Schumer draws a red line on Netanyahu

Mar 14, 2024

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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the Senate floor this morning to deliver an unusually sharp rebuke of the Israeli government. | AP

A BIG BIBI BREAK — As the public pressure mounts over the growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER took to the Senate floor this morning to deliver an unusually sharp rebuke of the Israeli government and call for the ousting of its leader, PM BENJAMIN NETANYAHU.

Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish political leader in American history, condemned Netanyahu as having “lost his way” amid Israel’s battle with Hamas, stating “the Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs” of Israel:“I believe a new election is the only way to allow for a healthy and open decision-making process about the future of Israel.”

“The world has changed radically since [Oct. 7] and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past,” Schumer continued. “Nobody expects Prime Minister Netanyahu to do the things that must be done to break the cycle of violence, preserve Israel’s credibility on the world stage, and work towards a two-state solution.”

It’s hard to overstate how momentous such statements are coming from Schumer, who has hugged Israel tight throughout a five-decade political career cradled in heavily Jewish neighborhoods of Brooklyn. But the rising public anger over the Gaza war — and Netanyahu’s embrace of a far-right coalition — has pushed those ties to the breaking point.

To be sure: Schumer didn’t only blame Netanyahu for the woeful state of affairs in the Middle East. He also fingered Hamas, “radical” right-wing Israelis and Palestinian Authority President MAHMOUD ABBAS as “four obstacles to peace,” noting that Abbas “must step down and be replaced by a new generation of Palestinian leaders who will work towards attaining peace with a Jewish State.”

Still, Schumer’s criticism marks a genuine milestone in a decade of steadily worsening relations between Netanyahu’s governments and Washington Democrats — and it creates space for others in the party to openly criticize the longtime PM. (Whether that eventually includes President JOE BIDEN remains to be seen.)

The responses erupted in short order:

On the Hill … Schumer’s comments “won quick kudos from progressives, with Sen. BRIAN SCHATZ (D-Hawaii) lauding it on social media as ‘gutsy, historic.’ Sen. PETER WELCH (D-Vt.) walked up and gave Schumer a hug after the leader wrapped up his remarks,” Anthony Adragna reports.

Across the aisle, Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL immediately lambasted the speech in his own floor remarks, calling it “grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about interference in our own democracy" to call for Netanyahu’s removal: "Make no mistake: The Democratic Party doesn't have an anti-Bibi problem. It has an anti-Israel problem."

At the Greenbrier … Gathered at their annual retreat in West Virginia, House GOP leadership organized an impromptu news conference to respond to Schumer, CNN’s Melanie Zanona reports. House Speaker MIKE JOHNSON described the remarks as “inappropriate,” while Majority Leader STEVE SCALISE called them “disturbing” and “disgraceful.”

From the Netanyahu government … Israel’s ambassador to Washington, MICHAEL HERZOG, criticized Schumer's comments in a post on X: “It is unhelpful, all the more so as Israel is at war against the genocidal terror organization Hamas, to comment on the domestic political scene of a democratic ally. It is counterproductive to our common goals.”

And the West Wing … In a call with reporters the afternoon, White House National Security Adviser JOHN KIRBY avoided weighing in, stating: "We know that Leader Schumer feels strongly about this. So, we’ll certainly let him speak to it and to his comments.” The Biden administration, he added, is “laser focused on trying to get a temporary ceasefire in place so that we can get the hostages out and get more aid."

Latest on the ground … “State Department imposes new sanctions on Israeli settlers over West Bank violence,” by NYT’s Michael Crowley

WATCH THIS SPACE — Indicted Sen. BOB MENENDEZ (D-N.J.) is now eyeing whether to seek re-election as an independent, NBC News’ Julie Tsirkin, Carol Lee and Kate Santaliz report. The rationale all comes down to self-preservation, they explain: To raise funds that could pay his legal bills, Menendez needs to remain a candidate. Were he to seek a fourth term as a Democrat, “he would need to come up with 1,000 signatures by March 25th — so time is not on his side. But running as an independent would give him more time; in that case, he would only need 800 signatures by June 4th to qualify for the ballot.”

Good Thursday afternoon. Thanks for reading Playbook PM. Drop me a line at birvine@politico.com.

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7 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin’s comments come a day after the House voted 352-65 to approve a bill that would ban TikTok from U.S. app stores. | AP

1. TIKTOK ON THE CLOCK: Former Treasury Secretary STEVEN MNUCHIN told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning that he’s putting together a consortium to buy TikTok: “I think the legislation should pass and I think it should be sold,” he said. “It should be owned by U.S. businesses, there’s no way that the Chinese would ever let a U.S. company own something like this in China.”

Mnuchin’s comments come a day after the House voted 352-65 to approve a bill that would ban the social media app from U.S. app stores or force its Chinese owner ByteDance to sell.

And while Mnuchin’s former boss, DONALD TRUMP, worked to implement a ban on the app when he was in the White House, Trump indicated this week on the same program that he opposed the new legislation, stating: “There’s a lot of good and there’s a lot of bad with TikTok.” More from Rebecca Kern

2. KYIV TO VICTORY: Speaker Johnson is facing ever-mounting pressure to reach a deal that would provide aid to Kyiv without further alienating his deeply divided GOP conference. While Johnson continues to blockade a foreign aid before the government is fully funded, lawmakers across the aisle warn that Kyiv can’t hold out much longer for assistance, Jennifer Scholtes and Connor O’Brien write.

Although Congress could reach a funding deal as soon as next week, “[w]ith a lengthy recess scheduled right afterward, that timing could push any final agreement on foreign aid deep into next month, at the earliest.” And while two possible discharge petition are in the works that could force a vote on the House floor, “[e]ither attempt to circumvent GOP leadership will be tricky.”

The gist: “Bottom line, the pipeline is nearly empty,” Rep. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-Ill.) said. “Let’s just say we resolve this next week. It’s gonna take a while to fill the pipeline and get stuff into the battlefield. We’re losing time.”

3. BIDEN’S ELECTRIC BOOGIE: “Biden Jump-Starts Electric-Vehicle Push With Massive Lithium Loan,” by WSJ’s Scott Patterson: “The country’s biggest lithium-mining project is on track to get a $2.26 billion loan from the Energy Department, part of the administration’s push to increase domestic production of the rechargeable batteries that power EVs. … The effort is one of dozens of projects across the U.S. racing to build up a domestic supply of lithium and other battery minerals, with the Biden administration aiming for half of new vehicle sales to be EVs by 2030.”

4. RESISTANCE IS FUTILE: The head of the House GOP campaign arm is telling his fellow Republicans to “embrace” Trump as they fight to win seats in battleground states, Olivia Beavers reports from the House GOP retreat in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia: “Rep. RICHARD HUDSON (R-N.C.) isn't personally pressuring anyone to do so, saying … that candidates need to decide how to handle their own individual races. But generally, he said boosting the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee is a winning strategy across districts.”

Talking numbers: While not predicting a “red wave” after 2022 predictions fizzled, GOP leaders “have been bullish about their chances” of expanding their majority, Olivia writes. “Hudson merely said he thought they'd be fighting Democrats for ‘somewhere between ‘25 and 30 seats.’ Johnson has said he believes as many as 37 races are in play this cycle.”

On the ground in Albany. Get critical policy news and analysis inside New York State. Track how power brokers are driving change across legislation and budget and impacting lobbying efforts. Learn more.

5. NOT EASY BEING GREEN: When House Republicans shelled out $40,000 in January to replace the green member pins that were distributed at the start of the 118th Congress, some argued it was because GOP members didn’t like the politics behind the color. In a deep dive on the redesign, Emma Dumain confirms that the green pin was chosen by the departing Democrats in the 117th Congress to send an environmental message. But that wasn’t the biggest reason for the GOP’s change: “According to current House Administration Chair BRYAN STEIL (R-Wis.), the problem with the green pin was that members weren’t wearing it — or any pin.”

6. DEMOCRATS’ ABORTION RISK: “Nebraska Politics Are Famously Moderate. Abortion Is Changing That,” by David Siders in Omaha: “Roughly 15 percent of Democrats nationally consider themselves ‘pro-life’ or say abortion should be illegal in most or all cases. That isn’t nothing in elections that are often decided at the margins. And as the left becomes more intense — out of political necessity — in its reaction to serious threats to abortion rights in red states, it is also becoming more tribal. Even here, in ‘Nebraska Nice’ Nebraska, progressive instincts to attach a purity test to one of the party’s most closely held values is also testing the party’s ability to keep those Democrats in the fold.”

7. CLIMATE CORNER: In an interview with POLITICO’s Energy podcast, Sen. JEFF MERKLEY (D-Ore.) warns that Joe Biden’s latest pause on natural gas exports is still failing to win over young voters who are questioning the president’s "commitment to the cause,” Josh Siegel reports this morning: “The young voters who may be crucial to Biden’s reelection chances aren’t satisfied with the pause because of ‘a whole host of other pro-fossil decisions’ he has made during his first term.”

Easily connect with the right N.Y. State influencers and foster the right relationships to champion your policy priorities. POLITICO Pro. Inside New York. Learn more.

PLAYBOOKERS

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Donald Trump is floating billionaire John Paulson for Treasury Secretary.

OUT AND ABOUT — SPOTTED at a reception for the Irish PM Leo Varadkar with the US-Ireland Partnership and Stripe at Riggs Rooftop last night: John Collison, Patrick Collison, Ben English, Irish Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Claire Cronin, Amy and Vin Roberti, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Paul Pelosi, Reps. Gabe Amo (D-R.I.) and Mary Gay Scanlon (D-Pa.), John McCarthy, Don Graves, Kevin Hassett, Carmel Martin and Alan Williams.

— SPOTTED last night at a Motion Picture Association screening of “Bad River,” a film that chronicles the Wisconsin-based Bad River Band’s fight for sovereignty and the removal of a degrading pipeline: Reps. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Sharice Davis (D-Kan.), Mary Mazzio, Mike Wiggins, Allison Abner, Gene Sperling, David Corn, Edward Norton and Erik Stegman.

WHITE HOUSE DEPARTURE LOUNGE — Josh Nudelman will be director of federal affairs for Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. He currently is associate director at the White House’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs.

TRANSITIONS — Katie Petersen is now the deputy speechwriter to Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su. She previously was press secretary and digital director for Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Mass.) … Mary Brooks is now a foreign affairs officer at State working for the Ambassador at large for Cyberspace and Digital Policy. She most recently was a public policy fellow at the Wilson Center and was a lead researcher for David Sanger.

BIRTHWEEK (was Tuesday): Alex Vargo

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