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Democrats push to confirm Biden’s Israel ambassador nominee

by Lauren Irwin - 10/07/23 10:46 PM ET

FILE - Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew speaks during the discussion panel at the World Bank/IMF annual meeting at IMF headquarters in Washington, Oct. 7, 2016. The White House says President Joe Biden has nominated Lew to serve as his next ambassador to Israel.( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File) — Jacob Lew speaks during the discussion panel at the World Bank/IMF annual meeting at IMF headquarters in Washington, Oct. 7, 2016. The White House says President Joe Biden has nominated Lew to serve as his next ambassador to Israel.( AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)

Several Democrats expressed concern that the United States does not have a sitting ambassador for Israel amid the escalating conflict and attacks.

Democratic lawmakers on Saturday aggressively pushed for a quick confirmation of Jacob J. Lew, who was nominated by President Biden last month, after the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel earlier in the day.

Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) released a statement expressing hope that other senators will join him in “promptly confirming” Lew.

“Right now, it is critical as ever that we have a Senate-confirmed ambassador in Israel,” Cardin said in his statement.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) expressed solidarity with Cardin, writing on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, “Spoke to Chairman @SenatorCardin tonight. We both agree that we need to move Jack Lew’s nomination to be Ambassador to Israel as the Senate’s first business when we reconvene.”

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) also called for Lew’s confirmation.

“We need an Ambassador to Israel and a Chief of Naval Operations,” he wrote in a post on X. “This is a serious situation that requires us to set aside our differences and make sure we have our full complement of leaders in defense and foreign policy.”

Rep. Jim Himes (D-Conn.) during an interview with MSNBC’s Katie Phang also expressed concern over a lack of a sitting Israeli ambassador.

“I have traveled the world quite a bit in my role as ranking member of the Intelligence Committee and people don’t appreciate exactly how bad it is when we don’t have an ambassador in a country and that’s true everywhere. It is taken as an affront,” Himes said.

Events like the attacks on Israel and the war in Ukraine show the importance of having an ambassador.

“Crises like this one remind us of the cost international of political gridlock, political chaos,” he said.

Lew, who previously served as secretary of the Treasury for former President Obama, was nominated by Biden in early September.

Many members of Congress have also pointed to the lack of a sitting House Speaker as posing a challenge to the United States’ involvement in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared war against the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday after the group launched a barrage of rocket strikes and entered the country in a surprise attack.

More than 250 Israelis and 232 Palestinians have been killed in the fighting so far, Israeli media and the Palestinian government report.