David Friedman Is About to Testify at His Senate Confirmation Hearing
President Donald Trump’s nominee to be U.S. ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, will have his Senate confirmation hearing beginning at 10:30 a.m. EST.
The hearing will be broadcast live at C-SPAN 3. Click here to watch a livestream.
Democrats are once again likely to hammer the Trump nominee because of his lack of diplomatic experience, particularly with the mixed signals the president sent Wednesday during his joint press conference with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Shortly after the election, when he nominated Friedman, Trump suggested moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem was a sure bet, and his administration was ready to walk away from the so-called “Two-State Solution.”
Wednesday, however, he said he could live with “whatever solution both sides like.” Netanyahu added, though, that a two-state solution still comes with the prerequisite of recognition of Israel as a sovereign state and ending the teaching of radical Islamic violence against Jews.
Although Friedman, an Orthodox Jew, is a supporter of both moving the embassy and walking away from the two-state plan, he has longstanding ties with Trump and is likely to remain steadfastly loyal to the president’s agenda. But without the lengthy diplomatic experience most high-level ambassadors in his position would have, it’s likely Democrats will attempt to exploit that inexperience during today’s hearing.
Like their other efforts at delegitimizing the administration, however, that kind of gambit could come with some electoral pitfalls. Liberals may love it, but the overwhelming majority of Americans want stronger ties with Israel. A new poll released Thursday morning showed 71 percent of Americans have a positive view of the Jewish state. {eoa}
