Rep. Elise Stefanik (RN.Y.), chair of the House Republican Conference, on Sunday defended her recent speech to the Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem, accusing President Biden of a “betrayal of the importance of the U.S.-Israel alliance.” did.
Stefanik is meeting with Israeli leaders at the same time as Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan is also visiting Jerusalem, and after speaking at the Capitol, Stefanik appeared on “Fox News Sunday”. appeared on. Fox News host Shannon Bream told the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives that, in the 1940s, he left partisan politics at the edge and refrained from criticizing a sitting U.S. president while a minority leader was overseas. I asked whether the widely adopted concept was now “out”.
However, the congresswoman, who is reportedly on former President Trump’s list of 2024 vice presidential candidates, said, “I was invited to speak about my excellent track record.”
“The world needs to know, and Israel needs to know, that the Republican majority in the House strongly supports Israel,” Stefanik said. “This ambiguity, this weak and failed leadership that we’re seeing from Joe Biden, that’s not the place for the American people, that’s not the place for the American Congress. And that’s because the bills we passed that Joe Biden signed. So it’s important that the world needs moral leadership, and it’s important that House Republicans, under Speaker Johnson’s leadership, fill that void. ”
Stefanik touts Trump’s record on Jewish state during Israel visit, rejects Biden policies: ‘There is no excuse’
Congresswoman Elise Stefanik speaks during a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on May 16, 2024. (Alison Robert/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Stefanik said the main focus of his speech was “to make sure that the American people, like House Republicans, strongly support Israel,” and that Biden has called for forced arms shipments and suspended bomb shipments to Israel. He noted that the House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that would censure him. transfer.
The debate over this bill showed that Washington’s prospects for an Israel-Hamas war are badly broken. The White House and Democratic leadership range from moderates unhappy that the president is allowing relations between the United States and Israel to see the light of day to progressives furious that the president is still sending weapons. He scrambled to rally support from members of the House of Representatives. The bill easily passed 224-187, with 16 Democrats joining most Republicans in voting yes. Three Republicans voted against it.
“The ambiguity that follows Joe Biden’s Democratic Party or Chuck Schumer’s call for a new leader to replace Prime Minister Netanyahu is not the place — this is not the type of leadership we need to see in the United States. the highest level,” Stefanik said. “And that’s one of the things I emphasized in my address to Congress today: that House Republicans will strongly stand with Israel in its existential crisis.”
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National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan is in Israel to negotiate a ceasefire. (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
“October 7th was the bloodiest day for Jews since the Holocaust,” she added. “We want to ensure that Israel has every resource possible to eradicate Hamas.”
On the steps of the Capitol, House Republican leaders called on the Senate to consider the Israel Security Assistance Act on May 16, 2024. (Alison Bailey/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
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Amid concerns that tens of thousands of people have been killed or injured in the Gaza Strip, Bream said Amnesty International is sounding the alarm that US weapons are being used in violation of international and US law. It pointed out. In response, Stefanik said that while Hamas uses civilians as shields, “Israel has great respect when it comes to human rights.” “That’s why the United States fully supports Israel.” “That’s why Israel needs to be the voice of truth.” Their anti-Semitic propaganda is shared around the world and by the perpetrators who support this terrorism. ”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
