Antisemitism is a scourge and we need to address it in all its forms. And I stand against any rhetoric that puts the community at risk.”
Despite the title of the statement addressing Moss, the statement itself did not directly address El-Sayed’s fellow Michigan Democrat or Moss’ allegations that opponents are spreading fabricated audio of him promoting antisemitic tropes.
Republican nominee former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI) blasted El-Sayed’s comments as insufficient.
“Hasan Piker’s call for violence against the Jewish Community, specifically against Jeremy Moss, must be condemned by every single Michigan Democrat. But Conman Abdul El-Sayed doesn’t have the guts to disavow his running mate,” Rogers said. “Abdul’s attempt at distancing himself from this violent and hateful rhetoric now that he and Hasan won the primary is the epitome of what a conman does — says one thing when it serves him and another when it doesn’t.”
Rogers added, “His rhetoric is causing fear in Michigan communities, is unAmerican, and makes him unfit to represent our state.”
Moss said in a statement later on Monday that he and El-Sayed, whom Moss has not yet endorsed, are in ongoing conversations about their shared goals, safety for Jews and Arabs and co-existence among Michigan communities.
“These important conversations do not fit neatly in the confines of a tweet or a reel, like so many want them to. I’m grateful that Abdul and I are having them,” Moss said. “There is still work ahead to unite our ticket despite our differences. It won’t happen overnight, nor should it. It will require continuing outreach that is credible and authentic.”
But Moss made clear that despite his disagreements with El-Sayed, he will not support Rogers, as some other leaders in the Jewish community plan to.
Moss also lambasted Piker, without naming him individually.
“Provocatuers are exploiting this moment to create further divisions. I will not be lectured by a California podcaster about what Oakland County, Michigan’s Jewish community should and shouldn’t believe,” Moss continued. “And we certainly won’t be gaslit that we’re responsible for the antisemitic harm upon us. The attempted murder of Jewish children in West Bloomfield has no justification,” he said, referencing the violent attack on Temple Israel earlier this year.
Piker has so far shrugged off criticisms of his comments, including those from another Michigan Democrat, Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI). In a response, Piker called Scholten “an israel 1st congresswoman,” and said she’s “vying for the spotlight by actively defaming a prominent antizionist voice to harm the dem senate majority chances over a 90/10 issue,” while referencing unverified rumors about Scholten’s personal life.
The Alaska Senate race is pitting a moderate Democrat against a Republican with a record as a national security hawk
Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
Rep. Mary Peltola (D-AK) speaks during a ceremony for the lighting of the Capitol Christmas tree in Washington, DC on December 3, 2024.
Alaska’s closely watched Senate race, which will help determine the balance of power in the Senate, is set to pit a consistent — if rarely prominent — Democratic supporter of Israel against a prominent Republican national security hawk. Unlike in some other battleground races, the issue of Israel has rarely come up in the campaign.
Peltola was not a leader on Middle East policy issues during her time in the House and did not highlight it as a priority, but was generally a reliable vote in support of Israel, breaking on numerous occasions with the majority of her party on the issue.
Peltola’s campaign did not provide comment in response to repeated inquiries from Jewish Insider about whether her stance has changed since leaving the House. But she has said she opposes the Iran war, and would have voted with nearly all other Democrats for war powers measures that sought to force a halt to the war.
“Dan Sullivan voted for the Iran war 12 times,” Peltola said on X on Thursday, highlighting the impact the war has had on rural Alaska communities. “Alaskans are suffering because Dan Sullivan continues to rubber stamp an unpopular foreign war that’s causing energy prices to skyrocket. We need change.”
Peltola was one of just 46 House Democrats who voted in February 2024 in favor of a stand-alone Israel aid package — separate from the bipartisan package that also provided aid for Ukraine and Taiwan — and one of just 16 who voted for a measure that would have forced the Biden administration to proceed with arms sales to Israel that had been withheld.
Peltola also voted for various measures imposing strengthened sanctions on Iran and severely limiting the Biden administration’s ability to lift such sanctions, some of which were opposed by a majority of Democrats. She also was in favor of imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court.
She voted for a resolution describing anti-Zionism as antisemitic, for a measure calling for the firing of university presidents for their testimony on campus antisemitism, for the Antisemitism Awareness Act and for a resolution describing the slogan “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” as antisemitic — though she voted against censuring Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) for using the phrase.
Peltola also voted against a measure — that became increasingly unpopular among Democrats — which would have allowed the Treasury Department to unilaterally revoke the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it deemed to be supporting terrorism.
Sullivan, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has been more deeply involved in national security issues, and has been a prominent supporter of Israel and a hawk on Iran.
Sullivan has been a frequent leader on legislation and other efforts to support Israel, including serving as a lead co-sponsor in 2025 of the U.S.-Israel Defense Partnership Act, to expand and increase funding for cooperative defense programs and the Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025, targeting parties involved in the Iranian oil trade.
Among other policies, Sullivan has distinguished himself with yearslong calls, in both interviews and hearings with senior military officials, for the U.S. to retaliate against the Iranian military directly for Houthi attacks on American and commercial shipping, dating back at least to mid-2024.
“My view is, at this juncture, the only way to deter the Houthis is to make Iran pay the price. We should sink all their spy ships who probably helped with this attack,” Sullivan told JI at the time. “We should tell them we’ll sink your whole Navy if you continue this. We have the capacity to sink the Iranian Navy [within] two hours, and we just let the Houthis attack us, attack Israel.”
He has traveled to Israel and the Middle East repeatedly, including at least three times since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. He joined a bipartisan delegation to Saudi Arabia and Israel weeks after the attacks, which aimed to salvage progress toward the Abraham Accords.
Sullivan has proven willing to press Trump administration officials at times, having delivered a particularly tough grilling of Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby during his 2025 confirmation hearing over Colby’s past accommodationist rhetoric on Iran.
Though he ultimately supported Colby’s confirmation, Sullivan, joining other Senate Republicans, later accused Colby of avoiding the congressional communication and collaboration he had promised during his confirmation proceedings. But he and other senators have said the situation has improved since they aired their concerns publicly.
Sullivan supported the 2024 supplemental aid package for Israel, Ukraine and other U.S. allies.
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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Angie Nixon, who called Israel’s war against Hamas a genocide and campaigned with Rep. Rashida Tlaib, will be the party’s candidate against GOP Sen. Ashley Moody
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate, Florida state Rep. Angie Nixon participates in a worship service during a visit to the Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church on August 17, 2026 in Hallandale Beach, Florida.
Democratic Socialists of America-affiliated candidate Angie Nixon, a Florida state representative, won the Democratic primary for Florida’s Senate seat on Tuesday, scoring a major upset over the establishment-backed Alex Vindman.
Vindman, who is Jewish and gained national attention as a whistleblower in President Donald Trump’s first term, brought in $16 million during the campaign while Nixon raised less than $1 million. Her victory is a sign of the shifting political tides in the Sunshine State. .
Her left-wing affiliations are also likely to concern Democrats in the general election in light of the various immigrant constituencies in the state that have generally been hostile to socialist ideology.
Nixon said recently that she would have supported efforts to cut off all U.S. aid to Israel: “We cannot continue to send money to countries that are violating international law, that are violating human rights, that are actively destroying,” she said on local radio.
Nixon campaigned alongside and was endorsed by a series of anti-Israel figures and groups, including Reps. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO), former Ohio state Sen. Nina Turner, the virulently anti-Israel group TrackAIPAC and Jewish Voice for Peace.
A month after Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Nixon faced accusations of antisemitism by Jewish Democrats in the Statehouse over a resolution she led calling for a ceasefire “in Israel and occupied Palestine,” with just one other lawmaker joining her in support of it. Most House members turned their backs to Nixon as she spoke on the House floor in support of the resolution.
“To be called a terrorist on the House floor. Ignorant. Antisemitic. That was very hurtful. But I will always fight to stand on the right side of history, and I believe that I was on the right side of history then just like I’m on the right side of history now,” Nixon said recently.
Rick Stark, chair of the Florida Democratic Jewish Caucus, said that Nixon joined a Zoom meeting with the group to discuss issues including Israel policy. He characterized her as having no clear understanding of the region.
Stark said that Nixon had not offered a clear answer on whether Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, and was not interested in traveling to Israel.
He recounted that she was not familiar with the meaning of the slogan “from the river to the sea,” but she said that she had been told by Palestinian friends that it did not constitute a call for the destruction of Israel.
Steve Schale, a Florida Democratic strategist, told JI before the primary that Nixon had “created a bunch of buzz for herself,” and that she would have a strong base in the Jacksonville area and among Black voters statewide — beyond only the progressive and DSA-aligned coalition.
The results indicated that Nixon, indeed, won comfortably in heavily Black counties and precincts, giving her a broader base of support than just far-left voters.
Vindman is also relatively new to Florida, having moved to the state only recently and attracting accusations of carpetbagging.
“Who would’ve ever thought that a Jewish refugee would make it to the U.S. Army, to the White House, and to becoming a candidate for the U.S. Senate. Only in America is that possible,” Vindman said in a statement.
“I still believe in the American Dream, because I’ve lived it. It’s worth fighting for. Rep. Nixon ran a strong campaign. I will be standing by her side in the fight against Ashley Moody. I hope you’ll join me.”
The Senate minority leader’s comments come as recent polling and Abdul El-Sayed’s progressive policies and have raised concerns for Democrats that he could lose the pivotal swing state
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) speaks to the media after briefings on Iran at the U.S. Capitol on March 3, 2026 in Washington, DC.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) suggested in an interview with The Washington Post published on Tuesday that he believes Democrats can still win the Senate even if far-left Michigan Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, whom Schumer has endorsed, does not win in November.
El-Sayed’s progressive positioning and recent polling showing him narrowly trailing the Republican nominee, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), have raised concerns among Democrats that El-Sayed could lose what many in the party consider to be a must-win state. Some Democratic donors, particularly in the Jewish community, are also now backing Rogers after El-Sayed won the primary.
“A path to winning back the Senate clearly goes through Michigan, but we have a whole bunch of different paths,” Schumer told the Post.
Schumer acknowledged that his views on Israel differed from El-Sayed’s, but didn’t directly say whether he believed the Michigan nominee had said or done anything antisemitic.
“I think he makes an effort to fight antisemitism even though his views on Israel are much different than mine,” Schumer told the outlet.
El-Sayed has come under fire for his comments that appeared to justify an attempted attack on a synagogue and Jewish preschool in the Detroit suburbs earlier this year, his repeated refusal to acknowledge Israel’s right to exist and his alliance with Hasan Piker, the far-left antisemitic and anti-Israel streamer.
In an early sign of Rogers’ bipartisan backing, three prominent Jewish Democratic bundlers are holding fundraiser for Rogers next week
Paul Sancya/AP
Republican Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks before President Donald Trump at an event at the General Motors Proving Ground Monday, July 27, 2026, in Milford, Mich.
More than a week after Abdul El-Sayed narrowly clinched the Democratic nomination in Michigan’s bruising Democratic Senate primary, his Republican opponent, former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), is working to fine-tune his campaign’s outreach and messaging to disaffected Jewish voters who could play a decisive role in the closely contested race.
While Republicans in the key battleground state see an opportunity in November to capitalize on Jewish Democrats’ alarm over El-Sayed’s hostile rhetoric toward Israel and lackluster record in confronting the rise of antisemitism, Rogers has in the days following the primary still appeared relatively cautious in directly courting Jewish voters, as he has widened his pitch to Democrats in Michigan whom he reassured in a video message last week have “a home with” his campaign.
He has otherwise called El-Sayed, a far-left former public health official, “beyond antisemitic” and said he “hates Jewish people,” echoing the most extreme concerns among Jewish Democrats turned off by the Democratic nominee’s ties to antisemitic Twitch streamer Hasan Piker and comments equivocating over the foiled terrorist attack against a synagogue outside Detroit in March, among other issues.
Despite such criticism, Jason Cabel Roe, a GOP strategist in Michigan not involved in the race, said that he had not seen Rogers “specifically identifying the Jewish community as a target,” underscoring how the campaign is balancing private engagement with a key constituency alongside a more broadly calibrated public invitation for Democrats to join his coalition.
“A lot of this is going to come organically,” Roe told Jewish Insider, referring to Jewish Democrats in the state who are contemplating voting for Rogers. “This is not new territory for him.”
Bobby Schostak, a former chairman of the Michigan Republican Party and a prominent Jewish campaign surrogate, said he had hosted a donor call on Monday with Rogers and his pollster, Tony Fabrizio, joined by some 150 people. “There were people there who were traditionally not Republican voters,” he told JI, citing some Jewish Democrats and other former backers of Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), the moderate, pro-Israel lawmaker who lost to El-Sayed.
“Mike spoke to the importance of having a wide-open campaign with multiple coalitions,” Schostak said of the donor call, while stressing that Jewish Democrats in the Detroit area are particularly energized to help Rogers. “It is consequential both in numbers and in names,” he told JI on Thursday. “They are not being passive,” he explained. “They want to beat El-Sayed.”
In one of the first major signs of those efforts now materializing, three prominent Jewish Democratic bundlers in Michigan are hosting a fundraiser for Rogers next Tuesday, according to an email invite sent to Jewish community members on Thursday.
“This is something that none of us has ever done,” said Hannan Lis, who is leading the fundraiser with Brian Hermelin and Rob Orley. “But we feel this is a departure in the direction of the Democratic Party,” he told JI of El-Sayed’s staunch opposition to Israel and refusal to recognize its right to exist as a Jewish state. “We’re taking a stand here,” he added. “This is beyond politics.”
Even though “there are many issues where we don’t necessarily agree with Mike Rogers,” Lis noted, “we trust him” on key issues. The fundraiser is meant to “show we are willing to back up a person” who holds a mutual commitment to a “strong relationship with Israel” and “is not playing politics” on other matters concerning the Jewish community, he explained.
Hermelin, the president of the Jewish Federation of Detroit, confirmed his involvement in the fundraiser but declined to comment further on the event, which he is co-hosting in his personal capacity.
Rogers, recognized as a national security-focused conservative, has also attended pro-Israel fundraisers outside of the state this week, according to a person familiar with the matter. “There is now a lot of enthusiasm in the pro-Israel community for Mike Rogers,” the person said. “A not-insignificant piece is from Democrats.”
A spokesperson for Rogers’ campaign did not return a request for comment on Thursday.
The Republican Jewish Coalition has indicated it intends to aggressively target the nearly 100,000 Jewish voters in Michigan who make up a potential swing bloc, with a special focus on Jewish Democrats who “now find themselves politically homeless,” Sam Markstein, a spokesperson for the group, told JI in a statement.
Markstein said that he could not yet share specifics about the RJC’s plans to invest in the race but noted an independent expenditure is in the works and “will be significant.”
Eric Levine, a top Republican bundler in New York and an RJC board member who hosted a fundraiser for Rogers in late July, said the former congressman is “making a direct appeal to the Jewish community,” including Democrats, and “has been very successful.”
AIPAC, the pro-Israel advocacy group whose super PAC spent over $30 million to help Stevens, has not officially endorsed Rogers, but sources say it is likely to spend on his behalf before the November election. Representatives for AIPAC and its super PAC did not respond to requests for comment.
In a tacit recognition of the Jewish vote’s potential significance in the general election, El-Sayed has, for his part, recently sought to ease tensions with Jewish Democrats who remain skeptical about his campaign, emphasizing his “commitment to Jewish safety” even he has continued to use incendiary rhetoric on Israel in the wake of the primary.
Michael Horowitz, a Jewish Democratic leader and Detroit businessman, said he was “leaning heavily” toward voting for Rogers but that he had not made up his mind, underscoring the inherent challenges in enticing Jewish Democrats to defect from a party that they have long called home.
Though Horowitz said he will not vote for El-Sayed, he attributed his reservations to delivering a win for the Trump administration as well as a “volatile world” that could shape his assessment in the lead-up to the election. “I would say that the vast majority of people I’ve talked to are voting against El-Sayed — as opposed to voting for Rogers,” he told JI.
He said he is now working to arrange a “more intimate conversation” with Rogers to get a better sense of the candidate, after a surrogate reached out to make a connection. “I don’t think that not voting is an option,” he said, adding, “until I cast my vote it’s not a done deal.”
Shimon Levy, an Israeli American entrepreneur in Detroit who identifies as an independent and backed Stevens in the primary, said he is supporting Rogers’ campaign and had wrapped up lunch with members of his team when he spoke with JI on Thursday.
“I think, at this stage, the Rogers team is just here to listen,” he said. “They’re asking, ‘How do we win your vote?’”
The Fox News survey shows Rogers leading El-Sayed, 51-47%, winning over a small but critical mass of Democratic voters
Sarah Rice/Getty Images
Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks at his election watch party.
Former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers starts off the Michigan Senate general election race with a narrow advantage over Democrat Abdul El-Sayed, according to a new Fox News poll, aided by an advantage with independents and making inroads with a small but significant number of Democrats willing to cross party lines.
Overall, Rogers leads El-Sayed among registered voters by four points, 51-47% — and is one of the only Republicans to hold a lead in the series of Fox News Senate battleground polls that have otherwise shown Democratic Senate candidates ahead of their GOP opponents.
The poll found Rogers’ advantage is sustained by holding onto more of his base than El-Sayed, while claiming a small edge with independents. Rogers wins 96% of Republican support, while El-Sayed support is at 91% among Democrats and is only polling at 69% with Democrats who don’t support the Democratic Socialists of America.
54% of Michigan voters surveyed said El-Sayed is too extreme for the state, while 51% of respondents said Rogers was too close to President Donald Trump.
El-Sayed starts the general election with 54% of Michigan respondents viewing him unfavorably and a 41% minority viewing him favorably. That minus-13 net negative unfavorability is a notch worse than Rogers’ 45% favorable rating and 51% unfavorable rating (minus-6).
The pollsters also found that El-Sayed is underperforming with Black voters, women and suburbanites — all key constituencies in a midterm election. Rogers, however, is lagging among younger voters under 30 and independents compared to Trump’s 2024 showing in the state.
The poll surveyed 1,006 registered Michigan voters between Aug. 6-10, and has a 3% margin of error.
‘Your antagonism toward Israel has remained steadfast,’ Michael Morris wrote. ‘Your vote continues to demonstrate a lack of support for the Jewish state’
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) heads for a vote at the U.S. Capitol on June 01, 2026 in Washington, DC.
The publisher of the Atlanta Jewish Times penned an open letter to Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) on Wednesday pressing the senator over his repeated votes to block U.S. military sales to Israel, accusing Ossoff of failing to support Israel and of misrepresenting his positions to his Jewish constituents.
“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,’” Michael Morris wrote in the letter. “It is not. You vote against Israel on the Senate floor in Washington, then come home to Georgia and make this untruthful claim.”
The open letter is the latest expression of frustration with the Jewish first-term senator, who is up for reelection in November, from prominent leaders in Georgia’s Jewish community. Others have told Jewish Insider they feel that they have no good options in November’s midterm, between Ossoff, whose stances on Israel have frustrated them, and Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), whose rhetoric and ties to antisemitic and far-right figures have raised alarms.
“Your antagonism toward Israel has remained steadfast,” Morris wrote to Ossoff, highlighting his repeated votes for measures led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to cut off weapons sales to Israel. “Your vote continues to demonstrate a lack of support for the Jewish state.”
Ossoff’s Senate campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Morris said in the open letter that Ossoff’s support for Israel is only reliable on nonbinding rhetorical measures supporting Israel’s right to defend itself or condemning Hamas.
“But when a bill offers Israel tangible strategic support — munitions, rifles, bombs, military and financial assistance — your record is abysmal, and you throw Israel under the bus,” Morris said. “You are with Israel on the votes that cost you nothing, and against it on the votes that actually matter. All that heartfelt sympathy is smoke and mirrors.”
He said that supporting measures to stop arms sales to Israel is not consistent with a pro-Israel stance.
And he questioned whether Ossoff’s pro-Israel message, delivered to Jewish constituents, has remained consistent in front of other crowds, like the Muslim community.
“You campaigned as a supporter of Israel. You were elected to stand with our allies. You continue to claim that you support Israel. Demonstrate your support with your vote on the Senate floor,” Morris wrote. “If instead you choose to keep voting against Israel, at least do not come home and obfuscate your vote — own your record. Because if you are not telling us the truth about this, Senator, I am left to ask: what else are you not telling us?”
Left-wing Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan’s anti-Israel message is being complicated by her outreach to AIPAC earlier in the campaign
(AP Photo/Ellen Schmidt)
U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., left, and Minnesota Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan participate in a forum for U.S. Senate candidates at Farmfest Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026, in Morgan, Minn.
The outcome of Michigan’s bruising Democratic Senate primary last week, where Abdul El-Sayed claimed a narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in an upset championed by the anti-Israel left, is looming over the next intraparty showdown being held in Minnesota on Tuesday — the latest in a series of proxy battles between the party’s mainstream and left-wing flanks.
In an echo of Michigan, the bitter Democratic primary for an open Senate seat in battleground Minnesota this week is pitting a moderate House member with a long-standing pro-Israel record, Rep. Angie Craig (D-MN), against an outspoken progressive, Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, whose attack lines have frequently centered on AIPAC, which spent over $30 million in its unsuccessful effort to help Stevens.
The Minnesota primary is, in the closing stretch, likewise revolving around questions of electability for Democrats in the must-win November contest. Craig has pointed to controversies amid Flanagan’s tenure in government as vulnerabilities Republicans are eager to exploit — most notably including the welfare fraud scandal that prompted Democratic Gov. Tim Walz to abandon his reelection campaign for a third term earlier this year.
Flanagan, in addition to her anti-AIPAC messaging, has hammered Craig over what she has described as a “disqualifying” vote approving the Laken Riley Act — legislation requiring the detention of unauthorized migrants charged with certain crimes — the optics of which have been damaging in the wake of President Donald Trump’s protracted immigration crackdown in Minnesota. Craig has expressed regret for her vote.
But unlike Michigan, where El-Sayed claimed the nomination by less than one point after polls had suggested a double-digit blowout, the Minnesota matchup has been seen as neck-and-neck, the outcome of which is hard to predict, experts say. Recent independent surveys have shown a statistical dead heat in the final weeks of the primary, with each candidate garnering around 40% of the vote.
The candidates’ equivocations over AIPAC and individual ties to the group have also emerged as fault lines in recent weeks, complicating the ideological divisions that have shaped other primaries in which Israel and Middle East policy have featured prominently.
In a reflection of the extent to which AIPAC is now viewed as a liability in Democratic primaries, Craig has distanced herself from the group, which has not officially made an endorsement in the race even as its donor network has contributed to her campaign. The congresswoman, who is backed by several pro-Israel lawmakers including Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), has said she is not accepting contributions from AIPAC’s political arm in her current campaign.
During a recent debate, Flanagan said AIPAC had been Craig’s “biggest funder throughout her entire political career,” while claiming her own “values do not align with” the group. Flanagan has cast AIPAC as part of “a band of super villains” in the race now trying to “buy this election,” language some Jewish leaders say they have found unsettling amid rising antisemitism.
Flanagan, however, acknowledged last month she had met privately with AIPAC after The Minnesota Star Tribune obtained a video recording of remarks to Jewish community members — also reviewed by Jewish Insider — in which she said the outreach was “important” for her “to make sure that we’re building that relationship.”
Flanagan claims that AIPAC turned against her and came to regard her as a “threat” when she confirmed her support last year for Senate resolutions to block arms sales to Israel. She has since endorsed a House amendment to end aid to Israel, which Craig rejected, further illustrating her policy disagreements with the group.
Craig, for her part, has sharply dismissed the lieutenant governor as “completely disingenuous about her soliciting support from AIPAC,” claiming that she “has been very hypocritical” because of her efforts to demonize the group.
While Flanagan has insisted she was not seeking an endorsement in her outreach to AIPAC officials, she did write an Israel position paper that she submitted to the group as part of their discussions, according to two people familiar with the matter.
Manny Houle, a pro-Israel Democratic consultant in Minnesota, confirmed to JI that Flanagan presented a Middle East policy paper to AIPAC and said that he had personally reviewed the document. He said he no longer had a copy, which JI was unable to obtain, but he recalled that she “was open to conditioning aid” to Israel and said she “put a lot of pressure and fault on Israel and occupation,” among other “key factors” he characterized as distinguishing Flanagan from Craig.
Houle, a former director of progressive outreach for AIPAC in the Midwest, said his impression had been that Flanagan wrote the paper and sought the group’s feedback early in her campaign last year because she viewed it as part of a broader process. The lieutenant governor “would have been open to engaging within the network of donors” affiliated with AIPAC, Houle claimed, “but when she realized that wasn’t going to be the case,” she pivoted to a more hostile position.
“Many key advisors to Peggy are anti-AIPAC, so it’s hard for me to think she’d ever honestly in good faith engage with the organization,” Houle explained to JI. “I’ve had conversations with her throughout the race trying to get her to tone down her rhetoric” on Israel issues, he added, “but to no avail.”
A spokesperson for AIPAC did not return a request for comment.
Alexandra Fetisoff, a spokesperson for Flanagan’s campaign, did not directly address the AIPAC paper in a statement responding to a request for comment. “Flanagan disagrees with AIPAC’s deeply unpopular political agenda and the catastrophic actions of” the government led by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Fetisoff told JI on Friday.
“Flanagan believes what has happened in Gaza is genocide, a position in line with the United Nations,” Fetisoff said. “Flanagan has consistently condemned antisemitism, and will continue standing with Jewish Minnesotans against hate.”
Last week, American Priorities, a new super PAC created to counter AIPAC’s influence in Democratic primaries, began spending in the race to help boost Flanagan, spending over $50,000 on an ad calling her a “fighter” who would “stand up to Trump” while touting her support from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
Flanagan also claims backing from the state Democratic Party and retiring Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN), whom she is vying to succeed, along with leading progressive critics of Israel such as Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD).
Doug Rossinow, a professor of history at Metro State University in St. Paul, who has tracked divisions over Israel in the state Democratic Party, said the “AIPAC issue flew under the radar until pretty recently” in the election. “The Flanagan-Craig contest is, compared to Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary race, a classic case of Minnesota understatement and even passive aggression,” he told JI.
“Flanagan lately has made an issue of Craig’s history of support from AIPAC,” he noted, “but Craig, unlike Haley Stevens, doesn’t want to own that or talk about Israel.” Meanwhile, Flanagan has stated “little about her own position on Israel” and the region, he added, “unlike El-Sayed in Michigan,” a fierce critic of Israel who has refused to acknowledge its right to exist as a Jewish state.
One state party activist described the race as “a little bit less black and white than Michigan,” while noting the contrasts between Craig and Flanagan are not as drastic. “I see it as a toss-up,” he said of the primary.
Joe Radinovich, a Democratic consultant based in Minneapolis, added that while the national political mood has favored populist progressives, he believes there is reason to interpret the closer-than-expected finish in Michigan as a relatively promising omen for Craig, who flipped a GOP-held swing district in 2018.
“The dominant narrative has belonged to the further left wing of the party, populist candidates and people decrying AIPAC and Israel,” Radinovich, who said he is supporting Craig but is not involved in the primary, told JI in an interview on Friday. “But if I’m on the Craig campaign and looking at the results of the election in Michigan, I’m feeling some wind in my sails.”
Mara Kunin, Craig’s campaign manager, projected confidence in a statement on Friday. “National and state Republicans are making a serious play for this Senate seat and primary voters understand that we can’t risk putting up a weak candidate in the general election,” she said, adding Craig “is positioned to win this race on Tuesday and seal the deal in November.”
The Democratic nominee is expected to face Michele Tafoya, a former NFL sideline reporter who is heavily favored to win the Republican primary, in November. The GOP’s Senate campaign arm has indicated that it views Minnesota among four pickup opportunities as the party seeks to retain its majority in the chamber.
“It is very saturated, very ugly and very negative,” another state party activist said about the primary, which has otherwise seen a flood of outside spending from opposing groups. “I think that AIPAC will have an impact in the race, but social services fraud could be more important,” he told JI. “Whoever wins, it will sort of say which issue” carries the most weight.
In a video message directed at disaffected moderates, Rogers said ‘the fight is far greater than just left versus right. The fight is for the very soul of our nation’
Sarah Rice/Getty Images
Michigan Senate candidate Mike Rogers speaks at his election watch party.
Addressing Michigan Democrats in a videotaped message, Republican Senate nominee Mike Rogers said that the “vast majority of people” rejecting Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed — whose bid he framed as a “campaign filled with anger, divisiveness, calls for violence and the views that are out of touch with your values”— have “a home with us.”
“If you’re among the majority of Democratic voters that woke up on Wednesday feeling hopeless because the person who won does not represent your values, well, just know there is still hope,” Rogers said seated next to his wife, in a 90-second video message released on Friday.
“Michigan deserves a senator who is ready to sit with you, hear from you and represent you.
The parents across Michigan who want an education system that sets up their kids for success have a home with us. Grandparents across Michigan who are heartbroken from watching their kids and grandkids leave the state, you have a home with us,” he continued.
“To young people who are looking for real solutions to our housing affordability crisis, you have a home with us. To families who don’t want higher taxes and lower paychecks, you have a home with us. The fight is far greater than just left versus right. The fight is for the very soul of our nation. Over the next 90 days, I’m going to work hard to earn your trust, to earn your support and earn your vote.”
Most Democrats quickly coalesced behind El-Sayed after he narrowly clinched victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary on Wednesday morning, while Republicans quickly attacked El-Sayed’s extremist history and ties.
Just before he was declared winner, El-Sayed doubled down on his criticism of Israel on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe,” calling the Jewish state “bloodthirsty” and saying his critiques go beyond the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Plus, Hawaii's sleeper House race
(Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed speaks to supporters at an election-night rally at the Majestic Theatre on August 04, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.
Good Thursday morning.
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we cover the fallout from Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, and talk to Jewish Democrats in the state who are considering crossing party lines to vote for GOP nominee Mike Rogers in the November election. We report on the obstacles facing Rep. Ed Case ahead of a challenge from his left in Saturday’s primary in Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District, and cover a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing examining Muslim Brotherhood networks and affiliates in the United States. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Benny Stanislawski, Tom Kahn and Gianni Infantino.
We also have a new on-demand Live Briefingthat you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Israel Editor Tamara Zieve and U.S. Editor Danielle Cohen-Kanik. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- U.S.-led talks between Israel and Lebanon in Rome are slated to conclude today, after yesterday’s discussion was cut short by several hours “due to events on the ground,” the State Department said.
- The decision to pause talks came after the IDF conducted strikes in southern Lebanon over what it said were “blatant violations” of the ongoing ceasefire by Hezbollah, including an incident in which two IDF reservists were killed and four seriously wounded by an explosive device in southern Lebanon.
- Reports continue to indicate Iran and Oman are inching toward a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz after earlier agreements on the issue fell apart. An Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday that Tehran and Muscat were close to finalizing an agreement, so long as “certain parties do not obstruct this process” — an apparent reference to the U.S.
- Tennessee is holding its primary elections today. In the state’s 5th District, Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), a far-right lawmaker, is facing a serious primary challenge from Charlie Hatcher, a former state commissioner of agriculture.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S MATTHEW KASSEL
Abdul El-Sayed’s narrow victory over Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in Michigan’s bruising Democratic Senate primary on Tuesday is forcing many Jewish leaders in the state to confront an uncomfortable decision as they now look ahead to the general election in November.
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, citing their continued alarm over El-Sayed’s hostile rhetoric toward Israel as well as remarks they have interpreted as indifferent to rising antisemitism, among other concerns.
“I can’t vote for El-Sayed,” Michael Horowitz, a Jewish community leader and Detroit businessman who supported Stevens, a pro-Israel moderate, told Jewish Insider. “So many things I find despicable about him, not the least of which is his close association with Hasan Piker,” the antisemitic Twitch streamer, who Horowitz said “demeans America, demeans Jews and demeans all but the most radical among us.”
Horowitz confirmed he was now “leaning strongly to Rogers,” a former congressman who narrowly lost in his bid for Senate last cycle. “And I have heard from many in the Jewish community who say they will be supporting Rogers,” he said on Wednesday.
Hannan Lis, a Democratic fundraiser and Jewish leader who splits his time between Michigan and Israel, was among those who had told JI before the primary that he would vote for Rogers in the general election if El-Sayed won the nomination, noting he knows “many” Jewish Democrats who plan to do the same.
His reservations about Republicans preserving their Senate majority by picking up the Michigan seat held by retiring Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), he clarified, were superseded by his objections to El-Sayed’s stances on Israel and responses to antisemitism. “El-Sayed is no Democrat,” he claimed.
CASE STUDY
Rep. Ed Case (D-HI), a moderate pro-Israel Democrat in Hawaii who was first elected to the House in 2002, has not drawn a serious primary threat in several years. Now, as he prepares to defend his seat in a primary on Saturday that has largely flown under the radar, some Democrats are warning that the 73-year-old could be at risk of losing to a younger challenger capitalizing on a national political environment that has proven unfavorable to Democratic incumbents amid broader calls for generational change from the party’s activist base, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
While you were sleeping: “It’s one of those sleeper races where there’s definitely an upset brewing,” said a Democratic operative who worked on the Case campaign until a few months ago, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid professional reprisals. “Ed is running a poor race,” the former staffer told JI, echoing other observers who described a sluggish approach in which Case has largely foregone campaign events and avoided debates with his opposition.
ON THE HILL
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), speaking at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Wednesday that he organized to examine Muslim Brotherhood networks and affiliates in the U.S., suggested that Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed was tied to such networks and that his Democratic primary win represented a victory for them. “Behind El-Sayed’s political rise sits a much older and more entrenched institutional network,” Cruz asserted, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Zoom out: Kyle Shideler, a senior analyst for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy, testified under questioning from Cruz that El-Sayed’s win concerned him given the nominee’s father-in-law’s ties to Muslim Brotherhood-linked groups and El-Sayed’s own relationship with groups connected to the Council on American-Islamic Relations. “It shows the success of the Muslim Brotherhood network over multiple decades. It achieved what they said they were going to achieve, which was to normalize support for Hamas and normalize support for terrorism,” Shideler said.
COMMUNITY CONCERN
Jewish groups expressed concern on Wednesday about the victory of Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate in Michigan, highlighting his extreme rhetoric on Israel and the broader rise of the far left, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod reports.
Reactions: Jewish Democratic Council of America CEO Halie Soifer said in a statement that the group was “disappointed” by the results of the primary, in which the group had endorsed and campaigned strongly for Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI). Soifer congratulated but stopped short of endorsing El-Sayed. AIPAC, while declining to preview specific plans, indicated it intends to stay engaged in the Michigan race through November. “Our members remain determined to ensure that voters reject Dr. El-Sayed and his radical anti-Israel agenda in November,” spokesperson Deryn Sousa told JI.
Trump’s take: President Donald Trump, speaking at an event in Las Vegas on Wednesday, said al-Sayed “hates Jews and he hates Israel,” adding, “He’s a man of hate, and now he’s going around saying, ‘Oh I love everybody.’ He doesn’t love everybody. Put him in office, and you’re going to find out what he loves.”
WITHHOLDING SUPPORT
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), a moderate Michigan lawmaker representing a swing district, broke with most other Democratic members of the state’s congressional delegation in declining to offer an explicit endorsement of Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, after offering strident criticism of him during the primary campaign, Jewish Insider’s Marc Rod and Matthew Shea report.
What she said: “Congratulations to everyone who participated in Michigan’s hard-fought primary elections last night, and thank you to every voter who made your voice heard. In these close elections, we want you to know — you are HEARD,” Scholten said in a statement that did not mention El-Sayed. “Now our focus turns forward. I’ve always said I’ll work with anyone committed to lowering costs, expanding affordable health care, creating more opportunity, and fighting corruption. I mean that.”
Phone a friend: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani refused to close the door on a trip to Michigan to campaign for El-Sayed, whom Mamdani praised for what he described as a focus on “the concerns of working-class Americans” — even as he tried to explain away El-Sayed’s poor performance in the areas where working-class voters live, JI’s Will Bredderman reports.
RACE RHETORIC
Appearing on MS NOW’s “Morning Joe” on Wednesday, Abdul El-Sayed doubled down on his criticism of Israel, calling the Jewish state “bloodthirsty” and saying his critiques go beyond the government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.
What he said: “I think we’ve seen the worst of what the Israeli government has done [under Netanyahu] but don’t forget that we’ve been talking about an illegal apartheid regime for a very, very long time, and that supersedes Netanyahu himself,” El-Sayed said. “I understand that Netanyahu is a big reason why they’ve gotten so aggressive and frankly so bloodthirsty under his reign, but I also understand that it’s impossible for us to say we want a two-state solution while we’ve been aiding, arming and abetting the very people who have been trying to foreclose on the possibility of a Palestinian state.”
It’s all over: Democrats quickly coalesced behind El-Sayed after the far-left candidate narrowly clinched victory in Michigan’s Democratic primary on Wednesday morning, while Republicans quickly pounced on his extremist history and ties, JI’s Marc Rod reports.
Worthy Reads
Reassessing Reality: The Atlantic‘s Jonathan Chait contends that, in order to wrest back their party from the far left, moderate Democrats will have to reevaluate some of their core stances, including support for AIPAC and Israel. “Fending off a leftist insurgency will be all but impossible unless Democrats reject AIPAC’s endorsements and stop supporting unconditional aid for an Israel that no longer works toward a two-state solution. Democrats also have to stop passively allowing multiple candidates to split the mainstream vote while the leftist vote consolidates behind a single candidate, as occurred in Michigan’s Seventh District and the Wisconsin governor’s race. But the greatest challenge for mainstream liberals is to find a way to engage in and win the substantive argument with the left.” [TheAtlantic]
Lemons into Lemonade: Tablet‘s Jacob Siegel argues that the U.S.-Israel alliance is loosening, and that the moment presents an opportunity for Israel to reduce its dependence on Washington and diversify its alliances. “A greater degree of separation between the United States and Israel is not only inevitable, it is desirable. Many supporters of Israel seem to be aware only of the significant challenges that this will create for the small country. They overlook the significant opportunities it presents for Israel’s growth. … With the chapter closing on its role as an outsize client state, Israel needs to develop itself as an independent regional power that is a desirable partner by virtue of its ability to innovate technologies and project force.” [Tablet]
Fashion Faux Pas: In The New York Times, John Galliano biographer Dana Thomas cautions against the decision by the Metropolitan Museum of Art to honor the designer, who was convicted of antisemitic abuse after praising Adolf Hitler. “Not all great creators deserve a retrospective, and someone as incendiary as Mr. Galliano certainly shouldn’t be the subject of one during his lifetime, when he stands to profit from the honor personally. With ‘John Galliano: Horizons,’ the Met and Ms. Wintour are selling the idea that they can tell the rest of us how to think about a difficult and divisive figure. Maybe they didn’t notice that idea has gone badly out of fashion.” [NYTimes]
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Word on the Street
Asked about an Axios report that claimed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “confronted” him over their diverging policy views during his visit to Washington last week, Vice President JD Vance said in an interview on Fox News on Wednesday, “He didn’t confront me. We had a nice and frank conversation. … I would describe it as a pleasant but direct conversation”…
The White House denied a Washington Post report that President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashed last week at Camp David over the war in Iran; the Post reported that the president asked why he had been misled about a shortage of munitions…
A group of far-right figures, including Tucker Carlson, outgoing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and former National Counterterrorism Center head Joe Kent — who gathered over the weekend at Carlson’s Maine home — are considering launching a third-party political organization…
The Israeli Foreign Ministry denounced a joint statement adopted by Arab states — including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt, among others — whose foreign ministers convened in Jordan on Wednesday to discuss Israel’s policies in Jerusalem and said that Israel, which the statement claimed “has no sovereignty” over the city, had “alter[ed] the Arab Islamic and Christian identity of occupied Jerusalem”…
The IDF is investigating a reported arson attack by Israeli settlers in a Palestinian village in the West Bank overnight in which suspects allegedly set fire to homes and attacked residents, including children…
A new Israel Democracy Institute survey found that a majority of Israelis believes the integrity of the October election is in danger…
The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen said on Wednesday that they struck a Saudi oil tanker in the northern Red Sea, escalating the group’s stated blockade against Riyadh and strikes on Saudi ships that have thus far been focused in the southern Red Sea, near the Bab el-Mandeb strait…
James Stavridis, former supreme allied commander of NATO, argues in Bloomberg that a Saudi-led naval coalition could help protect commercial shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, though it would likely still require U.S. and European intelligence and logistical support to be effective…
An Azerbaijani official said on Turkish TV that Baku lobbied Israel to stop the Knesset from voting to recognize the Armenian genocide…
FIFA officials gathered in Morocco this week reaffirmed their support for Gianni Infantino, days after the FIFA president faced widespread criticism from within the organization over a plan to privatize elements of the World Cup…
The Atlantic investigates whether al-Qaida, 25 years after the 9/11 attacks, is quietly rebuilding or if its core organization is effectively defunct…
A new poll shows left-wing Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva‘s lead over conservative challenger Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, narrowing ahead of the country’s October elections…
Benny Stanislawski, previously the communications director for Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY), is joining Pennsylvania Democrat Bob Brooks‘ congressional campaign as communications director…
American University’s School of Public Affairs named Tom Kahn as director of its Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies; Kahn, who served as acting director for the past year, was the longest-serving staff director in history for the House Budget Committee…
Find on-demand Live Briefing updates throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Pic of the Day
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law hosted 34 law students from leading law schools, including Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, NYU and Vanderbilt, for its three-day Law Student Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C., this week. The students received training in civil rights law, Title VI, free speech and advocacy on behalf of Jewish students from a range of experts, including Brandeis Center founder Ken Marcus, pictured here addressing attendees.
Birthdays
Actor, director, producer and screenwriter, Soleil Moon Frye turns 50…
Retired founding partner of the Jaffe Family Law Group, Daniel J. Jaffe turns 89… Esports executive and casino owner, he is a three-time bracelet winner at the World Series of Poker, Lyle Berman turns 85… Professor emerita and former dean at Bar Ilan University, Malka Elisheva Schaps turns 78… Film director, television director, producer and screenwriter, Brian Michael Levant turns 74… Austrian businessman with many U.S., Israeli and Eastern European investments, Martin Schlaff turns 73… Former state treasurer of Virginia and then state secretary of finance, she is now a gourmet popcorn manufacturer, Jody Moses Wagner turns 71… Professor of public diplomacy at The Fletcher School of Tufts University, she was formerly undersecretary of state for public diplomacy, Tara D. Sonenshine turns 67… Professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at The George Washington University Medical Center, Alan J. Lipman, Ph.D. turns 66… Israeli diplomat, he served as Israel’s consul general in NYC between 2000 and 2004, Alon Pinkas turns 65… NASA astronaut who spent 198 days on the International Space Station, he brought 18 bagels from his family’s bagel store in Montreal into space, Gregory Chamitoff turns 64… Chair of White & Case’s white collar practice group, Joel M. Cohen… Executive director of public affairs and policy communications at the American Council on Education, Jonathan Riskind… CEO of Elluminate (formerly known as the Jewish Women’s Foundation of New York), Melanie Roth Gorelick… Vice chair of Jewish California and a board member of JFNA and JCRC Bay Area, Susie Sorkin… Television and radio sports anchor on ESPN and ABC, he was one-half of the “Mike & Mike” team but now hosts his own ESPN morning program, Mike Greenberg turns 59… Chief economist at The Burning Glass Institute, Gad Levanon, Ph.D…. Law professor and associate dean at Michigan State University College of Law, David Blankfein-Tabachnick turns 55… Former boxing commentator and co-host of ESPN’s “This Just In,” Yiddish speaking Max Kellerman turns 53… Co-founder and former CEO of Uber, Travis Kalanick turns 50… Founder and CEO at Climb Together which helps prepare people from low-income backgrounds for entry level jobs, Nitzan Pelman… Screenwriter and television producer, he is best known for creating and executive producing the Fox teen drama “The O.C.,” Joshua Ian Schwartz turns 50… Former comms director for Zohran Mamdani’s New York City mayoral general election campaign, Jeffrey Lerner… Creative director and visual strategist, Rachel Gogel… Member of the New York State Assembly, Simcha Eichenstein turns 43… Winner of two gold medals in swimming at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, he is now CEO of Gather Campgrounds north of Austin, Garrett Weber-Gale turns 41… Director of strategy and policy at K2 Space Corporation, he is also a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, Corey A. Jacobson… Reporter at San Antonio Express-News, Elizabeth Teitz… Special advisor at the Department of Homeland Security and former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Hunter Pollack turns 29…
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.”
Polls show she’s largely unknown to South Carolina voters as she struggles to win a majority of Republican support
Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images
Darline Graham, sister of Lindsey Graham, looks on during her ceremonial swearing in to become a U.S. Senator on July 14, 2026.
Sen. Darline Graham’s (R-SC) bid to succeed her late brother in the Senate is facing growing skepticism from Republican operatives and lawmakers who say President Donald Trump’s endorsement is unlikely to spare her from a runoff in South Carolina’s special GOP primary next week.
Over the last week, six senior GOP campaign operatives and Republican lawmakers told Jewish Insider that they believe a runoff is all but certain after the Aug. 11 special election primary, with most predicting Graham will not be able to clinch a majority of the vote to avert one as her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), did with his June primary victory.
While Republicans believe Graham will be one of the top two candidates in the race, thus allowing her a spot in the Aug. 25 runoff, they are still unsure whether she will face Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) or Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC) in that contest. Those who spoke to JI expressed skepticism that Graham could win a head-to-head showdown, despite having Trump’s coveted primary endorsement.
“The sense that this is going to go to a runoff seems pretty clear,” Doug Heye, a Republican strategist who served as communications director for the Republican National Committee and a deputy communications official for former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA), said. “What happens after that is anyone’s guess.”
“Ultimately, it’s going to be a question of what Republican voters in South Carolina want to do and how they view the new Sen. Graham,” he continued. “You can’t really factor in what she’s done yet, but you know what she says she’s going to do. She doesn’t have a high name ID, although that is increasing every day, whereas the others who are running have much higher name ID and not just necessarily in their districts.”
The uncertainty surrounding the race has caused some to worry about Graham entering a competitive election contest, which will require her to develop a full policy platform and hit the campaign trail as she mourns her brother’s recent death.
“It’s being said and unsaid by a lot of people on Capitol Hill right now. Up to this point, most people here have been more concerned about her personally than figuring out her political philosophy, asking if it’s fair to her to put her in this situation,” a Republican senator told JI. “This has got so many consequences. I’ve been very concerned about it. The people who express concern the most are still mainly worried about her personally, which is heartwarming, but the stakes are also very high.”
Four sources noted that Trump’s support for Graham did not deter Norman or Fry from entering the contest, nor has it hurt either of their performances in recent primary polling.
“There really is an appetite for change, but also for someone who is known, who has a proven record,” a GOP campaign source said. “Love them or hate them, folks know what Ralph and Russell’s records look like. Love them or hate them, you know where they stand. Darline is largely an unknown.”
Republican sources pointed to issues around voter turnout, Graham’s ability to fundraise quickly enough on the compressed campaign schedule, her lack of political background or voting record and the possibility of her losing support if portrayed to voters as being anointed to the role.
Darline Graham should be able to benefit from some of the leftover cash in her brother’s campaign account. Lindsey Graham’s campaign filed a statement with the Federal Election Commission after his death reporting $2.3 million in remaining funds.
Lindsey Graham’s campaign was able to transfer some of that money to the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the Senate GOP campaign arm, for Darline Graham to use for her campaign, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the situation. The figure expected to be transferred is under $1 million, one source confirmed, leaving Darline Graham with a possible cash disadvantage for the primary and the general election, where the Republican nominee will face Dr. Annie Andrews, a pediatrician who handily won the Democratic primary in June and has proven to be a strong fundraiser.
Prior to Lindsey Graham’s passing, Andrews drew attention for outraising the incumbent senator in the first two quarters of 2026. Despite the fundraising success, national Democrats declined to commit resources to the race against Graham, which the Cook Political Report continues to rate as solid Republican even after his death.
Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT) got behind Norman’s campaign before Graham had entered; once she did, she quickly secured her own endorsements from three members of Senate GOP leadership: Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY); Senate Republican Conference Chairman Tom Cotton (R-AR); and Senate Republican Policy Committee Chairwoman Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV).
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said after Graham announced her candidacy that he would not be weighing in with an endorsement, though he praised the incumbent senator as a “strong candidate” who “obviously carries on Lindsey’s legacy.”
Beyond those who have already endorsed her, Graham does not appear to have asked her other Republican colleagues in the Senate for their backing, according to two Republican senators and one senior GOP Senate staffer. The senators suggested that perhaps Graham was not in the right frame of mind to ask about endorsements herself, though both senators expressed surprise that no one from Graham’s campaign had made those overtures on her behalf.
“Many of us had never met her before. All I knew was how much Lindsey adored her. He talked about her a lot. He referenced her a lot. He’d take her call whenever it happened to be,” a GOP senator told JI of Graham. “But we don’t have a clue how Republican she is. I don’t have the faintest idea what her basic philosophies are.”
“She hasn’t asked me or the members that I’ve talked to,” one GOP senator told JI on condition of anonymity of Graham seeking out endorsements late last week. “If she isn’t asking and nobody is asking on her behalf, she sure as heck won’t get a lot of them. Maybe she’ll get around to that next week now that she’s on the job full time. It’s kind of a pivotal week, I would say.”
Graham has picked up one House endorsement from Rep. William Timmons (R-SC), who opposes Norman’s candidacy, while Norman has been endorsed by Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and former Rep. Bob Good (R-VA). He also has the support of former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who served with Norman in the House.
The slow drip of congressional endorsements have since ground to a halt, as it became clear that Graham’s surprise campaign launch and Trump’s support for her candidacy had not deterred her Republican opponents or hurt their polling numbers.
“Many of us had never met her before [she was sworn in to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term]. All I knew was how much Lindsey adored her. He talked about her a lot. He referenced her a lot. He’d take her call whenever it happened to be,” a GOP senator told JI of Graham. “But we don’t have a clue how Republican she is. I don’t have the faintest idea what her basic philosophies are.”
“She’s still grieving,” a senior GOP campaign official involved with the race told JI. “Nobody wants to be seen hitting someone whose brother literally just died — and then was vaulted into a very public, very national spotlight — but at some point the gloves are gonna have to come off at least somewhat.”
“I suspect that being through what she’s been through the last couple of weeks, reliving his whole life basically in written word and broadcast and even just storytelling, she’s probably getting a pretty good lesson if she’s still forming her positions,” the senator continued. “I doubt she’s 180 degrees from him, but I don’t know what’s in her heart.”
Several Republicans have expressed concern that voters would respond poorly to the idea of Graham running while mourning the loss of her brother. They also worry about the possibility that the contest turns negative and the consequences of that shift.
“She’s still grieving,” a senior GOP campaign official involved with the race told JI. “Nobody wants to be seen hitting someone whose brother literally just died — and then was vaulted into a very public, very national spotlight — but at some point the gloves are gonna have to come off at least somewhat.”
One Republican senator told JI that they were “afraid it could be a brawl before it’s over, especially if her opponent feels like they’re up against a wall and corners her. We know how this goes.”
“If they get to a runoff, at that point, it is a whole new ball game and she’s no longer a grieving sister. She becomes a semi-incumbent obstacle to whoever wants to win,” the senator said. “These things happen faster nowadays. We have short memories.”
The South Carolina senator faced her four leading opponents in a televised debate on Monday evening. Graham was joined on the debate stage by Norman, Fry, former Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) and Mark Lynch, a MAGA-aligned businessman who lost to Lindsey Graham in last month’s primary by 30 points.
The debate was largely respectful, though Graham called out Lynch in her closing statement for repeatedly criticizing her late brother while on stage. “I don’t know if I can rebut, but Mr. Lynch mentioned Lindsey Graham multiple times. I don’t know if he’s just afraid Lindsey beat him and now his little sister is going to beat him, but I just don’t like hearing that,” Graham said.
Graham used the debate to highlight where she and her late brother agree and disagree on policy matters, emphasizing their shared support for the U.S. war in Iran and how they diverge on the filibuster, which Darline Graham said she supports abolishing to pass the Save America Act despite her later brother’s opposition to the move.
It is unclear if the two candidates who advance to the runoff, should one be triggered, will hold another debate.
“Lindsey just made his way through a pretty contentious primary himself, and there is a degree of the primary electorate that was not a fan of his. I think that segment will still be very much adamantly opposed to this because they’ll see it as a continuation of the policies that they don’t support,” a senior GOP campaign source said. “Ralph Norman is a little bit better positioned to capture some of these hardcore conservative voters. I think she’ll have a difficult time even with the president’s endorsement.”
“This is potentially a race where debates could have a real impact, in part because this would be part of her introduction statewide as a candidate,” Heye said. “In moments like that where you have somebody in that situation, it’s very important for the other people on stage, including the moderators, to be appropriately respectful.”
While several Republicans acknowledged Trump’s endorsement as a key booster for Graham, they pointed out that her late brother, who was known to be close to the president, struggled in his own primary.
“Lindsey just made his way through a pretty contentious primary himself, and there is a degree of the primary electorate that was not a fan of his. I think that segment will still be very much adamantly opposed to this because they’ll see it as a continuation of the policies that they don’t support,” a senior GOP campaign source said. “Ralph Norman is a little bit better positioned to capture some of these hardcore conservative voters. I think she’ll have a difficult time even with the president’s endorsement.”
Heye noted to JI that, “Not everything that happens in a Republican primary is about Donald Trump. His endorsement is always a boost, but that’s it.”
Reached for comment, Graham campaign press secretary Abby Zilch told JI in a statement, “Sen. Darline Graham has had to work hard for every single thing she’s ever done — running for the United States Senate will be no different. That’s just one of the many reasons why President Trump has endorsed her and why so many South Carolinians see a true fighter in this campaign.”
Plus, Cruz champions bipartisan buffer zone bill
UNITED STATES - JUNE 3: Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., right, and Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., attend the Congressional Chess Tournament hosted with the St. Louis Chess Club in Russell building on Wednesday, June 3, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
In today’s Daily Kickoff, we look at the state of play in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary in the final days of the race, and have the scoop on plans by Sen. Ted Cruz and Reps. Brad Knott and Tom Suozzi to introduce federal buffer zone legislation. We talk to Israeli officials and regional experts about the Trump administration’s newly released Gaza disarmament roadmap, and report from the Israel on Campus Coalition’s National Leadership Summit in Washington. Also in today’s Daily Kickoff: Dean Kremer, Alex Ryvchin and Balaji Srinivasan.
We also have a new on-demand Live Briefing that you can access throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and on our website.
Today’s Daily Kickoff was curated by JI Executive Editor Melissa Weiss and Israel Editor Tamara Zieve, with an assist from Marc Rod. Have a tip? Email us here.
What We’re Watching
- The Middle East remains on edge after President Donald Trump called off plans to launch “the biggest attack since World War II” targeting Iran, saying on Sunday that he was persuaded by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia to again attempt to reach a diplomatic solution with Tehran. Trump said that talks with Iran are slated to restart today, while the Islamic Republic denied that talks were set to take place.
- Jay Clayton assumes his role today as director of national intelligence, following his confirmation vote last week to replace ODNI interim head Bill Pulte, who briefly served as acting director following Tulsi Gabbard‘s resignation.
- The Israel on Campus Coalition is holding its annual National Leadership Summit in Washington. More below.
What You Should Know
A QUICK WORD WITH JI’S JOSH KRAUSHAAR
Michigan will take center stage this week as it holds its marquee Senate primary and consequential down-ballot races that showcase the divide between the Democratic mainstream and its left-wing, anti-Israel activists.
But Missouri is playing the role of the must-watch undercard, with the rematch between Rep. Wesley Bell (D-MO) and Democratic Socialists of America-aligned former Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) marking another significant bellwether contest between the center and the left.
Bell, a stalwart supporter of Israel who was championed by AIPAC in both of his congressional campaigns, is facing a changed political environment within the Democratic Party with public opinion turning against the Jewish state.
Bell defeated Bush by five points in 2024, but the race could end up being closer this time around given the ascendance of socialist candidates in urban, deep-blue districts like Missouri’s First District.
Bush, however, has myriad other vulnerabilities beyond her far-left policy views, from missed votes during her time in Congress to ethical questions surrounding her handling of campaign funds.
Bell is also being boosted by outside groups, led by the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project super PAC, which has spent over $2.6 million in the race hitting Bush, along with the New Democrat Coalition-affiliated super PAC, which has poured in just over $1 million on Bell’s behalf. Bell has also outspent Bush on the airwaves by about a ten-to-one margin, according to the Cook Political Report.
MICHIGAN MOVES
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. If Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) loses, Republicans are eager to present former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-MI), the GOP’s presumptive nominee, 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,Jewish Insider’s Matthew Kassel reports.
Shifting tide: “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 JI, calling Rogers “unconditionally and unapologetically pro-Israel and part of the fight against antisemitism in America.”
Called out: In a late-night tweet five days before Michigan’s high-stakes Democratic Senate primary, Stevens explicitly accused her opponent, El-Sayed, of trafficking in antisemitism, JI’s Gabby Deutch reports. Despite that, Stevens said, when asked in an MS NOW interview if she could commit to backing El-Sayed if he wins Tuesday’s primary: “You bet … I am on the team, alright. And I am gonna link arms and do whatever’s needed.”
SCOOP
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Rep. Brad Knott (R-NC) and Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) are preparing to introduce federal legislation that would establish a 100-foot buffer zone around religious institutions, within which conduct that disrupts religious services or interrupts access to the place of worship would be banned during religious services, Jewish Insider’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
Negotiations: The Right to Worship Act aims to address demonstrations around synagogues and other houses of worship that have become a growing concern for the Jewish community following anti-Israel and antisemitic protests outside synagogues that have turned violent. Several states have pursued similar legislation. Cruz and Knott have been working on the bill for some time, and two sources familiar with the situation said that “intense negotiations” had been ongoing between Cruz and Suozzi’s teams to reach a bipartisan compromise balancing the desire to protect religious worship and free speech rights. A source said a deal was reached on Sunday evening.
PEACE PROSPECTS
Israeli officials and regional experts are expressing deep skepticism over the Trump administration’s newly unveiled Gaza disarmament roadmap, warning that public disagreements between Israel and Hamas over the timing of weapon surrenders and troop withdrawals threaten to unravel the agreement before it even begins, Jewish Insider’s Matthew Shea reports.
Israeli concern: Doron Spielman, a spokesman for the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office, told JI that Jerusalem conveyed to Washington that the plan “does not reflect Israel’s concerns.” Spielman said that Israeli intelligence has shown that Hamas “has been regrouping, digging additional tunnels, rearming and resupplying and have plans to attack Israel again.” For that reason, he said it is difficult for Israeli leaders to justify any decision to withdraw prior to Hamas’ complete disarmament.
BOILING POINT
A popular Montreal kosher restaurant was destroyed in what police are investigating as a possible arson attack early Saturday morning, the latest in a worsening pattern of antisemitic attacks across the city and throughout Jewish communities in Canada, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Caught on camera: First responders were called to Nöam Restaurant in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood around 3:15 a.m. Saturday to find the building engulfed in flames. Despite the efforts of roughly 80 firefighters, the two-story building suffered extensive damage. No injuries were reported, and no arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon. The Montreal Gazette reported that the blaze was set by a single individual who appeared to be a young man, perhaps in his early 20s, according to video footage of the incident.
On the soccer pitch: Amid chants of “Death to Israel,” Israeli striker Dor Turgeman scored a goal for his New England Revolution team during a Saturday night Major League Soccer match against CF Montréal.
CAMPUS CLIMATE
As close to 1,000 pro-Israel students from around the country gather in the nation’s capital for the Israel on Campus Coalition’s annual National Leadership Summit, they’ll do so against a backdrop of seemingly quieter campus antisemitism than in the years immediately following the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks in Israel. But students are still seeking tools to navigate a campus climate they’ve come to see as permanently changed, Jewish Insider’s Haley Cohen reports.
Campus concerns: “My main concern [on campus today] is every time I sit down with a classmate I have to wonder whether the person next to me was at the [anti-Israel] encampment,” Noah Lederman, an incoming senior at Columbia University majoring in philosophy and Jewish ethics, told JI. In February 2024, Lederman said he was shoved and pinned against a wall by an anti-Israel protester as he donned a shirt with an Israeli flag on it during a pro-Israel demonstration right outside of the Morningside Heights campus. More than two years later, Lederman still feels wary on campus.
ON SECOND THOUGHT
Far-left Colorado congressional candidate Melat Kiros backtracked on Sunday from her conciliatory tone in a PBS interview on the need for progressives to formulate a policy on Israel that does not engage in antisemitism, Jewish Insider’s Danielle Cohen-Kanik reports.
U-turn: Appearing on “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover” on Saturday morning, Kiros said her “greatest concern right now is that the State of Israel is losing support all across the political spectrum” and that progressives are “leaving a vacuum” for far-right commentators like Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens to fill by “pretending to care about Palestinian safety when really it’s just masking their overt hatred for Jewish people.” The 29-year-old doctoral student, who was backed by the Democratic Socialists of America in her campaign, quickly reversed course after the interview aired. Responding on Sunday to criticism on X from Al Jazeera producer Sana Saeed, Kiros said she “fumbled this line, plain and simple.”
Mounting pressure: Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) publicly accused Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), his former son-in-law, of domestic abuse on Sunday and said Miller is unfit for office. Moreno’s comments came in response to a video address by Miller denying wrongdoing amid growing scrutiny of the allegations of domestic violence and abuse by his ex-wife Emily Moreno, the senator’s daughter, JI’s Emily Jacobs and Marc Rod report.
Worthy Reads
History Lesson: In The New York Times, Mehrzad Boroujerdi reflects on his father’s 1978 killing by Iranian revolutionaries, some of whom are now among the Islamic Republic’s top officials. “The United States and Israel have yet to learn that the Iranian regime is not made of papier-mâché, and the Islamic republic’s confrontational ideology is unlikely to dissipate anytime soon. The men in uniform showed no hesitation in killing thousands of their compatriots in January — a national trauma that Iranian society has yet to fully process. They will continue to practice a politics of performance for domestic audiences even as they recognize that the regime’s social contract is both morally bankrupt and fiscally unsustainable.” [NYTimes]
Threat to the West: In The Wall Street Journal, Lorenzo Vidino, the head of The George Washington University’s Program on Extremism, warns of the dangers of political Islam’s impact that have largely been misunderstood by successive U.S. presidential administrations. “Save for the years immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, there has been no concerted effort within U.S. law-enforcement and policy communities to acquire a deep institutional understanding of Islamist networks worldwide. A particular lack of understanding exists on how Islamists are using the American political and educational systems to advance their aims — dynamics that have become apparent in the past few years.” [WSJ]
Rise of the Far Right: Politico’s Kathy Gilsinan does a deep dive into concerns among Republicans over the rise of “groypers” in the party, who are beginning to gain professional footholds in Washington and in the conservative space. “If, as the adage goes, personnel is policy, the stakes are significantly higher than intergenerational trash talk, given the degree to which government staffers, across branches, effectively run the country. Student government types become interns become policy aides become senior advisers, chiefs of staff and even heads of agencies. If the conservative personnel pipeline is changing, Republican government will change with it.” [Politico]
Find more Worthy Reads in our Live Briefing via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Word on the Street
A new survey of K Street leaders from Punchbowl News focused on the war with Iran and memorandum of understanding between Washington and Tehran found that 65% of respondents believed that Israel’s involvement in the war with Iran had a negative impact on its outcome…
The New York Times looks at the cyberattacks targeting water facilities in at least seven states, finding that evidence indicates potential Iranian involvement…
Sens. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Tim Sheehy (R-MT) and Dave McCormick (R-PA) introduced a resolution condemning the Iranian government’s human rights abuses…
Senate Appropriations Committee leaders finalized a stopgap funding bill that would, at least temporarily, prevent the Trump administration from putting political appointees in charge of approving federal grants, a plan that had raised concerns on both sides of the aisle…
A district court judge dismissed a complaint filed against The George Washington University by alumni of the school alleging that the school allowed “pervasive and severe” antisemitism on campus, citing the length of the complaint; the judge gave the plaintiffs until the end of August to refile an amended complaint…
The New York Times reports from a national meeting of the Democratic Socialists of America, finding an invigorated activist base that struggled at times to find consensus on issues regarding policy and organizing…
Boy George split from his manager, Paul Kemsley, after the latter pulled the performer from a two-week West End run of “Jesus Christ Superstar” after Boy George posted a reggae song with pro-Israel lyrics…
The Minnesota Twins acquired starting pitcher Dean Kremer, the first Israeli player drafted by a Major League Baseball team and a great-nephew of Haim Saban, from the Baltimore Orioles…
FIFA President Gianni Infantino is facing mounting criticism from the governing bodies of European, North American and Central American football leagues following his proposal to privatize FIFA — which originated last year with secret talks between Infantino and Josh Kushner; Bloomberg reports that Nasser Al-Khelaifi, the chairman of Qatar Sports Investments and president of the Paris Saint-Germain team, has the backing of some European sports officials…
The New York Times reports on the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s decision to feature an exhibition on designer John Galliano and honor him at its annual Met Gala despite a 2011 outburst in which he proclaimed, “I love Hitler”; the Times notes that Galliano participated in a May meeting with former Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and New York City Jewish leaders over the decisions…
The Washington Post follows up on a May story about a trove of WWII-era love letters written by a Jewish soldier Louis “Speedy” Weber to his eventual wife, Frances, after finding the couple’s nephew…
The people’s choice award of the Archibald Prize, Australia’s top portraiture honor, was given to artist Michael Zavros for his portrait of Australian Jewish leader Alex Ryvchin following the December 2025 terror attack at a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach…
The Wall Street Journal spotlights tech entrepreneur Balaji Srinivasan’s effort to create an incubator for new countries in a sparsely inhabited Malaysian city that fell apart after the project faced government scrutiny following a social media post alleging that the incubator included participants with Israeli citizenship in violation of Malaysian laws…
CNN does a deep dive into increasing incitement in Israel against journalists, who accuse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his political allies of stoking animus toward reporters in the country…
Ugandan officials unveiled a statue of Yonatan Netanyahu, the older brother of the Israeli prime minister, at the airport in Entebbe where the elder Netanyahu was killed during the 1976 hostage-rescue operation following the hijacking of a passenger plane by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine…
Former Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), the first Republican woman from Texas elected to serve in the House, died on Sunday at 83…
Find on-demand Live Briefing updates throughout the day via our new app (on Apple and Android) and website.
Pic of the Day
Members of Israel’s lacrosse team celebrated on Sunday after scoring a goal during the bronze medal match between Israel and Haudenosaunee, made up of Native American nations, during the 2026 World Lacrosse Women’s Championship in Tokyo. Israel came in third in the tournament overall after its win over Haudenosaunee.
Birthdays
Retired head coach of both the NFL’s KC Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, the oldest-ever living member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Marv Levy turns 101…
English actor, author, playwright and theatre director, known for his roles as the villain in both “James Bond” and “Rambo” films, Steven Berkoff turns 89… EVP emeritus of the UJA-Federation of New York, John S. Ruskay turns 80… Retired regional director in the Cleveland office of the ADL, she serves on the board of trustees of the Cleveland Federation, Anita Gray… Former chairman and CEO of the North America office of commercial real estate brokerage firm Savills, he is a past member of AIPAC’s Real Estate Division Executive Council, Mitchell S. Steir turns 71… Voice actor in dozens of Disney films, video games and television programs, known professionally as Corey Burton, Corey Gregg Weinberg turns 71… Former chair of the board of the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles and board member of JFNA, Orna Amir Wolens… CEO and co-founder of D.C.-based Freedman Consulting, LLC, Thomas Z. Freedman turns 63… Co-founder of Pushkin Industries, a podcast company, Jacob Weisberg… Israeli filmmaker, producer and director, Ilan Moskovitch turns 60… Canadian entrepreneur and former commodities trader, Alexander Shnaider turns 58… Executive director of public affairs at the Jewish Federation of Broward County (Florida), Evan Goldman… Emmy Award-winning sportscaster, she sometimes serves as a fill-in for her husband, Rich Eisen, Suzy Shuster turns 54… Managing editor of Vital City, Josh Greenman… U.S. senator (D-CT), Chris Murphy turns 53… Chief advancement and communications officer at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, Joshua Cherwin… Senior vice president of public policy at Riot Platforms, Brian Morgenstern… Senior editor of Commentary magazine, Seth A. Mandel turns 44… Managing partner and head of global government affairs at SoftBank Group International, Jeffrey A. Dressler turns 42… Director of strategic partnerships and senior development officer at JDC (the “Joint”), Erica Greenblatt… Caroline “Carrie” Keller-Lynn… Director of member engagement at Christians United For Israel, she was born in Lutsk, Ukraine and raised in Sacramento, California, Liliya Maskovcevs… Executive director of The Natan Fund, Adina Poupko … Executive director of the Reducetarian Foundation (a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing meat consumption), Brian Kateman… Fashion model and entrepreneur, founder of the “Kode with Klossy” nonprofit and founder and CEO of Bedford Media, Karlie Kloss turns 34… U.S. news editor at the Financial Times, Emily Goldberg… First-round pick of MLB’s Atlanta Braves in the 2020 draft, he made his MLB debut in 2023, now in the St. Louis Cardinals organization, Jared Shuster turns 28… Ariana Kaufman… Founder-director of Meeting Your Mission, Leslie Rosen Stern… Leigh Bonner Levine… Co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Washington Reporter, Matthew Foldi…
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.
Sens. Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul again broke with their party to vote for the resolution with most Democrats, while Sen. John Fetterman voted against it
Kevin Carter/Getty Images
U.S. Capitol building on July 12, 2026 in Washington, DC.
The Senate narrowly blocked another push by Democrats to force an end to the Iran war, 50-49, with the vote falling along now-predictable lines.
Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Rand Paul (R-KY) broke with their party to vote for the resolution with most Democrats, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted against it.
The resolution comes as the Trump administration is debating how to proceed in the war, including whether to ramp up military operations or seek a renewed diplomatic arrangement with Tehran.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the lead sponsor of the latest resolution, accused Republicans of having “abandoned their duties as elected officials and refus[ing] to keep President Trump in check,” highlighting rising gas prices and the deaths of U.S. service members.
The five-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 was included into the hard-fought bill at Trump’s urging
Tim Graham/ Getty Images
U.S. Capitol Building
The Senate on Tuesday advanced a major Russia sanctions package, negotiated and championed by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) before his death, to which lawmakers added a provision extending longstanding sanctions on Iran, currently set to expire at the end of the year.
The addition of the five-year extension of the Iran Sanctions Act of 1996 to the package is a relatively minor change to the hard-fought bill, which will extend a key piece of the U.S. economic pressure campaign on Iran and address President Donald Trump’s late-stage demands that threatened to upend a bipartisan agreement.
Lawmakers have been working for years on a bipartisan basis to extend the Iran sanctions past 2026 and they have been extended on a bipartisan basis in the past.
“We are proud to announce an agreement on legislation to stop purchasers of Russian oil and gas from fueling Putin’s war machine and to continue restricting the Iranian regime’s ability to support terrorism and build its nuclear program,” Sens. Jim Risch (R-ID), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Darline Graham (R-SC), Katie Britt (R-AL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Roger Wicker (R-MS) said in a joint statement on Tuesday. “There is no greater way to honor Senator Graham’s legacy than to move forward with this bipartisan agreement, and we look forward to today’s vote.”
The bill advanced by an 86-12 procedural vote. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jon Ossoff (D-GA), Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Ed Markey (D-MA), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Rand Paul (R-KY) voted no.
Blumenthal, the lead Democrat on the bill, had initially reacted negatively to Trump’s efforts to include Iran sanctions, warning against further changes to the bill, which took months to negotiate.
The bill “was the result of painstaking, sometimes painful negotiation involving leadership here, the White House, the U.S. trade representative over many months. I personally would like to see it passed as is,” Blumenthal said earlier this month after Trump initially began pushing for changes. “There may be other provisions that are worthwhile which should be passed separately.”
Asked Tuesday about the decision to add the Iran sanctions provisions, Blumenthal told Jewish Insider, “Darline Graham asked us — asked me — to do it. And by the way, that Iran provision was in the bill as originally written, so restoring it was a pretty simple yes.”
Blumenthal also told reporters that, during a closed-door meeting with senators shortly before the vote, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized the role that Ukrainian drone technology has been playing in assisting the U.S. with defending its bases from Iranian attacks.
Prominent House Democrats have raised concerns about the bill, which provides tariff authority to the administration to target importers of Russian oil, concerns shared by some of the bill’s Senate opponents, even as some of them expressed strong support for Ukraine. Critics worry that the bill would allow Trump to impose punishing tariffs on the U.S.’ European allies, but Democratic supporters insist that the authority is carefully tailored and limited.
Alexandria Paolozzi Moore, the senior director of government relations at FDD Action, said the extension is “a critical, bipartisan win. ISA is a foundational tool for countering Iran’s WMD proliferation, ballistic missile program, and support for terrorism.”
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.
‘I've become used to the right-wing, nationalist, nativist, antisemitic tone, but I'm really shocked about what I'm seeing from the far left — the DSA wing, that is deeply troubling, Vindman said
(Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman speaks during a campaign event at the Broward County Democratic Clubs and Caucuses on February 09, 2026 in Sunrise, Florida.
Alexander Vindman, a former Army officer who became nationally known as a National Security Council whistleblower during the first Trump administration and is now running for Senate in Florida as a Democrat, called out rising antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment on the left in a Zoom meeting with the Florida Democratic Party Jewish Caucus on Tuesday.
Vindman, who is Jewish and who fled the Soviet Union as a child, said he felt protected from antisemitism during his career in the military in the occasional times he experienced it, but faced a wave of antisemitic hatred from the right when he became a whistleblower during the first Trump administration.
He said that he had experienced a significant rise in antisemitic harassment when he declared his Senate campaign, in large part from the left.
“I’ve become used to the right-wing, nationalist, nativist, antisemitic tone, but I’m really shocked about what I’m seeing from the far left — the DSA wing, that is deeply troubling,” Vindman said. “It is not simply criticism of Israel but a conflation of Israel and Judaism, and a rise of antisemitism within what should be a portion of our own big tent.”
He said that leaders have not done enough to address the issue or hold the perpetrators accountable, on all sides of the political spectrum.
“When we fail to do that, we breed impunity and we encourage that kind of behavior,” Vindman said.
He said that challenging antisemitism is a personal issue for him, including protecting his own daughter — whom he said has felt the need to hide her Star of David necklace.
“That is not the world that I grew up in,” Vindmans said. “That is not the world that my daughter should be living in, and that is absolutely something I will fight tooth and nail to make sure that she feels comfortable living her Jewish American life.”
The Senate candidate, whose twin brother, Eugene, represents a Virginia district in the House, also said he believes that Israel has a right to exist, and that as a Jewish refugee from the FSU he feels personally close to the Jewish state. He’s faced attacks on the campaign trail for refusing to describe the war in Gaza as a genocide.
“I’m pretty deeply disturbed by the trend lines that we’re hearing on both sides of the political spectrum, but frankly, to be fair, from the far left that takes up a cry for Palestine, not a two-state solution, which I’m very much in favor of,” Vindman said. “A path that advocates for Palestine and that completely dismisses a safe homeland for the Jewish people … that’s the part that’s deeply troubling to me.”
Vindman, citing his military, intelligence and diplomatic background, said that he would seek a position on the Senate Foreign Relations, Intelligence or Armed Services Committees if he’s elected.
Elizabeth Warren, who is speaking at a rally for El-Sayed later that day, was originally billed as a speaker for the event but was since removed from event publicity
Sarah Rice/Getty Images
Abdul El-Sayed, candidate for US Senate in Michigan, speaks at Mumford High School on May 3, 2026 in Detroit, Michigan.
Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed is slated to appear at a campaign fundraiser this weekend that is co-hosted by Kelly Neumann, a controversial Democratic fundraiser in Michigan who faced scrutiny earlier this year for a 2024 Facebook post on Veterans Day that praised her grandfather, who fought for the Nazis in World War II.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who endorsed El-Sayed on Monday, was initially listed as a speaker at the Saturday event hosted by Neumann, though Neumann and the campaign removed Warren from their promotional materials after Jewish Insider inquired about the senator’s role. Warren is speaking at a rally for El-Sayed later that day.
A spokesperson for El-Sayed said Warren’s “inclusion on the flier was a clerical error by our campaign” and that she was never scheduled to speak at the fundraiser. A spokesperson for Warren declined to comment.
In Neumann’s November 2024 post, which was previously reported by JI, she said her grandfather, Albert Neumann, fought “on the German side in WWI & WWII.” She noted that he “was one of the first people in my life that accepted me as gay” and described him as “a true testament that people can change and love indeed can win.”
Neumann, a Michigan attorney, has since deleted the post after it resurfaced earlier this year. In a March 2026 Facebook post, she apologized “to anyone who was hurt by [my] post from years ago, as that was certainly never my intention,” but blamed Rep. Haley Stevens’ (D-MI) Senate campaign for unearthing the original post.
Neumann had endorsed state Sen. Mallory McMorrow, but after McMorrow dropped out early this month, Neumann backed El-Sayed. Neumann hosted a fundraiser for Stevens’ House reelection campaign last year.
A spokesperson for Stevens told JI in January that Stevens would not have invited Neumann to host the event if Stevens had “seen the post celebrating Ms. Neumann’s grandfather’s service to the SS.” (The Daily Mail reported later that Neumann’s grandfather was likely in the German Wehrmacht, or armed forces, rather than the Nazi SS.)
“The host in question has hosted or donated to several democratic senators, congresspeople, statewide elected officials and candidates, including Abdul’s opponent, Congresswoman Stevens,” a spokesperson for El-Sayed told JI. “All of us, including the host, condemn Nazi ideology.”
Neumann defended her grandfather even as she apologized for the original post. “To be clear, my grandfather was a german soldier, not a nazi,” Neumann wrote in March. In a phone call with JI on Monday, Neumann stood by this assertion and claimed that a representative from Germany’s Ministry of Defense told her the same thing.
“All I know is that I’ve been informed as a child, in growing up, and then recently again, is that they said he wasn’t a Nazi,” Neumann said. “I believe there is a distinction between a young German soldier and a Nazi in the actual regime close to Hitler.”
The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum calls the idea that German soldiers were not part of the Nazi regime a “myth.”
“This belief is untrue. The German military participated in many aspects of the Holocaust: in supporting Hitler, in the use of forced labor, and in the mass murder of Jews and other groups targeted by the Nazis,” the museum states on its website.
Neumann’s political resume is lengthy. She served as a co-chair of the finance committee for McMorrow’s Senate campaign. She also previously worked to support gubernatorial candidate Jocelyn Benson, Michigan’s secretary of state, though Neumann has since endorsed Chris Swanson, a long-shot challenger to Benson.
Neumann told JI that she is “not antisemitic in any sort of way,” and that she regularly hosts events for Jewish politicians. Last year she hosted a fundraiser for Michigan state Sen. Jeremy Moss, a Jewish Democrat who is running for Congress.
“I’m not proud of my grandfather being in World War II as a young German soldier,” said Neumann. “What I am proud about is how he was so kind to me and accepted me as a minority in the ‘90s.”
Reps. Russell Fry and Ralph Norman have also entered the race for the late Sen. Lindsey Graham’s seat
Kent NISHIMURA / AFP via Getty Images
Darline Graham, sister of Lindsey Graham, looks on during her ceremonial swearing in to become a U.S. Senator on July 14, 2026.
Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) said that she will run in next month’s special election to replace her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), on the ballot as the GOP nominee for Senate in November.
Graham, who was appointed last week to serve out the remainder of her brother’s term in the Senate, announced her decision to run for a full term in an interview with Fox News’ Sean Hannity on Monday.
“I’ve made a decision,” Graham said. “I’m in.”
Graham told Hannity, a friend of her late brother’s, that she had been “praying a lot” and “talking to my family” about the decision, which she acknowledged she needed to make at an expedited pace due to the week-long filing period for candidates beginning on Tuesday.
“With the love of my family, with the support of his staff, I know I’m a hard worker. I learned that from Lindsey. He cared about the people of this state. I’ve worked for almost 30 years for the people of this state,” Graham said. “I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes, absolutely.”
President Donald Trump publicly called on her to run in the special election after meeting her at the White House last week, promising his endorsement if she got in the race.
“These are just the laws of South Carolina. The filing begins tomorrow. I think you have a week, and by that time, the funerals won’t even have taken place,” Hannity said. “Then the president putting an ask on you — well, put it that way, it’s a lot of pressure.”
“It’s a tremendous amount of pressure,” Graham acknowledged in response.
Two sources familiar with Graham’s thinking told Jewish Insider on Friday that she was not interested in running for a full term when she initially agreed to accept the appointment last Sunday. The South Carolina senator began considering a bid over the course of last week, the sources said.
Reps. Russell Fry (R-SC) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) have also entered the contest, as has Mark Lynch, who lost to Graham in last month’s primary by 30 points and has committed $5 million of his own money to his campaign for the special election. Lynch ignored Lindsey Graham’s repeated calls during the primary to fire his political director despite the staffer’s record of making antisemitic statements, including posting a photo to social media last June of a boot stepping on the Talmud and calling it a “hate filled book” and “what drives today’s Judaism.”
Norman has been endorsed by Sens. Rick Scott (R-FL) and Mike Lee (R-UT). Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who expressed interest in the Senate race, announced Monday that she won’t be running for Graham’s seat.
After Graham’s announcement on Hannity began circulating on social media, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) and Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) quickly endorsed her bid.
“Darline Graham is an excellent senator. She’ll continue to be an excellent senator,” Barrasso said in a statement. “She has my full support.”
“I’m proud to join President Trump and endorse Darline Graham,” Cotton wrote on X. “She’ll be a principled conservative leader and a strong advocate for South Carolina families.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), meanwhile, said on Monday that while Graham was a “strong candidate” who “obviously carries on Lindsey’s legacy,” he was not endorsing any candidates in the race “at the moment.”
“She’s a strong candidate. Sounds like the field is taking shape, and we’ll let the voters in South Carolina decide it,” Thune told reporters. “She obviously carries on Lindsey’s legacy and I think she’s a very accomplished person in her own right.”
These two unexpected nomination fights are serving as a microcosm of both parties’ ideological directions
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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner and Troy Jackson stand together during a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus on May 24, 2026 in Orono, Maine.
July was scheduled to offer a break from primary politics, but two seismic developments this month — the collapse of scandal-plagued Graham Platner’s campaign in Maine and the sudden death of Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) — are forcing both parties to deal with messy internal conflicts as they choose replacements in these key races.
The outcome of the July 25 Maine Democratic convention choosing an alternative candidate to run against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and the Aug. 11 special election primary to choose a GOP nominee for Graham’s seat are offering clarity on the ideological directions of the two parties as the November midterm elections approach.
Already, we’re seeing that Democrats want to nominate a candidate as ideologically similar to Platner as possible, with most of the convention delegates chosen this weekend gravitating towards former state Senate President Troy Jackson, an anti-Israel progressive who unsuccessfully ran for governor this year as a champion of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
As Maine counties completed the process of choosing delegates for the nominating convention, Jackson’s campaign expressed confidence that he rallied enough backers to secure a victory. Most of his leading rivals dropped out of the race on Sunday, indicating that the state party is clearly intent on pushing forward a candidate that shares Platner’s anti-establishment, left-wing worldview but without the personal baggage he brought to the table.
Jackson was the candidate whom Platner preferred to replace him on the general election ballot. Indeed, the Platner camp’s reported demands that the party choose someone who shares his values — even as his own campaign was sinking — caused such a backlash that the Maine Democratic Party’s executive director put out a video rebuking Platner for trying to influence the selection of his own successor.
If Jackson is the nominee, he’ll have to answer why he continued to support Platner even as the candidate’s other scandals piled up around him. Jackson finished in third place in June’s Democratic gubernatorial primary, only winning 21% of the vote in the five-candidate field.
In a sign of where the Democratic Party is headed, most of the leading candidates to challenge Collins sought to underscore their anti-Israel bona fides in the race, even the more-moderate Democrat Nirav Shah, who called Israel’s war against Hamas a “genocide” in a candidate questionnaire.
Meanwhile in South Carolina, there are growing indications that appointed Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC), who was tapped to fill the remainder of her late brother’s term, is seriously considering running for the seat herself, and has the president’s endorsement to do so.
That would greatly scramble the internal politics for next month’s primary, which was seen as a wide-open contest between several politically established South Carolina lawmakers. An endorsement of Graham from President Donald Trump would immediately make her the front-runner — given his near-perfect track record in congressional primary endorsements — even as she’d still likely face credible primary opposition.
It’s impossible to guarantee how Graham will end up voting in the Senate, but it’s safe to assume she’ll continue her brother’s hawkish record, maintaining strong support for Israel and Ukraine. Some of the other candidates for the seat — namely Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Ralph Norman (R-SC) — have been less enthusiastic supporters of military spending, and more reticent in aiding Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression.
These two unexpected nomination fights are serving as a microcosm of both parties’ ideological directions. Democrats are accommodating their populist left flank, even at the risk of damaging the party’s midterm prospects. Republicans, meanwhile, continue to march to the beat of Trump’s drum, and are fine maintaining the party’s conservative status quo even with rumblings from the isolationist right.
Republican and Democratic senators paid tribute to his legacy, while wondering if anyone will be able to fill the leadership vacuum
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) in the Senate Judiciary Committee on January 30, 2025 in Washington, D.C.
Sen. Lindsey Graham’s (R-SC) sudden death last weekend is complicating an already difficult dynamic between Senate Republicans and President Donald Trump, as legislators try to muster enough support in the caucus to pass the president’s key legislative priorities.
Graham’s committee chairmanships, vast donor network and his close relationship with Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio made him a critical leader in Washington whose presence helped move forward multiple bipartisan efforts, especially on foreign policy. He became one of the most geopolitically connected members of Congress, with world leaders and captains of industry on speed dial.
“It’s impossible to fill that void, number one, so I’ll just take that off the table,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, told Jewish Insider at a press conference at NRSC headquarters on Capitol Hill on Wednesday.
Scott, who represented South Carolina alongside Graham for 13 years, said he has spoken with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) about the challenges Graham’s death creates for the party and detailed several areas where Senate GOP leadership is hoping some of their members will attempt to step in on the late senator’s behalf.
The first of those “three layers,” Scott said, is “the foreign policy front.” The second was Graham’s “budgetary responsibilities” as chair of the Senate Budget Committee. The third area, he said, was “bridging the gap between the two sides of the aisle.”
“Those are the three areas that I know that we’ve been consciously considering,” Scott said. “I have spoken to Leader Thune as well. I think those are three big areas that we’d love to see, probably, a couple people step into.”
On the foreign policy front, Scott noted, “There’s no doubt that when you’re looking at leaders around the world who disagree vehemently with each other, the one guy you might be willing to sit at the table with was Lindsey Graham. He just did a really good job.”
“Frankly, you go to the Middle East and without any question, I’m not sure that there was a bigger, more enthusiastic supporter of the president’s actions in Iran — I happen to be one of them as well — than Lindsey Graham,” Scott said. “[Israeli Prime Minister] Bibi [Netanyahu] calling him at lunch was kind of fun to watch. I’m a big fan of Bibi myself, and just knowing the relationship that they had when I spoke with Bibi myself years ago, I would say without question, Lindsey Graham’s name always came up. You know why? Because, frankly, he took the time to make the trip there.”
“Whether it’s the European front, the Middle East, or frankly, his enthusiasm around Venezuela, he was always in the midst when it came to solving problems around the world because he believed in peace through strength,” he continued. “It was not just a tagline. It was not just a philosophy. It was embedded in his DNA.”
Scott said Republicans will need to focus on “finding someone who has that passion” that Graham applied to his foreign policy dealings. Graham spearheaded the passage of the second Trump administration’s two reconciliation packages — the One Big Beautiful Bill last July, which made the tax cuts implemented in the first Trump administration permanent and enacted a wide range of spending cuts, and the Secure America Act in June to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
“We are living in polarizing times politically. Lindsey Graham was not completely aware of that. He thought you could still find common ground to get something done,” Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) said. “He turned out to be right. Being able to have [Sen. Richard] Blumenthal (D-CT) knocking on the door for Russian sanctions is only possible because Lindsey Graham spends so much time talking to people that vehemently disagree with him on 85% or 90% of topics. Find that one, you march together.”
As to the budget reconciliation process, Scott said, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) would step in as budget chair. “Big shoes to fill,” Scott added.
Scott touted his late colleague’s ability to reach across the aisle and argued that “bridging that gap is going to be really important.”
“We are living in polarizing times politically. Lindsey Graham was not completely aware of that. He thought you could still find common ground to get something done. He turned out to be right. Being able to have [Sen. Richard] Blumenthal (D-CT) knocking on the door for Russian sanctions is only possible because Lindsey Graham spends so much time talking to people that vehemently disagree with him on 85% or 90% of topics. Find that one, you march together.”
As one of the few lawmakers capable of closing the gap between Senate Republicans and the president, Graham became somewhat of a mediator.
“Lindsey left an indelible mark on the Senate, on the nation and on the hearts of his colleagues,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told JI. “At times when senators were at each other’s throats, were angry, Lindsey could cut the tension with a self-deprecating quip that brought everything to a stop and brought people back together again.”
Leading Democrats also paid tribute to Graham’s legislative acumen. “Lindsey was part of every important policy issue and an indispensable player in every Senate ‘gang.’ He was a fierce Republican partisan one day and a key bipartisan ally the next,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) said of Graham after his death was announced.
“I don’t know who can play this role going forward. I just don’t see it,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told JI on Sunday of Graham. “He’s just not replaceable. There’s not going to be anyone like him again.”
Graham was involved in every successful bipartisan piece of legislation that Trump has signed into law thus far in his second term. During the Biden administration, Graham was one of the 19 Republican senators who crossed party lines to support the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and his decision to come out against the bipartisan immigration reform deal organized by Sens. James Lankford (R-OK), Chris Murphy (D-CT) and former Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) has been described as the final death knell that sealed the legislation’s fate.
Graham was also the Republican in Trump’s orbit to whom Senate Democrats would go when trying to settle a legislative dispute or join forces on an issue of bipartisan concern.
“I don’t know who can play this role going forward. I just don’t see it,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) told JI on Sunday of Graham. “He’s just not replaceable. There’s not going to be anyone like him again.”
Graham’s passing puts the longtime legislative and geopolitical priorities he fought for in jeopardy.
The South Carolina Republican spent the last five years lobbying Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to bring Riyadh into the Abraham Accords. Graham tried to secure an agreement on several occasions under Trump and former President Joe Biden, and said repeatedly that he was on the verge of reaching a deal that would see Saudi Arabia normalize relations with Israel in exchange for Israel recognizing a Palestinian state.
After Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, Graham maintained that Iran ordered the attacks to upend his Saudi-Israeli normalization efforts.
Graham was one of the most outspoken and effective Republican advocates in Congress for increasing military funding. Prior to his death, he had been lobbying the president to get behind the Russia sanctions bill he co-sponsored with Blumenthal, and expressed optimism in his final phone call with Morgan Ortagus, the former deputy presidential envoy for Middle East peace in the second Trump administration, that Trump was coming around to the idea.
Trump said on Tuesday that he was considering supporting the bill, which he has long hesitated to get behind, “in honor of Lindsey.”
“This was his thing, he wanted this more than any other thing. You know how he felt,” Trump said from the White House. “There’s a good chance that it gets done. But they’d like to add Iran. And they’d like to add Hezbollah to it. That’s what I’m hearing.”
Ortagus told JI, “There was not a fight on domestic or foreign affairs that he didn’t want to jump into. If he believed in an issue and believed that a particular policy was the right thing, he really didn’t care about the politics.”
Over a dozen Democrats recently supported by AIPAC swung to support the amendment by far-right GOP Rep. Massie in a move that would have been unimaginable not long ago
Photo by Kevin Carter/Getty Images
The sun sets behind the U.S. Capitol Building on July 8, 2026 in Washington, D.C.
More than 100 House Democrats — just under half of the party’s caucus — voted to cut off all U.S. aid to Israel on Wednesday, marking another flashpoint in the party’s growing disillusionment with the Jewish state. It’s a result that would have been almost unimaginable even a year ago.
The fact that the number of anti-Israel votes included several longtime pro-Israel Democrats who had previously been endorsed by AIPAC — like Reps. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Glenn Ivey (D-MD), Maggie Goodlander (D-NH) and Pat Ryan (D-NY) — is a sign that even some members in the mainstream wing of the party are running scared of a potential primary threat from the left.
Combined with the Senate vote earlier this year in which 40 Democrats voted for a measure led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to block shipments of some weapons to the Jewish state, the message is clear: Israel can no longer count on reliable support from the Democratic Party.
And voting for the equivalent of a wrecking ball to the U.S.-Israel relationship — an amendment that even vocal critics of Israel described as flawed and a calculated political stunt by Republicans — is no longer a nonstarter for congressional Democrats. With a more carefully crafted amendment presented by a member without Rep. Thomas Massie’s (R-KY) baggage, the margin in support could have been greater.
Despite the significance of the Democratic defections on Israel, it’s also notable that nearly all of the Democrats in swing districts or running in closely watched battleground Senate races stood by their support of Israel and voted against the amendment.
Only two of the 16 House Democrats facing the most competitive races — districts the Cook Political Report rates as “Lean Democratic,” “Toss Up” or favoring Republicans — voted for the Massie amendment.
Those lawmakers were Reps. Derek Tran (D-CA) and Gabe Vasquez (D-NM). Rep. Don Davis (D-NC) was absent, but would have opposed the amendment.
Expand that out to include “Likely Democratic” districts, and only two of those 10 lawmakers voted for the amendment: Goodlander and Rep. Steven Horsford (D-NV). Rep. Janelle Bynum (D-OR) voted present.
And nearly all of the Democratic candidates facing challenges from their left over their support for Israel stood their ground, even those running in deep-blue districts. That list includes Reps. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and Angie Craig (D-MN), who are both running for the Senate and facing fierce challenges from anti-Israel challengers. It also includes Reps. Wesley Bell (D-MO), Shri Thanedar (D-MI) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), who have faced strong pushback from their opponents over their pro-Israel stances, but held firm on the issue.
The results mark a significant setback for AIPAC, which is struggling to maintain influence within the Democratic Party as support for Israel becomes a more partisan issue. More than a dozen of its endorsed candidates voted against its most central policy priority, including lawmakers like Ivey who won their House seats with significant AIPAC backing and had been seen as close to the group. A handful of others voted present.
Ryan, a onetime moderate who has drifted toward the left, also publicly went on the attack against AIPAC, engaging with the anti-Israel account TrackAIPAC, which has faced accusations of antisemitism, to declare that he no longer wants AIPAC’s support and plans to return donations from the group.
“We are deeply appreciative of the 314 Republicans and Democrats who voted to reject Thomas Massie’s latest anti-Israel effort and are disappointed by the 103 Democrats who voted with Massie to weaken America and our ally Israel,” AIPAC said in a statement.
AIPAC also warned that it and its members aren’t backing down and “will be actively engaged throughout this election cycle, and future election cycles, to support members of Congress of both parties who support a strong U.S.-Israel alliance and oppose those who don’t.”
It’s important to keep in mind that lawmakers’ stated rationale for supporting the amendment varies: some do seek to cut off any U.S. support for Israel and sever the relationship as we know it; some seek changes to how the relationship functions; and others sought to send a signal of their frustration with the current Israeli government and its prosecution of the war in Gaza with a largely symbolic vote they knew would not pass.
By the same token, many Democrats who voted against the amendment made clear that their votes were in part a reflection of their concerns with Massie’s approach, rather than a full-throated endorsement of the U.S.-Israel relationship as it currently exists. That was the position held by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), whose opposition to the amendment belied his overall concerns about the U.S.-Israel relationship.
Many Democrats called for changes in the relationship going forward, with Jeffries and other party leaders indicating they want direct military aid to end at the expiration of the current memorandum of understanding.
Observers also noted that the Congressional Black Caucus, which has traditionally held strong relationships with the Jewish community and pro-Israel world, was closely divided on the vote. Many of the caucus’ older or longer-tenured members voted to preserve aid to Israel, while newer and younger members for the most part voted against it.
The vote also underscored just how much of a role extreme voices have played within both parties in undermining relationships with allies under military threat. The right-wing grassroots hostility to Ukraine led to a number of party leaders — including a few Senate hawks — to vote against a 2024 funding bill for aid to Ukraine and Israel.
But even as there has been a strain of GOP opposition to Ukraine assistance, the Democrats’ turn against Israel has been more widespread. The fact that relatively few of the Democratic lawmakers who voted against the amendment offered a clear-throated defense of U.S. aid to Israel is a sign of just how politically toxic Israel has become within the party.
“This vote should serve as a wake-up call [to Israel] that significant work is needed to repair its relationship with Democrats — not only to preserve bipartisan support in the United States, but also to protect Israel’s long-term security and prosperity,” Democratic Majority For Israel CEO Brian Romick said in a statement.
Graham Nordone is expected to serve as a caretaker for the seat for the remainder of the year; a larger field of Republicans are looking to run in the primary for the full six-year term
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Darline Graham Nordone speaks during a press conference outside the governor's South Carolina Statehouse office on July 13, 2026 in Columbia, South Carolina.
Darline Graham Nordone, the sister of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), was appointed by South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster on Monday to serve out the remainder of her older brother’s Senate term through January 2027.
McMaster, a Republican, announced his decision to appoint Graham’s sister to fill the vacancy caused by his sudden passing over the weekend at a press conference from the Statehouse in Columbia, S.C., alongside Nordone and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), a close ally of both Graham and President Donald Trump.
After hailing Graham, who had been running for a fifth Senate term in November, as “one of South Carolina’s greatest sons,” McMaster explained that he was selecting Nordone to succeed him because he wanted the work that Graham started to be completed by the sister he adored.
“Lindsey took care of his little sister in years long departed,” McMaster said. “It is my honor to ask his little sister, Darlene Graham, to finish his work for him now.”
A source familiar told Jewish Insider that Nordone, who now uses her married name, will be sworn in at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. ET.
In brief remarks, Nordone thanked those who had reached out with well wishes or to share memories and funny stories about Graham before expressing gratitude to McMaster for appointing her to fill her brother’s Senate seat.
“Lindsey has always been there for me, and now I will be there for him,” Nordone said. “I think this is what Lindsey would have wanted, and I plan to honor him in this way. Now, to Lindsey, I miss you more than I can ever put into words, but I’m going to do this. I got it.”
Republicans expect Nordone to serve as a caretaker for her brother’s seat for the remainder of the year. Among the top contenders for the upcoming special election for the full six-year term include Rep. Russell Fry (R-SC), a close ally of Trump’s, and Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who unsuccessfully ran for governor this year with Trump’s endorsement.
Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC), who has publicly expressed interest in the seat after finishing fifth in last month’s gubernatorial primary, and Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) are also prospective candidates. A special election candidate filing period is scheduled to begin July 21, and will last for a week.
Graham died at 71 on Saturday evening following what his office described as a “brief and sudden illness,” which the Washington, D.C., medical examiner’s office, in a preliminary autopsy report, attributed to aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
Graham and Nordone were raised above a local pool hall and liquor store in Central, S.C. Graham adopted his younger sister when he was 22 and she was 13, after their parents died within 15 months of one another. Graham, who was a senior in college at the time, moved himself and Nordone into a relative’s house and took over raising her, eventually becoming her legal guardian. He joined the Army Reserves, allowing him to stay close to his sister and attend college.
Nordone remained Graham’s closest confidante throughout his life and was one of the most ardent supporters of his political ambitions, campaigning for him in his House and Senate bids and during his 2016 presidential run.
Speaking from the press conference on Monday, Nordone described her late brother as “the most amazing person, outstanding leader, and just a genuinely good man. He was kind and considerate and loved by his family dearly.”
Monday’s announcement came hours after Trump publicly declared that Nordone was his preferred choice to represent South Carolina on Graham’s behalf until the conclusion of his Senate term. “This would be a fabulous tribute to Lindsey, who loved her dearly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social of the idea.
Scott and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) also voiced support for Trump’s suggestion to appoint Nordone in the hours before the official announcement.
McMaster said on Monday he had asked Nordone to serve out the remaining six months of Graham’s term after the senator’s passing was announced early Sunday morning, prior to consulting the president.
“After we spoke on the phone in the wee hours of Sunday morning, you agreed to serve through tears. Earlier, I had wondered what you would say, and I was humbled by your quickness to see the duty that you had to serve,” McMaster told Nordone from the podium. “I called the president afterwards and he thought it was a great idea, and I’m sure everyone here does as well.”
Scott, who a source familiar confirmed to JI had “spoken multiple times with Darline in the last 24 hours” leading up to her appointment, did not speak at the press conference, though he said in a post on X that “The appointment of Darline Graham Nordone to the U.S. Senate is an incredible way to honor the legacy of Lindsey Graham.”
“Nobody understands Lindsey Graham’s heart for faith, family, and South Carolina the way she does,” Scott wrote. “I look forward to working alongside her to continue Sen. Graham’s commitment to keeping Americans safe and secure.”
Others that were reportedly under consideration for the role in the event that Nordone turned down the appointment included former Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC), a close friend of Scott’s from their time in Congress who now hosts a Fox News program; former Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), Scott’s predecessor in the Senate who has led several conservative organizations including the Heritage Foundation and the Conservative Partnership Institute; and Evette, who lost the state’s gubernatorial GOP primary in a runoff last month.
Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), who was also reportedly floated as a possible appointment option, said on Sunday that he was committed to staying in the House to protect Republicans’ slim majority in the lower chamber.
Trump, Cruz, Fetterman, Coons and Jewish organizations remembered the South Carolina Republican, who died suddenly at 71
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Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks at the 62nd Munich Security Conference on February 13, 2026 in Munich, Germany.
As President Donald Trump returned to Washington on the first Sunday of the new year, he was joined by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who had traveled to the president’s Mar-a-Lago estate a day earlier to be with Trump after he ordered the operation that deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Graham, 71, had been encouraging Trump since returning to office last January to take a more aggressive posture toward the Maduro regime, and vigorously defended the president’s decision to launch a series of strikes targeting Venezuelan boats that the Trump administration alleged were carrying drugs meant to reach U.S. soil. By late October, he was calling on Maduro to flee Venezuela and cede power as tensions between Trump and the dictator escalated.
During an impromptu press conference aboard Air Force One, Trump and Graham defended the merits of the operation and predicted that the Cuban regime was likely to fall as a result of the mission. The South Carolina senator, one of the most hawkish Republican lawmakers on foreign policy, grinned as he heralded the mission as a success.
“When I was on Air Force One with the president flying back and we did that news conference, if you thought I was smiling big on the outside, you have no idea how much I was smiling on the inside,” Graham told Jewish Insider in an interview shortly after arriving in Washington with the president. “This is the best time in my political life because I’ve aligned myself with the strongest president in modern times. We’re getting results that are making this world safer and America more prosperous.”
By that time, more than 10 years after rejecting Trump’s candidacy and decrying him as a “race-baiting, xenophobic bigot” whose rhetoric would “kill my party,” Graham had become one of the president’s closest allies in the Senate and a close confidante on foreign policy matters.
“This is what happens when you stay in his orbit, realizing there’s far more good than bad and understanding that this man has magic that nobody on the planet has,” the South Carolina senator told JI. “It’s not so much that I’m on a roll. It’s the fact that talking with President Trump, he is embracing policies that he calls common sense, and the small part I play on the end of this, I’m so proud of.”
Following Graham’s sudden passing this weekend, Trump somberly reflected on the loss of his friend, political confidante and golfing partner, praising the late senator for his political acumen and his patriotism in a pair of media interviews and two social media posts.
“He’s a tough one to lose. He was great. He was unique in every way, actually,” Trump told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday morning of Graham. “He was really a worker. … He was a great politician, actually.”
“He was such an advocate if he wanted to get something. He had a unique ability, he was able to deal with Democrats. If I had a problem, a real problem, I wouldn’t often ask, but if I had a problem with a Democrat, he could work it out,” he continued. “There was nobody like him. He loved being a politician, and he was going to win his election [in November for a fifth Senate term]. … He just had it made.”
Graham passed away on Saturday evening after returning from a congressional delegation that included stops in Kyiv, Ukraine, and Ankara, Turkey, for last week’s NATO summit.
The South Carolina senator arrived to his Capitol Hill townhome late Saturday afternoon and began making phone calls to Republican political allies in the early evening about legislative business, developments in the Middle East and to share details of his recent trip, according to two sources with direct knowledge.
One of those calls was to the president. Another was to Morgan Ortagus, the former deputy presidential envoy for Middle East peace in the second Trump administration and one of Graham’s closest confidantes in Washington. The president said that Graham mentioned being “tired” during their conversation, but noted that “he was fine” and expressed shock at his sudden passing. Ortagus told JI on Sunday afternoon that Graham was upbeat during their final conversation, expressing optimism that Trump was coming around on supporting his Russia sanctions bill and with resuming military operations in Iran.
“Nobody was expecting this. That’s for sure. Not even Lindsey was, or he wouldn’t have been running for another term,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who has had close relationships with both Graham and Trump, said of the senator’s sudden passing. “When a person cuts as wide a swath as Lindsey cuts, it is shocking. It will take some time to process the reality of it. It should really hit on Monday when we show up for work.”
It came as a shock to Trump, Ortagus and everyone else in Graham’s orbit when his office announced his passing in the early hours of Sunday morning, which the Washington D.C. medical examiner’s office, in a preliminary autopsy report, attributed to aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease.
“He was extremely jazzed up in our last conversation. He had just gotten off the phone with the president, and he was super excited about the Russia sanctions bill and the president deciding to go back into Iran,” Ortagus told JI. “He could not have been happier when I spoke to him last night. He was in the best mood and in a great place. He spoke about how he felt like he was doing consequential work.”
“Nobody was expecting this. That’s for sure. Not even Lindsey was, or he wouldn’t have been running for another term,” Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND), who has had close relationships with both Graham and Trump, said of the senator’s sudden passing. “When a person cuts as wide a swath as Lindsey cuts, it is shocking. It will take some time to process the reality of it. It should really hit on Monday when we show up for work.”
Asked about his phone call with Graham during his “Meet the Press” appearance — on which Graham had been scheduled to appear — Trump said, “I just can’t believe it. He was like a member of the family to me. It’s very tough, actually. It’s amazing.”
Trump and Graham formed an unlikely relationship over the course of the first Trump administration, finding common ground with the establishment of the Abraham Accords and the confirmation of the president’s Supreme Court nominees.
Graham briefly broke with Trump in the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, condemning the attack and recognizing Biden’s 2020 victory. But within months, Graham was regularly visiting Trump at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., and publicly urging his party to rally around the president’s bid for a second term in 2024.
“He genuinely had a fantastic relationship with President Trump. They really actually liked each other a lot. I think Trump was his best friend in many ways,” Ortagus said. “He loved the president. It was genuine. They were incredibly good friends.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Graham got to know each other as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee and on the presidential campaign trail in 2016. The two developed a close working relationship in the last decade, finding common ground on economic and foreign policy issues that pitted them against the expanding populist wing of the GOP.
Speaking to JI on Sunday, Cruz said that Graham and Trump “became close friends. Lindsey would call the president early in the morning, late at night and at every hour in between. And the president listened to him. He didn’t always agree, but he trusted him and he knew that Lindsey was speaking from the heart.”
“[Senate Majority Leader] John Thune (R-SD) is going to miss him terribly. Donald Trump is going to miss him terribly,” Cramer told JI. “It confounds them, MAGA world. They love Donald Trump and can’t stand Lindsey Graham, so they’re befuddled by the relationship.”
Cramer noted that Trump has developed political alliances with several former critics, the most notable example being Vice President JD Vance, who was similarly disapproving of the president during the 2016 election. Like Graham, the vice president became an avid defender of Trump during the president’s first term.
While both men found their way into the president’s orbit, they remained on opposing sides of the conservative movement, with Vance becoming one of the leading GOP voices wary of U.S. military engagement abroad and Graham emerging as a leading force behind the effort to maintain an engaged foreign policy.
“With Lindsey, he was talented,” Cramer said. “He was bright and he knew things that a lot of people don’t know. He had a historical perspective a lot of people don’t have. He had a Rolodex that’s probably in several languages, and he called you from all kinds of time zones. You never knew where he was when he called.”
Despite having those conservative detractors, following his death, Graham was lauded for his humor, his friendship and his public and private support for Trump by those in the president’s orbit — including Vance and other prominent Trump administration officials who were not often ideologically aligned with the late senator.
“Early in my Senate tenure, I remember getting into a shouting match with Lindsey about a Ukraine funding bill at lunch and then learning the very next day that he was pushing rail legislation I really cared about behind the scenes,” Vance wrote on X. “That was Lindsey Graham. He fought like hell for the things he believed in, and he was just as willing to go to bat for you when it counted.”
“Lindsey had the best sense of humor in the Senate. He loved the game of politics. He was constantly asking which races were up and down, and how he could help,” the vice president continued. “As he liked to say, ‘I don’t care if you’re an isolationist or a religious fanatic, so long as you have an R next to your name, I want you to win.’ We certainly had our disagreements. But I couldn’t help but like him. A one of a kind figure in our politics.”
Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and a longtime Trump advisor, described Graham as a cherished ally to the president in implementing the administration’s policy goals and spoke of telling the late senator “what his friendship meant to me and to us all.”
“I cannot describe to you how much joy President Trump’s leadership and friendship brought to Lindsey,” Miller wrote on X. “Meetings with Graham at the White House were filled with camaraderie, kinship and uproarious laughter.”
“The fact that Lindsey started out as a political opponent only to become one the President’s most steadfast and faithful supporters underscores that Lindsey believed emphatically in the voice of the people,” he explained.
Miller described Graham as “a senator’s senator” and praised his ability to “move a room,” calling it “a glorious thing to witness.”
Sander Gerber, the CEO of Hudson Bay Capital and the architect of the Taylor Force Act, the passage of which Graham championed, told JI, “Lindsey was a maverick. He didn’t care about convention. He cared about doing what was right. When Lindsey set his mind to something, he was going to deliver on it, and he had a keen sense of the politics to be successful at that. He should be remembered as one of the greatest champions for Israel among members of Congress.”
“As heartbreaking as his sudden passing is, I hope it will bring some measure of comfort to those who cherished him to know just how much he was living his dream every day,” Miller said. “Very rarely in life do you get to be exactly where you want to be, when you want to be there, with who you want to be with, doing precisely what you want to do — that was every moment for Lindsey.”
Many of those who spoke about Graham after his passing described the South Carolina Republican, who spent more than two decades in the Senate, as a professional at navigating choppy political waters
“He wasn’t just a good talker, he had depth,” Cramer said. “He knew what the hell he was talking about. He had interesting insights.”
Sander Gerber, the CEO of Hudson Bay Capital and the architect of the Taylor Force Act, the passage of which Graham championed, told JI, “Lindsey was a maverick. He didn’t care about convention. He cared about doing what was right. When Lindsey set his mind to something, he was going to deliver on it, and he had a keen sense of the politics to be successful at that. He should be remembered as one of the greatest champions for Israel among members of Congress.”
“In order to get things done in Congress, to actually make a difference, you need to have the relationships,” Gerber said. “Lindsey was able to cultivate those relationships, and that’s what enabled him to get things done. There are 100 senators, but he was able to get his voice to stand out and to drive policy forward.”
Republicans and Democrats alike predicted Graham would be remembered as a legendary American political figure known for his ability to take political risks and find common ground in unexpected places.
“There was not a fight on domestic or foreign affairs that he didn’t want to jump into,” Ortagus said of Graham. “If he believed in an issue and believed that a particular policy was the right thing, he really didn’t care about the politics. Ultimately, he wouldn’t change what he believed was right based on politics, and that’s in very short supply politically right now.”
Ret. Gen. David Petraeus, the former director of the CIA and head of U.S. Central Command, told JI that Graham’s legacy would be “that of someone who was fiercely committed to the enduring principles, values and freedoms that we cherish, and who had the political skills and determination to see what he supported promoted by legislation, policies and strategies.”
“Sen. Graham’s dedication to the state of Israel and to the Jewish people was deeply sincere. We talked about it all the time. I went to Israel with him many times,” said Morgan Ortagus, the former deputy presidential envoy for Middle East peace in the second Trump administration and one of Graham’s closest confidantes in Washington. “He was a Southern Baptist and believed in the importance of the Jewish state to his core, and was willing to defend it.”
“I think he would be pleased to hear me say that he was not just adept, but was diabolically creative when necessary to achieve the outcomes to which he was committed,” Petraeus said.
Many of Graham’s allies said they expect his longstanding support for Israel and his commitment to aiding Ukraine in Russia’s war against it to be signature pieces of his foreign policy legacy.
“Sen. Graham’s dedication to the state of Israel and to the Jewish people was deeply sincere. We talked about it all the time. I went to Israel with him many times,” Ortagus said. “He was a Southern Baptist and believed in the importance of the Jewish state to his core, and was willing to defend it.”
“We talked a lot in the past year about the rise of antisemitism and anti-Zionism in both parties. He was very close to my daughter and she called him ‘Uncle Lindsey,’” she continued. “I would always remind him that I have a Jewish daughter and that throughout our history, the Jewish people have always thought we were safe until we weren’t.”
Ortagus said she and Graham “agreed that we have to fight antisemitism back in our party, that it can’t be allowed to fester. He would always talk about how important it was. He had deeply held personal beliefs on what America’s relationship with Israel should be. There was nothing cynical or craven about it.”
Cruz described Graham as “a passionate and formidable defender of Israel” and noted that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu “trusted Lindsey and listened to him.”
“Lindsey loved the nation of Israel. He loved the people of Israel, and he believed ferociously in defending and strengthening America’s friendship and alliance with Israel,” the Texas senator said of his late colleague. “Now, 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.”
“Lindsey understood that standing with Israel is overwhelmingly in America’s national security interests,” he continued. “He and I collaborated very closely on articulating why standing with Israel makes America safer, that the enemies of Israel, whether Hamas or Hezbollah or Iran, are the enemies of America as well.”
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) credited Graham with doing “a masterful job of pulling” senators from across the ideological spectrum “in the same direction” in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, swiftly organizing a bipartisan congressional delegation alongside former Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) to Israel, Saudi Arabia and Egypt as he sought to salvage his longstanding efforts to achieve Saudi-Israeli normalization.
“It was an incredible trip, and all of us said it was just one of the most consequential, constructive trips we’d ever been on,” Coons told JI. “[Sen.] Katie Britt (R-AL) came on the trip. It was one of her first trips as a senator, I think. Think about the range of members who we had. We had [Sens.] Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Dan Sullivan (R-AK) in the same meeting.”
“Even though it was two weeks after Oct. 7 and it was in the middle of that shock, he knew what he was doing,” Coons continued. “He was building a coalition of supporters for the deal that he was hoping he could pull off.”
Coons was one of several people to point to Graham’s well-documented friendships with the late Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Joe Lieberman (I-CT), known as the Senate’s “three amigos,” as an important part of his legacy.
“I think he continued McCain’s legacy of fighting for freedom, and he never gave up on the possibility of ending the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Coons said. “That was his prize.”
“He was not afraid to be critical and he was never uncritical of friends. He believed that friends owe it to each other to try to enable them to do better,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said. “He had a vision, which was in effect the normalization of relationships throughout the Middle East, an extension of the Abraham Accords. He pursued it relentlessly.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who maintains a similarly bipartisan reputation in Congress, worked with Graham frequently on foreign policy matters. Blumenthal began traveling abroad with Graham in 2012, two years after being elected to the Senate. Their first trip together was a congressional delegation to the Middle East organized by McCain. The two traveled repeatedly to Ukraine and its European neighbors since Russia’s invasion, and to the Middle East since Oct. 7.
“He loved the Jewish people and he loved the Jewish state, which was so striking to me when I first traveled with him and John McCain to Israel,” Blumenthal told JI. “He and McCain loved the faith of the Jewish people, which of course is so much a part of life in Israel, but Sen. Graham also loved Israel’s ingenuity and inventiveness and the prowess and scrappiness of its military.”
“He was not afraid to be critical and he was never uncritical of friends. He believed that friends owe it to each other to try to enable them to do better,” he continued. “He had a vision, which was in effect the normalization of relationships throughout the Middle East, an extension of the Abraham Accords. He pursued it relentlessly.”
On the Taylor Force Act, Gerber noted that he convinced Graham to push for the Palestinian Authority to end its controversial payment program to Palestinian terrorists and their families, also known as “pay-for-slay,” after showing the senator video footage of the Palestinian Authority celebrating the terrorist who murdered Taylor Force, a U.S. army veteran killed by a Palestinian while visiting Israel in 2016.
“I’d shown this to many other senators, but no one was as upset as Lindsey. I remember him shaking when he saw the footage,” Gerber said. “Originally, I just wanted to educate Congress about what was going on, so I was trying to meet with as many members as I could to let them know the Palestinian Authority had this institutional infrastructure in place.”
Leading Jewish and pro-Israel organizations praised Graham in statements on his passing as a champion for the Jewish state and in the fight to combat rising antisemitism.
“For more than two decades in the United States Senate, his voice was a constant reminder that a strong Israel is firmly in America’s national security interest, and his commitment to these principles never wavered,” AIPAC said. “His many visits to Israel and his love for the Israeli people reflected not just a policy position, but a deep personal connection to the Jewish state and its citizens.”
The American Jewish Committee described the late senator as “a powerful advocate for many of the issues AJC champions, including American global leadership, Israel’s security, a robust North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and Ukraine’s defensive fight against Russian aggression.”
AIPAC called Graham “a great friend and true champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship.”
“For more than two decades in the United States Senate, his voice was a constant reminder that a strong Israel is firmly in America’s national security interest, and his commitment to these principles never wavered,” the organization said. “His many visits to Israel and his love for the Israeli people reflected not just a policy position, but a deep personal connection to the Jewish state and its citizens.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition released a statement from Matt Brooks, the organization’s CEO, and former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN), the organization’s national chairman, describing the late senator as “a dear friend” to both men personally and the organization as a whole.
“On a personal level, Lindsey was a man of deep loyalty, humor, and heart. He treated everyone, ally or adversary, with warmth and respect, and he built friendships across the aisle that many said were impossible in today’s Washington,” the statement read.
The GOP senator’s slow embrace of Trump earned him criticism from constituents and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. As a former conservative House lawmaker who had fought the rise of the Tea Party movement in the early 2010s, Graham had built a reputation as a defense hawk with a penchant for bipartisanship when Trump was first elected in 2016.
Some Democrats were angered by his political pivot, especially during and after the first Trump administration, but Graham maintained strong relationships with his Democratic colleagues and continued working with them frequently on efforts to support Ukraine and other areas of agreement.
“He deeply, genuinely loved the Senate. He tried really hard to do positive things for the institution at the same time that he was a fierce partisan,” Coons said of Graham. “Our fight over Kavanaugh was one of the worst I’ve ever had.”
Another of those Democrats is Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), who became close with Graham in the two-and-a-half years since the Oct. 7 attacks. Graham and Fetterman, whose decision to vocally support Israel amid declining support in the Democratic Party prompted his relationship with the progressive left to collapse, frequently engaged on foreign policy matters, especially related to developments in the Middle East.
Fetterman described Graham to JI as “warm, friendly and thoughtful” and called his passing “a tragedy.”
“Israel lost a huge champion with Lindsey Graham,” the Pennsylvania senator said.
Libertarian and isolationist Republicans, meanwhile, grew frustrated that such a hawkish voice was being consulted so closely on foreign policy matters in an America First administration.
“There should be a law that Lindsey Graham can only enter the White House every other week, and that he’s only to meet with under mid-level people, not the president. No more golf outings,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a foe of Graham’s in the Senate Republican Conference who opposed the president’s actions in Venezuela, told reporters in January.
Across the political spectrum, those who knew Graham described him as an irreplaceable fixture in the Senate and predicted that his loss would cause many voids in the upper chamber, where the late senator was supposed to take over as the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee next year.
“He links so many things and so many people that without him, there’s a missing link in a lot of relationships between Middle Eastern countries between members of the Senate, between Budget Committee members and leadership, between the Republicans and Democrats,” Cramer said of Graham’s expansive presence in the Senate. “We’ll find out the consequences of losing him in time like this soon, but it’ll be hard to navigate to be sure.”
“I don’t know who can play this role going forward. I just don’t see it,” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said. “He’s just not replaceable. There’s not going to be anyone like him again.”
Cruz told JI that, “nobody will fill that void” left by Graham’s absence, citing the respective impacts of McCain and the late Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to the upper chamber.
“When John McCain passed away, that was a void that was never filled. When Orrin Hatch, another longtime legend of the Senate, passed away, that was a void that was never filled,” Cruz said. “Nobody will fill Lindsey’s shoes. Others will step up and lead in different ways, but Lindsey left an indelible mark on the Senate, on the nation and on the hearts of his colleagues.”
“I don’t know who can play this role going forward. I just don’t see it,” Coons said. “He’s just not replaceable. There’s not going to be anyone like him again.”
The South Carolina Republican had recently returned from a trip to Kyiv, Ukraine, and Ankara, Turkey
Amir Levy/Getty Images
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) speaks at a press conference on US-Israel relations on February 17, 2025
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who represented South Carolina in the Senate for more than two decades and was a stalwart supporter of Israel during his time in office, died on Saturday, his office announced. He was 71.
Graham, who served in the House of Representatives for more than a decade before being elected to the Senate in 2002, had recently returned from Ukraine, where he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Prior to Ukraine, he had been part of a bipartisan U.S. delegation in Ankara, Turkey, for the NATO summit.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) @LindseyGrahamSC died Saturday following what his office described as “a brief and sudden illness.”
— Jewish Insider (@jewishinsider) July 12, 2026
Israeli Prime Minister @netanyahu called him “a great American patriot and a great champion of the Israel-American alliance.”
President Donald Trump… pic.twitter.com/sKzQc2XnmT
NBC News reported that emergency personnel had responded on Saturday evening to a call regarding a cardiac arrest at Graham’s home on Capitol Hill.
A longtime advocate for Israel, Graham traveled to the country in the immediate aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, making at least 10 trips to the region since the onset of the Israel-Hamas war. He last traveled to Israel days before the outbreak of the Iran war in February 2026, during which he met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Graham was openly critical of Iran and skeptical of Western engagement with the Islamic Republic. He was a vocal opponent of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and favored military engagement to address the threats posed by the Islamic Republic. He defended the Trump administration’s recent negotiations with Tehran, but said in June that he thought those talks were “going to fail.”
The South Carolina Republican had been up for reelection in November after easily clearing the GOP field in the state’s primary last month. Graham’s death is expected to trigger a special primary in the state to determine who will replace him on the ballot.
The Republican lawmaker was swiftly eulogized by top Israeli political figures.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel had “lost one of its greatest friends.” Graham, Netanyahu said, “understood that the security of Israel and America are inseparable. He devoted his life to defending America, strengthening our alliance and standing up for the free world.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said in a statement that he was “shocked and heartbroken” to learn of Graham’s death, calling the senator a “dear friend” and a “great American patriot, a great friend of Israel.”
“Senator Graham was a beacon of moral clarity and a true leader of the U.S.-Israel partnership,” Herzog said. “We will never forget how he stood by the people of Israel in our most difficult moments, and we will remain eternally grateful for his sense of justice, truth, and loyalty.”
In a social media post, former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, who is running in the current election, mourned Graham as one of the country’s “greatest friends,” who “stood with Israel through our darkest hours, with courage.”
Candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in Maine are largely pledging to oppose arms sales to Israel and reject AIPAC — but several have yet to say where they stand
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Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner and Troy Jackson stand together during a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour stop at the Collins Center for the Arts on the University of Maine campus on May 24, 2026 in Orono, Maine.
The mad dash to replace Graham Platner as the Democratic Senate nominee in Maine is coming together so quickly and haphazardly that one potential replacement, Nirav Shah, is taking stickers from his failed gubernatorial campaign and cutting off the “for governor” line below his name before handing them to supporters.
Much is still in flux about the process to replace Platner, who dropped out of the race on Wednesday two days after being accused of rape by a former romantic partner. His potential successors aren’t jockeying for the public’s approval — they’re angling for the support of the Maine Democratic Party, which voted on Wednesday, before Platner even announced his resignation, to hold a statewide nominating convention to tap his replacement. The MDP said it would share more in the days to come about the process, which according to state law would have to be completed by July 27.
Many of the candidates now seeking to succeed Platner on the general election ballot are commending the populist movement he built and looking to capitalize on it. Less than 24 hours into the contest, some had already made clear they will adopt a platform much like Platner’s when it comes to Israel — seeking to end U.S. weapons sales to the country and shunning donations from AIPAC — while others are remaining mum on that topic.
Shah, who served as the director of the Maine Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic, said this week that he would support a full arms embargo against Israel, that he believes Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide and that he would refuse AIPAC support. He finished second in the gubernatorial primary last month.
One contender who seems poised to rack up support from the party’s left flank is Troy Jackson, the former president of the Maine Senate. He placed third in last month’s gubernatorial primary, and earned the endorsement of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and the Maine chapter of Democratic Socialists of America in that race. Jackson was one of Platner’s biggest boosters and appeared with him at several campaign rallies.
Our Revolution, the Sanders-aligned advocacy organization, has already endorsed Jackson’s Senate campaign, along with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and far-left, antisemitic streamer Hasan Piker.
In a post on X on Thursday, Jackson accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, saying that “anybody with eyes” would agree, and pledged to “never vote in favor of U.S. taxpayer-funded military aid to Israel.” His team did not respond to a request for comment.
Jordan Wood, a former chief of staff to Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) who placed third in last month’s congressional primary to replace retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), said in a Thursday statement announcing his Senate run that he would not accept money from “corporate PACs and AIPAC.” He said in a post on X that the U.S. “can’t continue to fund Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” and that he would support the Block the Bombs Act.
In a statement to Jewish Insider on Thursday, Wood added some nuance to his views: “Israel is our strongest ally in the Middle East,” Wood said via a spokesperson. “But there’s a difference between the Israeli people and the Netanyahu government, and nothing about self-defense justifies waging a war without limits. Starving children and flattened hospitals don’t make Israel safer, and they don’t make America safer.” He also stated that “Hamas must disarm, and it can never be allowed to govern Gaza again.”
Wood reiterated that he will not accept support from AIPAC but said AIPAC supporters are still welcome in the Democratic Party.
“Jewish Democrats, and Democrats who care deeply about Israel’s security, are part of this party and always will be,” he said. “What’s not welcome is AIPAC’s agenda, which demands unconditional support for the Netanyahu government’s genocide in Gaza no matter the cost in innocent lives.”
Paige Loud, a 29-year-old social worker who placed fourth in the same congressional primary as Wood, ran an anti-Israel campaign and claimed that Democrats lost the presidency in 2024 “because of our lackluster stance on the genocide that’s happening in Gaza right now.” Her campaign website says she is committed “to human rights, sovereignty, and self-determination everywhere — from Palestine to Iran, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Greenland.”
Shenna Bellows, Maine’s secretary of state and a former state senator, entered the race on Thursday afternoon. She espoused a similarly populist message to Platner, pledging to take on billionaires and corporations, but stayed away from mentioning the Middle East or AIPAC in her opening salvo. A spokesperson for Bellows, who also ran for governor in last month’s primary and placed fourth, did not respond to a request for comment.
Bellows served as executive director of the Holocaust and Human Rights Center of Maine from 2018 to 2020, an experience that she still refers to regularly. In a campaign video from International Holocaust Remembrance Day, she said one way to remember the Holocaust is as a story of “resistance, of communities coming together to say no to antisemitism, xenophobia, racism, homophobia,” and said that Americans must speak out “against any othering and dehumanization of our friends and neighbors.”
One unorthodox candidate is Dan Kleban, the founder of Maine Beer Company, a brewery in Freeport. He was briefly a candidate in the Senate primary last year, but dropped out early and endorsed Maine Gov. Janet Mills, the establishment favorite who dropped out of the race in April. He reentered the race on Wednesday and said in a Substack post that he’s “had enough meddling from Washington establishment insiders and New York City consultants trying to dictate who represents us,” ostensibly a dig at Platner’s own political consultants.
Asked on CNN this week if he considered Israel guilty of genocide, Kleban called the situation in Gaza an “absolute tragedy” and said he would support placing conditions on U.S. arms sales to Israel, but did not use the term genocide. Kleban told Politico in October that he would not have supported Sanders’ resolution to block arms sales to Israel.
“I believe Israel has a right to defend itself. I don’t think that we solve the horrific humanitarian crisis in Gaza by disarming Israel and exposing them to harm,” Kleban said at the time.
While Platner and Mills were the main candidates running for Senate, a third, David Costello — a former senior official in Maryland’sMaine’s Department of the Environment who got 8% of the vote in last month’s primary — is now running again. He said during the campaign that Israel, after the Oct. 7 attacks, “not only had a right but an obligation to attempt to crush Hamas.” But, he argued, they did not do so surgically, and said Israel’s conduct has been “indefensible.” He said he would oppose offensive weapons sales to Israel.
One possible wild card is state Rep. Valli Geiger, who has said she is considering entering the race. Geiger, who in the past defended Platner’s treatment of women, stuck by him until the end. “I will not throw Graham under the bus, but neither will I slander or accuse Ms. [Jenny] Racicot [Platner’s accuser] of anything more than telling the truth as she experienced it. I acknowledge the pain on all sides and offer compassion on all sides,” Geiger wrote on Facebook.
She has said little publicly about Gaza, but shared Facebook posts criticizing Israel, including one in April that listed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as someone who, like President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, harbors “delusions of grandeur.”
The New York City mayor, whose advisor Morris Katz also worked for Graham Platner, called on the Maine Senate contender to forfeit
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Mayor Zohran Mamdani speaks at a press conference during moving day at Gracie Mansion on January 12, 2026 in New York City.
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani on Tuesday joined the swelling chorus of Democratic voices demanding the party’s nominee for Senate in Maine, Graham Platner, abandon his campaign in the aftermath of a rape allegation revealed in a Politico report on Monday — a campaign the mayor’s own top political advisor helped start and steer.
Mamdani’s remarks came shortly after an unrelated event at City Hall, a day after a former romantic partner of Platner’s accused him of drunkenly entering her home and sexually assaulting her in 2021. The mayor’s nearest political aide, Morris Katz, was one of the architects of Platner’s Senate run and one of his fiercest public defenders amid prior allegations of personal misconduct and the discovery that the candidate had a tattoo of a Nazi symbol.
But Mamdani made no remarks on Katz’s role in Platner’s rise, and declined to comment on the long-term consequences for the insurgent left-wing movement the two have championed.
“I believe that it’s time for him to drop out of the race,” the mayor said of Platner. “I think the focus of today should be on the campaign coming to a close. And I think there will be many more days to have conversations for what it means beyond that.”
The 27-year-old Katz reportedly talked up congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier to Mamdani, leading the mayor to endorse her in the final days of her ultimately successful challenge to Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY).
It soon emerged that Avila Chevalier had bragged online about wiping her hands on the American flag, praised Soviet despots, pushed Russian government talking points and spread a conspiracy theory about COVID-19 — creating uncomfortable questions for Democratic leaders after she won the primary in the deep-blue district.
Katz also advised Democratic candidates Clare Valdez, Micah Lasher and Brad Lander in their successful primary bids elsewhere in New York City.
Senate leaders threatened to withhold funding from the race if Platner remains the nominee, while several of his progressive backers rescinded their endorsements
Laura Brett/Getty Images
Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner speaks to voters at a town hall at the Elks Lodge 188 on June 7, 2026 in Portland, Maine.
Democratic leaders coalesced around calls for Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner to withdraw from the race on Monday following a Politico report in which an ex-girlfriend of Platner’s accused the Democrat of sexual assault, an account the outlet backed up with her correspondence and other interviews.
Platner denied the allegation outright but said in a video statement that he’s “mindful of the political reality it will inflict” and would be “taking the time to reflect on the best path forward.” If Platner voluntarily drops out by July 13, the Maine Democratic Party would have until July 27 to pick a replacement to appear on the ballot.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), the chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said in a joint statement that Platner should withdraw, and that the DSCC would not invest financially in the Maine Senate race if Platner remained the nominee.
“The allegations reported today are incredibly disturbing — violence, abuse and sexual assault are absolutely unacceptable,” Schumer and Gillibrand said. “Graham Platner needs to immediately withdraw as the Democratic nominee for Senate and allow Maine Democrats the opportunity to choose a new candidate who can defeat Susan Collins.”
Schumer and Gillibrand had offered tepid support for Platner in the wake of previous scandals he has weathered on the campaign trail.
Senate Majority PAC, the Senate Democratic super PAC, said in a statement that Platner should withdraw and that the PAC would be “redirecting resources away from the Maine Senate race.” The group said the race would be winnable “if Platner is not on the ballot.”
The Maine Democratic Party’s leadership also called on Platner to end his candidacy.
“Over the past several weeks, multiple women have made serious, credible allegations against Graham Platner. Today’s statements take those allegations even further,” party leaders said in a statement. “Maine Democratic Party leadership is calling on Graham Platner to withdraw as the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate.”
The party leaders said it’s “essential that we refocus this campaign” on defeating Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and the Trump administration.
Maine Statehouse Speaker Ryan Fecteau, a Democrat, also called on Platner to drop out, saying it’s clear that he cannot win the seat.
Several prominent progressives who had previously defended and supported Platner, even through his previous scandals and controversies — including his now-covered Nazi tattoo and domestic abuse allegations — also said that the latest sexual assault allegations were a breaking point.
Sen. Elizbeth Warren (D-MA) said that there can be “no tolerance for sexual assault” and that “the best path forward is for Graham Platner to step aside.”
“I’ve been very clear that sexual assault or violence against women is a red line. These allegations are very serious and credible. Graham Platner should drop out from the race. I am withdrawing my endorsement,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said on Monday evening.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) called the allegations “troubling and deeply serious” and likewise rescinded his endorsement.
Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) said, “The allegations reported against Graham Platner are deeply disturbing and must be taken seriously. I cannot support his candidacy.”
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM) similarly rescinded his endorsement and called for Platner to step aside.
Some of Platner’s prominent media boosters also said that they wanted to see him pull out of the race or otherwise criticized him.
“Platner needs to drop out ASAP — these are awful, credible allegations,” said Jon Favreau, co-host of “Pod Save America.” “It’s now abundantly clear that he just hasn’t been honest about his past and can’t be trusted as a candidate for office.”
Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), one of Platner’s most prominent progressive backers, has not yet addressed the latest allegations.
The End Citizens United PAC also pulled its support for Platner, as did the Sanders-linked Our Revolution, though the group warned “the Democratic establishment: this is not your opening.” TrackAIPAC also pulled its endorsement of Platner.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI), who is running for U.S. Senate in Michigan, also condemned Platner, who campaigned alongside her primary rival, Abdul El-Sayed.
“The allegations against Graham Platner are extremely troubling and completely unacceptable,” Stevens said. “There should be no room for this conduct in the U.S. Senate or any public office. Graham Platner must step aside.”
Numerous other Democratic Senate candidates followed her. El-Sayed, in a statement, did not unequivocally call for Platner to withdraw.
Speculation has already turned to who might replace Platner on the ballot, with many pointing to logger and former state Senate President Troy Jackson, a former gubernatorial candidate who finished third in the 2026 primary, as an alternative choice with a similar background and politics to Platner.
Jackson also campaigned alongside and supported Platner, something that could hinder his electoral prospects.
Jackson was endorsed by the Maine Democratic Socialists of America in his gubernatorial bid.
Former acting Centers for Disease Control Director Nirav Shah, who finished second in the primary, has also been floated as a potential replacement and has reportedly expressed interest.
Maine Gov. Janet Mills, the favored candidate of the Democratic establishment who suspended her campaign for the seat before the primary, could also see a second wind.
A recent poll also tested “Grey’s Anatomy” star and Maine resident Patrick Dempsey’s popularity in the state, as well as Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, who also ran in the gubernatorial primary; state Sen. Joe Baldacci; former House candidate Jordan Wood; Rep. Chellie Pingree (D-ME); former state Rep. Sara Gideon, who lost to Collins in 2020; former Rep. John Baldacci (D-ME); Attorney General Aaron Frey; and former Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME).
State Sen. Baldacci said that the party “can’t handpick a replacement candidate without some process involving all Democrats” in the state.
Retiring Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who had been eyed by Democrats as a potential recruit for the seat, said last month that he was not interested in replacing Platner on the ballot.
The group identified four bills in the House’s online safety push that it felt could play a role in addressing online antisemitism, which were ultimately packaged into the KIDS Act
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Illustrative
In a bid to protect Jewish children from rampant antisemitism on the internet, the Jewish Federations of North America is pushing lawmakers to support the KIDS Act, a major bipartisan package of legislation focused on children’s safety online that passed the House late last month by a 267-117 vote.
Omer Yarden-Oppenheim, director of government relations at JFNA, told Jewish Insider that online antisemitism has been a major conversation and challenge for Jewish families, especially since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel. He said the group identified four bills in the House’s online safety push that it felt could play a role in addressing online antisemitism, which were ultimately packaged into the KIDS Act.
“No single bill will solve these challenges right away, but we know that the KIDS Act is a meaningful bipartisan step towards making these platforms safer and more accountable for protecting young users, which includes Jewish users,” Yarden-Oppenheim said.
The four bills include the AWARE Act, which would develop educational resources on the safe and responsible use of AI chatbots; the Protecting a Safe Internet for Minors Act, which would create a public awareness campaign on safe internet use and best practices for minors; the Assessing Safety Tools for Parents and Minors Act, which would assess the effectiveness of existing safety tools; and the Kids Internet Safety Partnership Act, which would help identify online risks to children and develop recommendations for best practices.
The group endorsed the four pieces of legislation when they were first released several months ago and urged local federations to contact their members to support the bills, as well as advocate for them on fly-ins to Washington. Yarden-Oppenheim said he believes that work helped ensure the bills were included in the final KIDS Act package.
“There’s a lack of understanding of a lot of things that are happening online, and for Jewish families it’s the same. Parents feel like maybe they’re losing control a little bit of the things that their kids are being exposed to online,” Yarden-Oppenheim said. “These will give parents [and] educators the tools and more clarity and information on how to deal with these things in the future.”
Yet there’s still plenty of work ahead for supporters of the legislation, as Congress has struggled for years to reach a consensus on children’s online safety legislation, and the Senate and House have been advancing competing versions of the legislation.
“There’s still a meaningful divide on policy and approach between the House and the Senate, but we look forward to working with our partners, and we’ve already had those meetings, and we continue to have them,” Yarden-Oppenheim said. “We need to work with our partners in both chambers to elevate the importance of online safety and the need to ensure that Jewish families remain part of the national conversation, and be a willing partner along the way.”
JFNA and a coalition of other Jewish groups are also making a separate push to address online antisemitism through the Jewish American Security Act, which addresses online antisemitism, campus antisemitism and security threats to Jewish institutions.
Niv Elis, the associate vice president of external communications at JNFA, said that “there’s a huge question” of how society and the country should deal with social media, the internet and AI, and the KIDS Act is “just the tip of the iceberg.”
“What we’re seeing is that this is an excellent entry point to make sure … that the antisemitism piece isn’t left out, and a recognition that the tools that we need to protect the children are going to have extra levels of meaning for Jewish children who are facing different kinds of harm online because they’re not just facing the same bullying as everybody but they’re also facing an additional level through through the antisemitism,” Elis said.
Yarden-Oppenheim added that there are other threats that the Jewish community also aims to counter, including foreign influence, AI deep fakes and other issues that have impacted the Jewish community. The group is working with lawmakers to introduce legislation next year to study how algorithms and other platform features can spread hate, harassment and radicalization.
The state lawmaker did not offer an endorsement of either of her former Democratic primary rivals, Rep. Haley Stevens and Abdul El-Sayed
Jacek Boczarski/Anadolu via Getty Images
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow, a Democrat from Michigan speaks during the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, United States on August 19, 2024.
Michigan state Sen. Mallory McMorrow dropped out of the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Sunday, without offering her support to either of her opponents in the hotly contested race.
“Here’s what we do next. Every day through November 3rd. We win this Senate seat and send Mike Rogers back to Florida for good,” McMorrow wrote in her announcement on X, referring to the expected GOP nominee.
“Whoever wins this primary on August 4th will have my full support,” she continued, declining to endorse either Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) or Abdul El-Sayed.
Fundraising figures released at the end of the first quarter of the year showed Stevens trailing El-Sayed in fundraising but having the most cash on hand, at $3.4 million to El-Sayed’s $2.5 million. El-Sayed has held a slight lead in the latest polls.
Following McMorrow’s announcement, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Jewish Democrat, said the “choice is clear” and “wholeheartedly” issued her endorsement of Stevens.
Stevens also has the backing of other Democratic leaders including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and former Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI).
El-Sayed, meanwhile, is backed by leading progressives including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY). Last week, the AIPAC-linked United Democracy Project super PAC, which has boosted Stevens with more than $10 million, issued its first negative ad against El-Sayed.
Sens. Bill Cassidy and Rand Paul, supporters of previous war powers efforts, changed their votes on the resolution, which had previously passed a procedural hurdle
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Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky and chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, during a confirmation hearing in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, June 17, 2026.
The Senate voted on Wednesday night to block a Democratic-led war powers resolution seeking to end military operations against Iran, after a heated meeting between President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans where he berated a handful of lawmakers over their votes in favor of a successful war powers resolution the previous day.
Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and Rand Paul (R-KY), supporters of previous war powers efforts, changed their votes on the resolution on Wednesday, which had previously passed a procedural hurdle — Cassidy now voting no and Paul voting present. Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) again voted yes, while Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voted no. The final vote was 50-47.
Cassidy, who engaged in a shouting match with Trump in the meeting over his recent war powers votes, told reporters after the meeting that he would not change his vote until he had been briefed on the war. Hours later, Cassidy received a private briefing on the war from Vice President JD Vance and White House Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.
“I am reassured. I had my briefing. My criteria is met,” Cassidy said. “As long as I’m reassured that there’s honesty and that, as they’re depicting events, it’s playing out appropriately, I’m reassured. But again, you want to trust but verify.”
Cassidy had said earlier in the day that he did not believe the administration’s prosecution of the war was on track to achieve the goals it laid out. Following that conversation, Cassidy changed his tune.
“I think it’s plausible that they are achieving the objectives, as they laid it out,” Cassidy told Jewish Insider. He added that he wants to “see events transpire the way they depict them, but they had plausible explanations for how they’re achieving those objectives.”
Cassidy said he had passed a note to Witkoff, who attended the Senate meeting with Trump, asking him for a briefing, and the White House had called within the hour to set it up.
The Louisiana senator has emerged as a key swing vote since losing his primary to Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA).
Paul, the earliest GOP vote in favor of war powers efforts, said his present vote came in deference to the administration’s negotiating strategy.
“My opinion on the debate over war and executive power has not changed and I have voted that way several times. But since hostilities seem to be over and the president asked me to give consideration to his negotiating position, I will do so,” Paul said. “My vote of present is a way to give the president more space and leverage to negotiate a lasting peace.”
The Maine senator said she learned to reject anti-Jewish hate at a young age, inspired by her World War II veteran father and her mother who quit a sorority for excluding Jewish students
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Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) addresses the press on Nov. 6, 2022.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) reiterated her criticism of Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner and accused him and his supporters of antisemitism at an Orthodox Union event on Tuesday.
Speaking at the OU luncheon, Collins called out Platner for his Nazi tattoo, pointing to accounts by former romantic partners that he had described it as a Nazi symbol despite later denying that he knew what it was. She said that even though he covered up the tattoo on the campaign trail, “the stain remains.”
Collins also referenced comments from a Platner supporter who said she did not find the Nazi tattoo disqualifying but would find an Israeli tattoo to be a deal-breaker, which Collins said she found “even more distressing.”
She also repeated comments she made a day earlier on Fox News asserting that her support for Israel remains in spite of shifting political winds.
“Our support for Israel remains as strong as ever,” Collins said, to a standing ovation. “We must all stand with Israel. In my case, I learned that lesson at an early age.”
She said that her father, a World War II veteran, taught her from childhood the need to stand against evil. Collins said that her mother also taught her to reject antisemitism, noting that her mother quit her sorority in college after it rejected a fellow student because she was Jewish.
“The friendship that I share with the people of Israel is that which our true nation shares, a friendship that is anchored by common principles, a love of liberty and the courage to defend [them],” Collins said.
The GOP senator, who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, also said that a major priority for her this year is to make the U.S.’ defunding of UNRWA permanent. She said that it “should not have been a close call” to cut off U.S. funding to the agency after its employees were revealed to be involved in the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks on Israel, but that she had to “fight” to add and extend that provision in recent funding bills.
Collins said that the rise in antisemitism since Oct. 7 has “revealed … the oldest hatred is not only still alive, but sicker than ever. Tragically, the prognos is has only worsened since then.”
She praised David Greene, the president of Colby College, in her home state, which she said had not seen the anti-Israel demonstrations and encampments that plagued other colleges. Greene told her that “the key is, you do not negotiate, you do not allow this to occur,” she recalled.
She said Greene had also told her that the protests at other schools were directed by radical professors, graduate assistants and outside agitators, rather than grassroots activities.
Collins said a member of her own congressional staff was assaulted at an encampment at the University of Pittsburgh for carrying an American and an Israeli flag, and that no action was taken against his attacker — something she described as a pattern under the prior presidential administration.
“I think it shows how much we need to do to make sure that our students are [equipped] with the truth,” Collins said.
Sens. Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) also spoke at the OU event.
The resolution passed 50-48 with GOP Sens. Paul, Murkowski, Collins and Cassidy voting with Democrats in favor
Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks to reporters after the weekly Senate policy luncheons at the U.S. Capitol on June 23, 2026 in Washington. Schumer spoke out against President Trump's Iran deal and a the need for the Senate to pass a War Powers Resolution regarding Iran.
The Senate voted on Tuesday to pass a House-passed war powers resolution directing the administration to withdraw U.S. forces from Iran — a congressional rebuke of the administration over the war in Iran — though legally its effects are likely to be largely symbolic.
The resolution passed by a 50-48 vote, with Republican Sens. Rand Paul (R-KY), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) again voting in favor and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) voting against it. Ultimately, GOP absences enabled the resolution to go forward.
But the resolution, now passed by both chambers, came in the form of a concurrent resolution, which is not submitted to the president and, based on past court precedent, is not seen as carrying the force of law — though a House Democratic aide argued to CNN that the measure would be binding.
Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and lead Democratic sponsor of the war powers resolution, insisted in a statement, “Regardless of what President Trump says, this measure is binding under the War Powers Resolution, and I will explore all legal avenues to ensure the Executive complies with the will of Congress.”
Unlike previous efforts, however, the concurrent resolution did not require other procedural votes by the Senate, allowing Democrats to take advantage of the Republican absences and move directly toward final passage to deliver a message of rebuke to the administration.
The Senate still has other war powers resolutions pending, including one which passed an initial procedural hurdle, but currently lacks the support to pass through an additional procedural vote and final passage with full attendance. That legislation, which comes in a different form as joint resolutions, would be presented to the president if passed and set up a potential veto or other legal fight.
Republicans warned that adopting the resolution would send a further signal to Iran that it does not need to negotiate or make any compromises with the U.S. as part of ongoing talks.
The Maryland senator also praised Graham Platner’s Senate candidacy, even as other leading Democrats have kept their distance
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) speaks at a campaign event for Maryland Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate and Prince George's County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), a leading critic of Israel in the Senate, publicly confirmed for the first time this week, after visits to key primary states, that he is considering a 2028 presidential bid — and argued that criticism of Israel should be a key litmus test for the emerging field.
Van Hollen has become an increasingly outspoken and virulent voice against Israel in the Senate and taken trips to states that will play a pivotal role in the 2028 presidential primary, fueling speculation that he is scoping out a presidential run.
“I went to New Hampshire because I was invited, but I would say kind of kicking the tires a little bit,” Van Hollen said on the “On NOTUS” podcast this week.
Asked whether he thinks any Democratic presidential candidate will be viable without criticizing Israel and supporting conditioning aid to the Jewish state, Van Hollen responded, “I think a Democratic presidential candidate should believe in the United States’ foreign policy based on advancing our values and our interests. And if you want to advance our values, you cannot apply one set of standards just to our adversaries and another to our friends and be taken seriously in the world about it.”
“I think any credible Democratic presidential candidate has to be willing to hold the government of Israel accountable when it’s violating human rights and violating international law and violating US interests because the Israeli-Palestinian issue, conflict goes to the heart of so much of the instability that we’ve encountered and paid for in the United States over decades,” Van Hollen continued.
He also argued that any Biden-era officials who don’t “plainly acknowledge how wrong they were and make it clear that lessons have been learned and that they would follow a very different approach” toward Israel should not be able to serve in any future Democratic administration.
Van Hollen also defended Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, the Democratic nominee who has drawn controversy for his Nazi tattoo, far-left views and numerous scandals and controversies, as “the candidate in that race who is fighting for working people” and “somebody who’s going to shape things up and actually respond to the pocketbook issues of the people of Maine.”
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’
Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
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.
Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton said that Clayton’s scheduled Wednesday afternoon confirmation hearing would go on as scheduled unless Clayton doesn’t show up
Photo by John Lamparski/WireImage
Jay Clayton appears on "Mornings With Maria" on Fox Business in 2020. At the time, Clayton was serving as chairman of the SEC.
President Donald Trump upended an expedited effort to confirm Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence before the end of the week with a Wednesday morning Truth Social post announcing that he was “cancelling” Clayton’s planned confirmation hearing later that afternoon — but Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), the Intelligence Committee chairman, insisted the hearing would go on as scheduled unless Clayton fails to appear.
Though Trump doesn’t have the ability to unilaterally cancel a Senate hearing, he could instruct Clayton not to appear as scheduled. Senate lawmakers were rushing to confirm Clayton before the end of the week to prevent federal housing chief Bill Pulte from serving as acting DNI, a choice lawmakers on both sides of the aisle view as problematic and unqualified for the role.
“Jay Clayton is a pending nominee before the Intelligence Committee. We will proceed with his hearing as scheduled unless the president directs him not to appear or withdraws his nomination,” Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) said on X following Trump’s post.
Republicans have been trying to clear a path to rapidly confirm Clayton before Pulte is set to take over as acting DNI on Friday.
Confirming Clayton and blocking Pulte from the DNI role would also unlock Democratic support for renewing federal foreign surveillance authorities under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which lapsed last week amid Democratic opposition.
Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), the vice chair of the Intelligence Committee, lambasted the “extraordinary display of dysfunction from a president who seems determined to turn America’s national security into a political bargaining chip.”
“At every turn, the president has injected more uncertainty into a process that should be focused on one thing: keeping the American people safe,” Warner continued. National security cannot be governed by social media post. The president’s latest intervention only underscores a simple reality: the biggest obstacle to resolving these issues has not been Senate Democrats or Senate Republicans. It has been the chaos and confusion coming from the White House itself.”
Trump asserted that “Dumocrats broke the Deal” on FISA and Pulte, and also demanded that James McDonald, who Trump said he would nominate to replace Clayton as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, be confirmed before Clayton is confirmed for DNI.
But McDonald’s nomination hasn’t yet been transmitted to the Senate, according to congressional records.
Trump also indicated that he would veto the FISA renewal unless Republicans attach the SAVE America Act, which aims to impose new national voter ID and proof of citizenship requirements at the ballot box and limit mail-in and online voter registration, to it — a proposal that cannot pass the 60-vote threshold in the Senate.
“To add a slight bit of intrigue but, for the Good of the Nation, and the People of our Country, I will not approve FISA without THE SAVE AMERICA ACT going along with it,” Trump said. “Not complicated, actually, the Republicans fell into a trap.”
The proposed restrictions come after top Senate lawmakers publicly expressed frustration in recent months with the LAF’s failure to take concrete steps to fully disarm Hezbollah
MAHMOUD ZAYYAT / AFP via Getty Images
Lebanese army forces set up a checkpoint at the entrance of the village of Ghandourieh in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026, preventing people from crossing towards villages the Israeli military is believed to have deployed.
The Senate’s version of the 2027 National Defense Authorization Act proposes sweeping new conditions on U.S. support for the Lebanese Armed Forces. The proposed restrictions come after top Senate lawmakers publicly expressed frustration in recent months with the LAF’s failure to take concrete steps to fully disarm Hezbollah, and argued that the U.S. should not provide unconditional funding for the LAF.
Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), the chair of the Armed Services Committee, which produces the NDAA, said in late April that “Congress should not support the LAF unless it acts to disarm Hezbollah completely — and immediately.”
Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), who chairs the Foreign Relations Committee, echoed Wicker, adding that it was “well past time for the LAF to take tangible action to fully disarm Hezbollah and for the Lebanese government to follow through on long-promised economic reform. The era of complacency and unconditional bailouts must come to an end.”
Support for the LAF, which would be limited to no more than $36 million, is conditioned on the LAF’s work to disarm Hezbollah. No more than 5% of that funding can be provided until the administration certifies to Congress that Lebanon has outlawed Hezbollah’s activities and that the LAF is actively working to disarm Hezbollah, prevent the Iranian-backed group’s rearmament and prevent attacks on Lebanon’s neighbors — including Israel.
The administration would then be required to re-certify every 90 days to Congress that the LAF is continuing to act against Hezbollah to the full extent of its capabilities, with a mandatory suspension of aid if it cannot meet that certification.
The quarterly reports would also include specific data on the number of weapons seized from Hezbollah and other metrics regarding the LAF’s efforts to degrade Hezbollah, as well as the makeup and capacities of the LAF forces.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday publicly condemned Israel’s operations against Hezbollah, suggesting — in a move that baffled both lawmakers and experts — that Syria’s military could instead be called upon to deal with the Hezbollah threat.
The NDAA would block U.S. counterterrorism assistance to Syria until the administration can certify the Syrian government is taking action to demobilize, disarm and monitor foreign fighters and jihadists in the country, implement a system to “fairly integrate” the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces into the Syrian military and prevent attacks on minorities including Kurds and Druze.
The provision comes amid continued scrutiny on Capitol Hill of the Syrian government’s efforts to protect minorities after the U.S. withdrew sanctions on the Syrian government.
As previously reported, the NDAA, which was finalized last week but not released in full until Tuesday, includes a version of the FUTURES Act, which has become a hot-button issue in the context of the House version of the NDAA, seeking to centralize and expand existing defense collaboration efforts between the two partners.
But it also includes a second provision on joint development, requesting the administration provide Congress with a plan to establish a partnership between the U.S. and Israel on defense industrial priorities, with the goal of supporting the defense industrial bases in both countries, providing opportunities for industries in both countries to cooperate and collaborate and supporting defense development and startups in both countries.
The legislation additionally proposes boosting funding for cooperation on subterranean operations — previously billed as counter-tunnelling efforts — from $80 million to $100 million, and counter-drone programs from $70 million to $100 million. The bill also authorizes $1 million for cybersecurity cooperation with Israel.
That funding would still have to be approved separately in the appropriations process later this year.
The NDAA also includes two different provisions to enhance defense cooperation with both Israel and other Middle East allies.
One, the Abraham Accords Defense Cooperation Initiative, would establish a program to expand defense cooperation between the U.S. and the Abraham countries, to address various threats in the region. It encourages each country in the region to provide matching funds for the program.
The other, which pulls language from the OASIS in the Middle East Act, aims to develop a coordinated air- and missile-defense acquisition strategy alongside Israel, Abraham Accords members and other Middle East allies to ensure adequate resources to protect the U.S. and its allies in the event of future conflicts.
The provision further requires the administration to explain its work to replenish interceptor stockpiles that have reportedly been severely degraded in the war, assess the possibility for co-production with various Middle East allies of interceptor systems, consider an creating an air-defense stockpile in the Middle East and improve joint development and acquisition of low-cost interceptor options.
The NDAA, which provides formal congressional authorization for the Civil Military Cooperation Center overseeing the implementation of the ceasefire plan in Gaza, requires the administration to provide Congress with information on plans for and actual deployment of the International Security Force in Gaza and its involvement in disarming Hamas, as well as on granular, specific details on the amount and types of aid moving into Gaza.
Plans for the ISF have largely failed to materialize, and the force has not yet deployed inside Gaza, where efforts to disarm Hamas have stalled in light of the terrorist group’s intransigence.
Four Republicans again broke with their party, but absences handed the GOP a narrow 48-47 win
UNITED STATES - APRIL 30: From left, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, talk as they arrive for a vote in the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, April 30, 2025. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Despite having previously approved a similar motion, the Senate on Tuesday narrowly defeated a procedural vote on a war powers resolution to prevent further military action against Iran, as the administration moves forward in negotiations with Tehran.
The same four Senate Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Rand Paul (R-KY) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) — voted to advance the resolution, but absences favored Republicans this time, defeating the resolution 48-47.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was again the sole Democrat who voted against the effort.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who led the previous war powers resolution that successfully advanced, explained to reporters that he hasn’t yet called up that resolution for further votes because he needs to secure one more vote in support to ensure passage.
“I would like to call up mine when I know I’ve got a win,” Kaine said. “I don’t yet have a fifth. I need a fifth vote. … I’ve been working some people to try to get that, but I haven’t gotten any solid commitments.”
He said that he’s still trying to persuade colleagues that, even if the war is paused now, it should not restart without congressional approval, and that Democrats still want to have weekly votes on the war. He said he’s hopeful that the current ceasefire could give some additional Republicans the leeway to vote for the effort.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC), seen as a potential GOP swing vote, ultimately voted against the motion after telling reporters that the current uncertainty could warrant some involvement by Congress.
“I don’t even know what we’re doing right now. … Are we in a ceasefire, are we in an agreement that is basically a new agreement on a ceasefire? Are we working towards a real lasting agreement that may be subject to ratification of Congress?” Tillis said before the vote.
The North Carolina Republican said he would decline to take a firm position before hearing arguments on both sides of the issue.
“[If y]ou’ve got all that uncertainty, then maybe, if we do still think that the U.S. forces need to be put at risk and be kept there, then we should probably be talking about an authorization for the use of military force,” Tillis continued.
A source told JI that Republican leadership and the administration may seek to sidestep INARA review, at least for the current 60-day agreement with Iran
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) speaks to the press on June 2, 2025 in Washington.
Some Republican senators said that the administration does not need to submit the recently signed 60-day memorandum of understanding with Iran to Congress for review and a potential vote under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act, potentially sidestepping the first major opportunity for Congress to weigh in on the agreement.
Under INARA, the administration is required to promptly submit any deal with Iran relating to its nuclear program to Congress for review, with an opportunity for Congress to vote to reject the deal. But the administration may attempt to avoid that step, at least until a broader agreement is reached during the 60-day negotiating period — if one comes about.
A source familiar with the situation said Republican leadership is in discussions with the administration about what is included in the MOU — senior Republicans have said publicly they have not yet been informed — but they are collectively moving toward a view that the MOU is an agreement for further negotiations, not a deal on Iran’s nuclear program in itself, thereby sidestepping INARA for the time being.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Some senators offered a similar view on Monday evening.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said that he’s “not aware of any precedent” for Congress to vote on an MOU.
“This is like a template for further negotiations,” Hawley said. “I don’t even know constitutionally if we have a role on that.”
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) said that he does not believe that a congressional vote on the MOU is necessary. He also went further, emphasizing that even under INARA, there is no requirement for Congress to vote on any Iran agreement.
“People may have different points of view of whether or not we should or we shouldn’t, but there’s certainly nothing required,” Schmitt said.
Pressed on why lawmakers wouldn’t want an opportunity to vote on the deal, Schmitt responded, “on whether or not a president can cease conflict in that way?”
“I don’t think it’s necessary,” he continued. “I’m just stating the law. … I will say that I do think that there are certain people in this building that want to undermine this, there’s no doubt about that. … You have the camp that wants us to lose, and then you have a camp that wants a forever war. President Trump’s not in either one of those camps.”
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) said that “if there’s a final” deal with Iran, he believes Congress should have the opportunity to review and vote on it, but that he does not believe that such a vote is necessary for the current MOU.
“When there’s a final agreement — if there’s a final agreement — just like the JCPOA Congress should be able to weigh in,” Kennedy said.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), who said he was involved in crafting INARA during the Obama administration, said that whether the MOU needs to be submitted is a question of what it includes.
“If the details are opening the ports, opening the straits and ceasefire, but let’s talk about the nuclear program — I don’t know that that would have to be submitted,” Kaine said. “If the details that we hear Friday include some nuclear elements, and maybe we’ll talk about some other ones down the road — well then it might have to come to us. You just have to see whether the deal that is announced Friday includes an agreement on any of the elements of [their nuclear program].”
He emphasized, however, that meeting the 60-vote threshold in the Senate to pass a joint resolution of disapproval under INARA to block a deal would be difficult given current political dynamics around the war.
Others, however, are more eager for congressional scrutiny and even Senate ratification of the deal as a treaty.
Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said that he hopes the U.S. doesn’t “make the mistake Obama made [with the original nuclear deal]. We had an agreement that never really got ratified by Congress, didn’t have a lot of visibility, and I think that’s a mistake.”
Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) emphasized that any lasting agreement would need to be submitted to Congress.
“If it’s going to be long lasting, you’ve got to pass law, and that was what President Obama figured out: he could make an executive agreement, but the next president just turns it off,” Lankford said. “The president has the power to be able to negotiate foreign policy. He is the person who speaks for the country on foreign policy issues, but lasting agreements that last beyond that president have to be put in statute.”
Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) also said that if the deal is strong, it should be submitted to Congress for ratification as a treaty. “The JCPOA was torn apart, taken apart, because it could not meet that standard,” Rounds said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), asked if the Senate should vote on the MOU or only the subsequent negotiated agreement said, “It’s the law. Any nuclear deal with Iran has to be voted on. There is no way that we will not review a deal.”
The Senate majority leader also said the deal triggers requirements for the administration to provide Congress with the opportunity to review the agreement under INARA
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Sen. Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) calls on reporters following the weekly Senate Republican caucus policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on January 14, 2025 in Washington, DC. Senators spoke about the Laken Riley Act which was named after a nursing student who was murdered in February 2024 by Jose Ibarra, a migrant from Venezuela who crossed the border in September 2022, that could give state attorney generals far-reaching veto power over federal immigration policy.
With scant details provided by the Trump administration about the contours of the peace deal with Iran, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on Monday afternoon that he doesn’t yet know enough about the administration’s deal with Iran to determine whether it is a good deal that will prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
“I don’t know enough about it to say,” Thune told reporters. “I think the issues are going to be compliance, and how you can enforce that, and what are the financial incentives that the Iranians have from our country, and what are they conditioned upon.”
The South Dakota Republican said that a positive deal would include financial incentives that are conditioned upon Iran winding down its nuclear program, the disposal of Iran’s enriched uranium and Tehran giving up its capacity to have a nuclear program in the future.
Thune also indicated that he believes the deal should be submitted to Congress for review under the Iran Nuclear Agreement Review Act.
“There are some requirements that are triggered because of the nuclear components of the deal, in terms of notification or informing Congress,” Thune said. “I know there is probably some expectation that there may be a vote at some point, whether that’s on a resolution of disapproval or something. We’ll see. I just don’t know enough about it yet. And I don’t think even the people who follow this stuff closely up here know that much.”
The administration hasn’t publicly commented on the issue of INARA yet, and has offered varying timelines for when it might release the text of the agreement. In media appearances, Vice President JD Vance has been framing specific nuclear issues as part of the next round of talks, rather than the current MOU, which could give the administration an avenue to attempt to dodge INARA review.
Thune said that “somebody” from the administration, whether that be Vance or other officials, “will need to” come to the Hill to brief members.
“For sure, our members are going to have a lot of questions about it,” Thune said.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the No. 2 Senate Republican, indicated he was similarly in the dark about the agreement.
“I haven’t seen anything from the president in terms of what’s in it. I’ve seen some press reports,” Barrasso told reporters. “I want to see what’s actually in it and I congratulate the president for his continued efforts.”
But asked whether he was concerned that the deal would be an effective surrender to Iran in providing sanctions relief, Barrasso rejected the idea out of hand.
“President Trump is never, ever going to do what you just suggested,” Barrasso said. “He’s not going to accept a deal that doesn’t eliminate nuclear weapons, isn’t enforceable, isn’t verifiable and doesn’t take Iran completely out of what they’ve been doing to try to undermine and attack us for the last 47 years.”
Rep. Dan Goldman said that ‘words of condemnation are no longer enough’ and that there has been a ‘systematic failure’ by Congress to address rising antisemitism since Oct. 7
Reps. Dan Goldman (D-NY) and Mike Lawler (R-NY) are leading 28 colleagues in introducing a House version of the Jewish American Security Act, the package of antisemitism-related legislation introduced by Sens. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) and James Lankford (R-OK) last month in the Senate.
The bill includes a proposal for significant increases in security funding, new oversight and administrative measures to address antisemitism on college campuses and new transparency requirements for social media companies relating to antisemitism online.
The legislation is being co-sponsored by Reps. Grace Meng (D-NY), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL), Maria Salazar (R-FL), Jared Moskowitz (D-FL), Rudy Yakym (R-IN), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Marc Veasey (D-TX), Don Bacon (R-NE), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Michael McCaul (R-TX), Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), Laura Gillen (D-NY), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Jake Auchincloss (D-MA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Dan Meuser (R-PA), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Tom Barrett (R-MI), Jen Kiggans (R-VA), Greg Landsman (D-OH), David Kustoff (R-TN), Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), Lois Frankel (D-FL), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Randy Weber (R-TX), Kristen McDonald Rivet (D-MI) and John Moolenaar (R-MI).
“Words of condemnation are no longer enough,” Goldman said in a statement. “Since the October 7th attacks, there has been a systematic failure in Congress and in our communities to counter the threat posed by surging antisemitism across this country.”
Goldman, a co-chair of the House antisemitism task force, said the bill would change that pattern: “Whether on campus, at synagogues, or online — the Jewish American Security Act will provide the tools necessary to help secure our at-risk communities to practice their faith without fear. American Jews cannot be asked to bear this burden alone. As Americans, we must stand shoulder to shoulder with those under siege by hate.”
Lawler, who is also the lead sponsor of the long-stalled Antisemitism Awareness Act, said in a statement that by providing additional resources for the Nonprofit Security Grant Program, the bill would help safeguard constitutionally protected religious freedom and bolster Jewish institutions against attacks.
“This bill also delivers critical protections for Jewish students on college campuses through stronger Title VI enforcement, requires greater transparency from online platforms on antisemitic content, and establishes key threat assessments,” Lawler said. “We must act decisively so Jewish Americans can feel safe in their schools, synagogues, and online.”
The legislation is supported by a wide range of Jewish groups across the religious and political spectrum.
“[A]ntisemitism remains a serious threat to the safety and security of the American Jewish community. A piecemeal approach to combat this scourge of [antisemitism] is no longer sufficient. The Jewish American Security Act is a serious and comprehensive federal response to this epidemic of hate,” Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said in a statement. “We are grateful to Congressmen Goldman and Lawler for championing this bill in the House and showing that keeping Jewish Americans safe is a genuine bipartisan priority.”
Eric Fingerhut, the CEO of the Jewish Federations of North America, told Jewish Insider in a brief interview that, given the support in both the House and Senate and the Jewish community, “there’s never really been something like this at this level of comprehensiveness on Jewish security, with all the Jewish organizations working together.”
“People care, but they just don’t realize how bad it’s been. They don’t realize what’s happened in the last year. They don’t understand how Temple Israel was almost a disaster that would have changed the country,” Fingerhut continued. “This is really an important moment and we are all over this. There’s nothing that’s a higher priority.”
He said that if the bill passes, “we really have something that will make a difference for the Jewish community, which has been the target of a serious domestic terror crisis over this last year. So we’re grateful and we’re ready to work.”
American Jewish Committee CEO Ted Deutch said in a statement that Americans should not need security to pray or be afraid to leave their homes and interact in their communities, “yet, that is exactly what Jews in this country are experiencing every day.”
“We are at an inflection point. Surging antisemitism is not just a threat to the Jewish community; it is a crisis for our democracy and the values we cherish as Americans — pluralism, religious freedom, and the promise of equal protection,” Deutch said. “We thank Representatives Goldman and Lawler for their leadership and demonstrating that confronting this hatred is not a political issue, but a moral obligation.”
Amy Spitalnick, the CEO of the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, said that antisemitic violence “demands investments in a sustained, whole-of-government and whole-of-society response.”
“The Jewish American Security Act helps us to meet that need by focusing on tools that we know work,” Spitalnick said. “A truly inclusive American democracy requires Jewish safety — and so too does our safety as Jews depend on protecting our democratic institutions and values and ensuring the safety and rights of each and every community.”
Nathan Diament, the executive director of the Orthodox Union Advocacy Center, said that the organization “strongly supports” the bill and that the “unprecedented wave of antisemitism demands an unprecedented response by our government,” including increasing NSGP funding to $1 billion.
Rabbi Jonah Pesner, the director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism, said that “the need for meaningful steps to bolster security and the fight against hate is vital.”
“The Jewish American Security Act strengthens the government tools and funding that will be available to help us meet this moment and uphold the American commitment to religious freedom,” Pesner said.
William Daroff, the CEO of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, praised the bipartisan support for the legislation as well as the broad consensus around it in the Jewish community, urging the bill’s quick passage.
“It is deeply encouraging to see this bill come together with bipartisan, bicameral support at a time when that kind of consensus is all too rare. There is real meaning in Republicans and Democrats joining around the shared responsibility to protect Jewish Americans,” Daroff said.
“It is encouraging to see real consensus across Jewish organizations. Since October 7, engagement is up and coordination is stronger. That unity is both needed and significant.”
In his victory speech, Platner railed against the political establishment and criticized U.S. wars in the Middle East
Sophie Park/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Graham Platner, Democratic Senate candidate for Maine, arrives to speak during a Fighting Oligarchy event in Portland, Maine, on May 25, 2026.
Maine Democrats rallied behind scandal-plagued oyster farmer and military veteran Graham Platner as their Senate nominee against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) in Tuesday’s primary, turning to a left-wing outsider running against the political and institutional establishment as its standard-bearer for the general election.
Platner — whose controversies, including his now-covered Nazi tattoo and abuse allegations, have unnerved many Democrats — will be a political test over whether his brand of progressive populism can win over swing voters in a state critical to the Democrats’ hopes of winning back the Senate.
“In trying so hard to understand me, [the media] failed to understand that this is not about me at all. This is a movement about us, about the far too many, working far too hard and struggling far too much,” Platner said in his victory speech.
Attacking “forever wars,” Platner railed against the Trump administration’s war in Iran, and slammed Collins for “closing hospitals while using our tax dollars to destroy them halfway around the world.” (The line was an apparent attack against Israel’s targeting of Hamas terror infrastructure that was often lodged in medical facilities during the war in Gaza.)
Platner won about 72% of the primary vote despite Gov. Janet Mills remaining on the ballot, a solid enough showing amid all the controversies that should mute any calls for him to drop out of the race. In a statement on Platner’s victory, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) reiterated their support for the nominee: “In November, Maine voters will elect Graham Platner, and we will win a Senate majority.”
Mills, for her part, did not mention Platner at all in her statement about the election results.
The most recent polls in the race, conducted as Platner’s scandals hit the news, suggest a highly competitive matchup between Collins and Platner. Maine is the only state Trump lost in the 2024 presidential election that is represented by a Republican in the Senate, but Platner’s personal baggage is complicating the party’s path to victory.
Collins, meanwhile, is one of the most politically resilient senators, winning reelection even when the political environment for her party has been less than favorable.
Platner was surrounded by mostly older women as he delivered his victory speech, a critical constituency for him to win in the general election in the state with the oldest median population, especially given the allegations of abuse towards several ex-girlfriends.
In other primary news on Tuesday, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) coasted to renomination, though he only won 58% of the GOP vote against weak competition.
In his victory speech, Graham railed against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), two isolationist, anti-Israel GOP lawmakers who left or were ousted from Congress. “What did we prove tonight? That South Carolina is Trump country, not Massie country. We proved tonight that nobody gives a damn what Marjorie Taylor Greene thinks about who to vote for in South Carolina,” Graham said.
In South Carolina’s governor’s race, Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette, who was endorsed by President Donald Trump, will face state Attorney General Alan Wilson in a runoff for the nomination. Reps. Ralph Norman (R-SC) and Nancy Mace (R-SC) lagged well behind in the primary, with Mace’s fifth-place finish serving as a disappointing conclusion to her congressional career.
The AIPAC-affiliated super PAC is touting Stevens’ record fighting for the auto industry, opposing Medicare cuts and working to cap insulin prices in Congress
Andrew Roth/Sipa USA
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) speaks at the Michigan Democratic Party Endorsement Convention in Detroit, Mich., on April 19, 2026.
United Democracy Project, the super PAC affiliated with AIPAC, is spending $2 million on an initial ad buy this week to boost Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) in the Democratic primary for Michigan’s open Senate seat, a UDP spokesperson confirmed to Jewish Insider on Tuesday.
The new TV ad, which calls Stevens “a proven fighter for Michigan,” touts her past role as chief of staff to President Barack Obama’s auto task force, support for capping insulin prices and efforts “fighting back against” President Donald Trump’s “Medicare cuts.”
“She’s a fighter for Michigan families on affordability and jobs,” Patrick Dorton, a spokesperson for UDP, said of Stevens, a moderate pro-Israel Democrat. “We are going to show that on these ads,” he said in a statement to JI.
UDP is also spending $300,000 on radio and mail ads, Dorton said of the group’s first investment in the race. He was unable to share how much UDP intends to spend in the primary, which takes place on Aug. 4.
The spending comes as AIPAC is viewed as a lightning rod in Michigan’s closely contested Democratic Senate primary, where one of Stevens’ top rivals, Abdul El-Sayed, a vocal far-left critic of Israel, has accused her of being beholden to donors from the pro-Israel group. Mallory McMorrow, a state senator, has also vowed to reject campaign contributions from AIPAC.
In contrast with other races where UDP has relied on shell PACs that allow it to shield its involvement until after a primary has concluded, the group is spending under its own name in Michigan, which is home to a sizable Jewish community.
Sen. James Lankford said the bill would help ensure ‘Israel and our partners have what they need before the next attack comes, not after’
Tom Brenner/Getty Images
Birds fly near the Pentagon
