US President Donald Trump’s claim that the US will take over the Gaza Strip garnered mixed reactions from the 34 Jewish members of the House of Representatives and the Senate. They ranged from praise to condemnation at the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s whirlwind week through Washington.
Rep. David Kustoff (R-Tennessee), who is one of three Jewish Republicans in Congress, responded positively to Trump’s alleged intentions to redevelop Gaza. In a statement to The Jerusalem Post, he applauded Trump for “thinking outside of the box” and for his unwavering support for Israel.
“For far too long, Israel has been at war with her neighbors,” he added. “It is clear to me that something must change in order to stop the killing and destruction the region has endured for centuries. This will require new ideas and an unconventional approach.”
Trump is bringing a fresh new perspective to a “timeless conflict” and is working hard to help establish lasting peace throughout the Middle East, Kustoff said.
Rep. Craig Goldman (R-Texas), who became the third Jewish Republican in office this year, posted a photo on X following a meeting with Netanyahu, Kustoff, and House Committee on Foreign Affairs chairman Brian Mast, but he did not mention Gaza.
Goldman’s office did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) has not released a statement or posted on X regarding Gaza. Representatives from his office did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.
Congress members react
Thirteen Democratic Senators and members of Congress either released official statements in response to Trump’s announcement or posted remarks on X.
In a statement on his website, Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-Georgia) said, “President Trump’s proposal that the United States ‘own’ Gaza is outlandish and absurd.”
“That’s the Senator’s statement,” a spokesperson said when asked if Ossoff would like to elaborate.
In a lengthy statement on his website, Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Illinois), co-founder and co-chair of the bipartisan, bicameral Abraham Accords Caucus, identified himself as a Zionist who believes in the unshakable bond between the US and Israel and who also recognizes the rights of the Palestinians and their connection to the land.
“Jews, Muslims and Christians, Arabs and Israelis, all belong to the Middle East and must together find a way to live side by side with civility, security, prosperity, and peace,” he said, while also acknowledging that the people of Gaza cannot know peace or prosperity as long as Hamas is in power.
Neither leaving Hamas in charge nor forcing two million Palestinians from their homes is a strategy for peace, Schneider said.
“President Trump’s proposal to forcibly remove two million Gazans is not just unworkable – it is immoral and illegal,” he said. “Mass displacement violates fundamental human rights, international law, and the very values for which the US and Israel stand. History has repeatedly shown that forced population transfers do not bring stability – they bring suffering, radicalization, and long-term insecurity. The world has seen this pattern before, and we cannot afford to repeat the mistakes of the past.”
In a statement on his website, Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) said Trump may or may not be serious about Gaza, but he is an unserious person and it is an unserious plan.
“He’s added a third list of places he would send American troops without any real consideration – Greenland, Panama, and now Gaza,” he said.
Rep. Brad Sherman (D-California), who last summer helped launch the bipartisan Gaza Working Group to focus on re-engaging Abraham Accords countries to plan for the “day after” in Gaza, said Trump would “finance the purchase of Greenland by selling time-share condos in Gaza.”
“The only problem: if a displaced Palestinian woman gives birth in Greenland, her infant will be eligible for birthright citizenship,” he wrote on X.”
Sharing a similar sentiment on X, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-New York) said Trump’s and Netanyahu’s plan was the “kind of insane idea you get when two indicted criminals sit down to represent their countries in a bilateral meeting.”
“This patently ridiculous ‘plan’ for Gaza is fundamentally a distraction by the Trump administration from the chaos President [Elon] Musk is causing,” he added. “And none of us should take the bait.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Connecticut) initially wrote on X after Trump’s and Netanyahu’s joint press conference that Trump’s plan for a US takeover in Gaza was likely totally unserious but said it was already doing “serious damage to efforts seeking an extension of the ceasefire, return of the hostages, normalization of relations with Saudi Arabia & other neighbors, & more.”
On Thursday, following a meeting with Netanyahu and other members of the Senate leadership, Blumenthal said he was even more hopeful that the ongoing ceasefire could be extended so that more hostages can be released and more humanitarian aid pcan be rovided.
‘Only path to peace’
BOTH HAMAS and Israel should accept it as the only path to peace, stability, and rebuilding Gaza, he wrote on X.
“More than ever, the Trump suggestion of Tuesday seems like a distraction: there’s no need or support for an American takeover of Gaza, American troops on the ground, American taxpayer money directed, or Palestinians forced to evacuate,” Blumenthal wrote. “The Trump proposal is a nonstarter.”
In an interview on CNN, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Florida) said the US owning Gaza was not going to happen, and the more time spent on Trump’s claim means less time spent on the “real things that are happening.”
“What I am saying is, I do think this is a negotiating tactic of his, trying to get the Arab world to do more on the future of Gaza, just like what he did with NATO in the last administration,” he said. “I didn’t like it, but he did get those countries to put more money into NATO. And so look, if he’s able to get the Arab countries to put more money into Gaza, into the reconstruction of Gaza, right, to have a future for the Palestinian people in some fashion, then great.
“But we’re not going to have boots on the ground – by the way, if you don’t have boots on the ground, let’s just talk about this logistically. How do you get to Gaza? Where do you buy it? Is it on Amazon? I mean, so like, we’re talking about something that isn’t happening. So, like, let’s move on to a new topic,” Moskowitz said.
By last Thursday, prominent Jewish Democratic leaders Rep. Debbie Wasserman Shultz (D-Florida) and Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) had not released statements on Trump’s Gaza claims.
“Trump’s ad hoc proposal to displace two million Palestinians at a sensitive point of the ceasefire deal threatens to undermine the release of hostages, including Americans, whose family members have fought for nearly 500 days to free them,” Wasserman Shultz said in a statement to the Post last Thursday. “We should continue the Biden Administration’s work to normalize relations between Israel and neighbors like Saudi Arabia, which will promote US interests as well as peace and security for Israel and Palestinians.”
A spokesperson for Rosen said the senator believes the US should not put boots on the ground or spend American taxpayer dollars to take over Gaza.
“Instead, we should be focusing on ensuring Israel has the support it needs to defend itself and creating a path to a two-state solution, which is the best long-term solution to ensure Israel’s security,” the spokesperson said.
In a statement to the Post, Rep. Laura Friedman (D-California) said Trump’s proposal was unserious and reckless.
“This isn’t a game – American hostages, our allies, and the Jewish community need real leadership, not fantasy plans with no hope of success,” she said. “Unlike Trump, I’ll keep my focus on real solutions that bring American hostages’ home and ensure security and stability for the region.”
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tennessee) told the Post he was concerned that Trump’s plans for Gaza would endanger the second phase of the ceasefire agreement and possibly cause the death of hostages.
Rep. Jan Shackowsky (D-Illinois) told the Post there would never be a safe and secure Jewish, democratic Israel without Palestinian self-determination,
Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vermont) said she unequivocally did not and never would support the US military taking over Gaza.
“Developing what Trump calls the ‘Riviera of the Middle East’ is deeply disturbing and would mean continued suffering for Palestinians,” Balint said in her statement to the Post. “It’s unconscionable.”
The offices of Sen. Adam Schiff (California) and Reps. Suzanne Bonamici (Oregon), Josh Gottheimer (New Jersey), Lois Frankel (Florida), Mike Levin (California), Seth Magaziner (Rhode Island), Jamie Raskin (Maryland), Kim Schrier (Washington), and Eugene Vindman (Virginia) did not respond to queries from the Post.
Jesus Christ is King
