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Welcome to The Hill's Defense & NatSec newsletter {beacon}
Defense &
National Security
Defense &
National Security
The Big Story
Democrats fear Israel-Hamas war could cost them in November
Democrats are fearful that Israel’s war in Gaza is turning into a major political liability for President Biden and candidates down the ballot, and one that could get worse if it rages on into the summer and attention turns to his match-up with former President Trump.
© AP
Biden is under increasing pressure from Democratic lawmakers over the worsening conditions in Gaza, growing fatalities and Israel’s likely invasion of the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians are sheltering.
Adding to those issues, Americans are increasingly disapproving of Israel’s actions. This has created a political headache for Democrats who are pushing the party to unite behind Biden and leading to concerns the issue could rear its head on the biggest stage in November.
“It’s massive. If this war keeps going on, then it will continue to be a major problem,” one House Democrat told The Hill. “The sooner Biden can break from [Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu] in a major way, then the better off he will be politically. It’s not just the progressives who are angry about the U.S. support of the Gaza operation — it’s now broader than that.”
“I fear what the DNC in Chicago could look like,” the House Democrat added, referring to the Democrats’ quadrennial convention in late August.
The outrage toward Biden over his handling of the war has been visible through protests following him around the country, and through organized boycotts of him at the ballot box.
Last week, he was interrupted during two campaign stops: one in Raleigh, N.C., and one in New York City, when he was alongside former Presidents Obama and Clinton for a major donor event.
And groups such as Abandon Biden and Our Revolution have organized efforts in states with high concentrations of Arab Americans, Muslim Americans and young people — including Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota — to encourage people to write “uncommitted” or “Gaza” on their ballot to send a message to Biden ahead of November.
The administration has sought to keep the pressure on Israel to avoid civilian causalities, and Biden has called on Netanyahu to not launch his Rafah offensive without a clear plan.
But that has not stopped Democrats from ratcheting up pressure on the administration over the current state of the conflict. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and others are urging the president and his team to push Netanyahu and his government to allow humanitarian aid to flow into Gaza, as more than 32,000 Palestinians have died in the war and many more have been displaced.
“Very anxious,” one Senate Democratic aide said about the party’s current mood. “The question is: When can you bring this conflict to an end? Democrats want to end this as soon as possible, because it’s the right thing to do and it’s a political necessity.”
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
Welcome to The Hill’s Defense & National Security newsletter, I'm Ellen Mitchell — your guide to the latest developments at the Pentagon, on Capitol Hill and beyond.
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Essential Reads
How policy will affect defense and national security now and in
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Israeli opposition leader and wartime Cabinet member Benny Gantz on Wednesday called for new elections this fall as domestic tensions roil Israel amid the war against Palestinian militant group Hamas. In a video address, Gantz said Israel is facing “tremendous challenges” but that it must strive for unity, including with allies in the U.S., while criticizing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for not prioritizing …
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The White House on Wednesday pushed back on a proposal to move the U.S.-led group coordinating weapons delivery for Ukraine under the leadership of NATO. John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, raised doubts about having the U.S. step aside from leading the Ramstein Group, a once-a-month meeting of 50-plus nations coordinating weapons deliveries for Ukraine. “It is bigger than NATO, it’s 50 some-odd …
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The leader of Russia’s national security council argued the United States was a “customer” in the deadly shooting at a Moscow concert hall last month, despite ISIS’s Afghanistan affiliate coming forward to take the blame for the attack that left about 145 people dead. Russian leaders have repeatedly suggested the shooting at Crocus City Hall in the Eastern European nation’s capital city could be …
Full Story On Our Radar
Upcoming things we're watching on our beat:
-
NATO will hold a 75th Anniversary Celebration with speeches by NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg as well as the chairman of NATO the Military Committee and the foreign ministers from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine and Belgium tomorrow at 4 a.m., followed by a press conference conducted by Stoltenberg at 11:25 a.m. in Brussels.
- Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in France and Belgium through Friday.
In Other News
Branch out with a different read from The Hill:
Jack Smith airs frustration with Cannon’s embrace of ‘fundamentally flawed’ instructions
Special counsel Jack Smith aired frustration at U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, arguing she is giving credence to a “fundamentally flawed legal premise” from former President Trump that the classified documents recovered from his Florida home were his personal property. The filing …
Full Story On Tap Tomorrow
Events in and around the defense world:
- Retired Navy Adm. James Stavridis, the former NATO supreme allied commander will speak at a Washington Post Live event on the future of NATO and the war in Ukraine at 11 a.m.
What We're Reading
News we've flagged from other outlets:
Trending Today
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A New York judge rejected former President Trump’s presidential immunity claims in his hush money case Wednesday, saying Trump waited too long to raise … Read more
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The battle between President Biden and former President Trump is ramping up with the general election for the White House now underway. Biden and Trump … Read more
Opinions in The Hill
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