Sen. Dave McCormick (R-Pennsylvania) will chair a key subcommittee on Middle East issues, and Biden has been a staunch defender of Israel and enabler of Iran's terrorist network in the region. He assumes the role after a campaign in which he fiercely criticized the policies of the era. Post learned.
The freshman senator will take the gavel on the influential Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Near East, South Asia, Central Asia and Counterterrorism, according to sources familiar with the matter, which includes Committee at-large Chairman James Risch. (Republican) is expected to make an announcement later. (Idaho).
“It is an honor to chair a subcommittee on such an important issue,” McCormick told the Post. “We believe this is a great opportunity to strengthen the U.S.-Israel alliance, extend the Abraham Accords, expand U.S.-India cooperation, and dig deeper into regional energy, economic, and security issues. .”
“I look forward to working with President Trump and my colleagues to stop the Islamic Republic of Iran, quell the threat of terrorism, and realize President Trump's vision for a more peaceful Middle East.” Ta. “I am hopeful that my background and perspective will allow me to lead this subcommittee in a way that is good for Pennsylvania and this country.”
The commission, chaired by Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) during the Trump administration, oversees U.S. policy in the region and its stance toward international organizations such as the United Nations. .
Specifically, it focuses on “Terrorism and Nonproliferation,'' “Crime and Illegal Drugs,'' “U.S. Foreign Assistance Programs,'' and “Promoting U.S. Trade and Exports.''
Iran and its proxies have escalated the conflict in the region throughout the Biden presidency, with Hamas carrying out a massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 Israelis and 46 Americans. . This was the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust, and it exploded shortly thereafter. War in the Gaza Strip.
Last year, the United States sent thousands more troops, as well as fighter jets and ships, to the Middle East and later directly attacked Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen to prevent a broader regional war.
Before the 2024 election, Iranian militia hackers also targeted the Trump campaign, attempting to leak classified communications to Biden's inner circle in an effort to undermine the Republican candidacy.
Additionally, the US Secret Service revealed that its agents were also alerted to the threat of a “possible drone attack” by Tehran against the 45th president ahead of Election Day. This was more than a year before the first assassination attempt against President Trump occurred at a rally in Pennsylvania in January 2016. July 13th.
During his campaign, McCormick frequently criticized the “unfair rivalry” between Biden and his Democratic opponent, three-term Sen. Bob Casey.weakness” specifically criticized the president's order to withdraw all U.S. troops from Afghanistan in the face of Iranian aggression and escalating global conflict.
The former hedge fund manager also accused both men of supporting the 2015 Iran nuclear deal during the Obama administration, which allowed Iran to reap billions in oil revenue through sanctions relief.
“The original sin is Iran,” he said at a roundtable with The Post and other reporters in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, last September. “Senator Casey was the deciding vote on the Iran deal that underwrote terrorism.”
McCormick, a staunch pro-Israel candidate, returned from a visit to the Jewish state in January 2024 and declared what he had witnessed:stressed the need to completely eradicate Hamas”
“You cannot live. You cannot sit in your backyard looking out at a cornfield 600 meters away and think that you can coexist with people and terrorist organizations that are capable of carrying out such horrific genocidal operations,” he told the Times of Israel. told.
As a retired Army captain, his tough speeches against terrorism and outbursts of anti-Semitism on American college campuses helped him win far more Jewish votes in the battleground state of Pennsylvania than Republicans ever had. This seems to have been important in securing it.
Mr. McCormick's visit to Israel was accompanied by his wife, Dina Powell, who served as vice presidential national security adviser in the first Trump administration, and helped normalize relations between the Jewish state and Bahrain, Morocco, and the United Arab Emirates. He worked hard to conclude the Abraham Accords, which led to the Emirates Airlines.
The Pennsylvania Republican also serves on the subcommittee on East Asia, the Pacific, and international cybersecurity policy, as well as the subcommittee on multilateral international development, multilateral institutions, international economics, energy, and environmental policy.
The newly elected senator has also indicated he is looking forward to working with his opponent across the aisle, Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, and earlier this month the two had dinner with their wives and visited the state. announced that they had discussed how to best serve them.
“From stopping the spread of fentanyl to combating anti-Semitism to supporting Israel to providing the best constitutional services to the people of our Commonwealth,” McCormick said. He said of their conversation:.
Fetterman too He told the Pennsylvania Capital Star. The two had “excellent discussions” and are set to begin work on confirming President Trump's nominees, including Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), who was nominated to be ambassador to the United Nations and has criticized the international organization as a “nest.” He said it was done. of anti-Semitism. ”
Prior to running for office, Mr. McCormick served as CEO of Bridgewater Associates. He will also serve on the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and the Joint Economic Committee.
