Dems 'Too Judgmental' Of Trump Voters: Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA)
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The Hill
18 minutes ago
- The Hill
Republicans eye efforts to quiet Epstein uproar but can't quash it
House Republicans who were at odds all week over the Trump administration's handling of Jeffrey Epstein disclosures are holding their breaths to see if the tsunami of criticism from their base over the matter is finally subsiding. GOP members on the House Rules Committee voted in favor of a resolution directing Attorney General Pam Bondi to release more materials relating to the late wealthy and connected sex offender. President Trump relented and directed Bondi to request grand jury testimony from the Epstein case be unsealed. And Republicans are banding together to dismiss and criticize the Wall Street Journal's report about a 'bawdy' birthday letter Trump sent more than two decades ago. But none of those developments have the weight to fully put the Epstein matter to rest. The Rules Committee resolution, for starters, does not have any legal weight to force the Trump administration to release any materials. Instead, it calls for the disclosure of some information while giving Bondi the ability to withhold some portions. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), one of the Rules panel members who voted to advance the resolution, dismissed that criticism — arguing that a binding bill would go nowhere in the Senate and do little to force release of materials even if Trump did sign it. It is better, he said, to have at least a unified statement from Republicans, and set the stage for other potential oversight. 'If they don't' release the Epstein materials, Roy said, 'then we have the powers [in] Congress to then do whatever Congress can do, which is what — hold hearings, have people come testify, have oversight, power of the purse. Those are our actual powers.' But it is unclear if Republicans will even make that unified statement. House GOP leaders have not committed to bring hold a floor vote on the resolution and refusing to do so could spark outcry from GOP lawmakers who are most incensed by the Epstein saga and are pushing to see the information. 'We'll determine what happens with all that,' Johnson said when asked by The Hill if he will put the resolution on the floor. 'There's a lot developing. The president made his statements this afternoon, he's asked the attorney general to release the information, I'm certain that she will, and everybody can make their own decisions about that.' Pressed on the matter, he similarly demurred, saying: 'We will see how all this develops.' 'We're in line with the White House, there's no daylight between us,' he added. 'We want transparency, and I think that will be delivered for the people.' It's possible, then, that the resolution serves as little else but political cover for the Republican members of the Rules Committee, who were lambasted for days after voting down a Democratic amendment in support of releasing more Epstein material earlier in the week. The panel's members delayed final passage on the first Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) cuts to public broadcasting and foreign aid as they negotiated a committee vote on the GOP Epstein resolution. Another Epstein-release effort threatens to keep the issue alive in Congress, though. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) have promised to file a discharge petition to try to circumvent GOP leadership and force a vote on their Epstein disclosures bill. They would need to reach 218 signatures — and already have 14 other cosponsors on the measure, including 10 other Republicans. The petition can open as soon as next week, but there is a waiting period before it could force floor action — meaning the matter that has sharply split Trump's base could still be a live issue weeks from now, when Congress returns from the upcoming August recess. While the discharge petition lingers, some who have called for more disclosures are praising Trump's move to direct Bondi to request that courts unseal testimony from the Epstein case. 'This is the right course of action. Thank you @AGPamBondi and @realDonaldTrump,' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wrote on X in response to Trump's announcement. But others note that testimony transcripts are just a fraction of the materials that could give new insights into other rich and powerful people accused of participating in the abuse of young girls, as Epstein did. Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), a former federal prosecutor, made that case on X late Thursday night, shortly after Trump's announcement, telling Bondi: 'Nice try.' 'What about videos, photographs and other recordings? What about FBI 302's (witness interviews)? What about texts and emails? That's where the evidence about Trump and others will be,' Goldman wrote. 'Grand jury testimony will only relate to Epstein and Maxwell.' But as the Epstein outrage saga dragged on, Trump got a boost — albeit a counterintuitive one — with the release of a Wall Street Journal article outlining his past connections to Epstein, complete with a description of a 'bawdy' 50th birthday letter that had a doodle of a naked woman. 'Enigmas never age,' Trump's birthday message to Epstein reportedly said, ending: 'May every day be another wonderful secret.' The report clearly infuriated the president, who vigorously denied the report and asserted he 'never wrote a picture in my life.' He threatened to sue the Wall Street Journal and its owner, Rupert Murdoch. But the report also had the effect of unifying Republicans in bashing the report — even those who had broken with Trump over releasing more Epstein material. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) called the report 'nonsense.' 'If President Trump had committed real crimes, Democrats wouldn't have needed to make up stuff for their lawfare schemes. If this were true, it would have been used,' Davison posted on X Thursday night. Even Elon Musk — who helped turbocharge the Epstein saga last month when he said Trump was mentioned in the files — came to the president's defense, declaring that 'the letter sounds bogus.' Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said that with the week's developments, the public outrage will 'eventually' die down. 'But I don't think totally,' Burchett added.
The Hill
18 minutes ago
- The Hill
Dems grudgingly admit Trump's political savvy at Hill Nation Summit
Some top Democrats at the Hill Nation Summit on Wednesday paid grudging compliments to President Trump's political moves as the party looks to learn from its November losses and chart a new path forward. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) lauded the Republican as a 'very talented politician' despite their disagreements, while Rep. Jim Himes (Conn.), the leading Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, offered praise for Trump's foreign policy. The lawmakers' careful acknowledgements come as the Democratic Party broadly tries to learn from their 2024 losses and build momentum for the 2026 midterms, when they'll be looking to cut into the GOP's narrow 220-212 majority. 'Donald Trump's a very talented politician, right? I don't agree with him as a leader. He's a very talented politician,' Khanna said at the Summit. He praised the president alongside progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, despite their stark political split. Later in the conversation, Khanna also contended that Democrats have been 'way too judgmental' of Americans who voted for Trump. 'We acted as if the problem was the voters; the problem was the party, and we acted with a condescension and a judgment on voters,' Khanna told NewsNation contributor Chris Cillizza. The Hill and NewsNation are both owned by Nexstar. Democrats have struggled to redefine the party in the wake of last year's big losses, when the GOP flipped the White House and took control of both chambers of Congress. The party is now pulling in its lowest favorability ratings in decades, and prominent activists within the party have called for a new generation of leaders, stoking intraparty frustration. Frank assessments of both 2024 and the current political landscape are critical, strategists said, to helping Democrats find their footing. 'You can't understand how to win by repeating losing behavior; you have to study winners. And the reality is that Trump has won two of his three elections,' said Democratic strategist Fred Hicks. 'I think it's prudent to understand how Republicans have earned the votes of so many people.' Khanna, a prominent House progressive who's been mired in speculation about potential presidential ambitions, also criticized that his own party 'has not had a compelling economic vision for years.' He said at the Summit that he hasn't yet made a decision on whether to run for president in 2028, but notably suggested that he could bring a better economic vision forward. Himes, also speaking at the Hill Nation event, gave Trump rare kudos on his foreign policy moves, even as he stressed his disagreement on other issues. 'I could spend the next hour talking about things I don't like about this presidency or about MAGA, but I will give him some real credit on foreign policy,' Himes said. He pointed to Trump's 'practical approach' in the Middle East, including the signing of an executive order in January to end sanctions against Syria after the unexpected collapse of Bashar Assad's regime. 'I mean, the opening to Syria, I did not anticipate that. That's pretty amazing…. I give the president and his administration credit for this — to build up and support the Syrian regime,' Himes said. The Connecticut lawmaker has previously scoffed at Trump's claims of success following U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites, but told the Summit that there's 'no question' that between the Israelis and the United States, the Iranian nuclear program has been 'meaningfully' set back. 'Now, whether 'meaningfully' is six months or six years is still very much open to question,' he added. Public acknowledgements of GOP wins could serve Democrats, strategists suggested, by helping to rebuild credibility and signal a desire to work across the aisle. 'The problem in American politics right now is that if your team runs the play, then it's OK; if the other team does it, then it's not. What that has done is that's created a deficit of trust in our system, amongst voters, everyday people,' Hicks said. Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D) at the Hill Nation Summit touted her bipartisan work with Republican Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other Republicans on the 'Take It Down' Act, criminalizing deepfake revenge porn, which Trump signed into law this spring. 'We have worked together despite having major disputes over judges and other things. We've worked together on a number of these issues. He's been willing to stand up,' Klobuchar told The Hill's Alex Bolton. Next year, Democrats will be vying to take advantage of traditional headwinds against the president's party in midterm years and claw back ground lost in key blue and swing states — and with core demographics — during the presidential election. To that end, Democratic campaign arms are ramping up efforts to generate party enthusiasm — while top Washington figures are leaning in on controversy around Trump's immigration raid protests, Medicaid cuts in the recently signed megabill and other issues as they try to amass fodder for midterm races. Broadly, there's 'a lot' for Democrats to learn from Trump's approach to politics, which has allowed him to 'hypnotize his base' along the campaign trail and in office, said Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright. 'Two things happen with elections: You win or you learn,' Seawright said of the 2024 results. 'I think there's certainly a lot to learn from Trump's political career and his style, and I think more than anything, to learn that we don't have to continue this idea of doing business as usual, but we must master doing unusual business.' Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) at the Summit stressed that Democrats need to keep up with the changing media landscape as Republicans dominate online arenas. But the Maryland lawmaker told The Hill's Judy Kurtz that he's optimistic about Democrats' chances to win back the House next year, pointing to the president's slipping approval numbers. 2024 Election Coverage 'He's hurting himself a lot,' Ivey said of Trump. 'If we later on – we being the Democrats – layer on top of that an affirmative message … we could really have very strong gains.' Trump has seen mixed reviews in recent weeks, even on some of his stronger issues, like immigration. The latest Economist/YouGov polling put Trump's disapproval rating at its highest since the start of his second term. 'If you want to turn voters out, get 'em angry, get 'em excited,' Ivey said. 'We'll see if we can sustain it, but it's certainly heading in the right direction for us at this point.'
The Intercept
18 minutes ago
- The Intercept
U.S. Nonprofits Funnel Millions to Israeli Army Volunteers
American volunteers for the Israeli army have partied with Ben Shapiro in Boca Raton, met with House Republicans Brian Mast and Mike Lawler in Washington, and joined New York City Mayor Eric Adams at Gracie Mansion. On a Manhattan rooftop late last year, they sipped cocktails and reconnected with people they'd met before — supporting Israel in its campaign of bombing, displacement, and starvation in Gaza. These efforts were organized by Nevut, a New York-based charity supporting American 'lone soldiers' who sign up for the Israeli military. Among its upcoming events is a wellness retreat to Panama for lone soldier veterans who served in the Israeli military during its ongoing genocide in Gaza, which has killed more than 58,000 people — nearly half of them children — according to Gaza's health ministry. Other estimates put the death toll at 80,000 or higher. Nevut, which operates across 22 states, is one of at least 20 U.S.-based charities directly funding lone soldier programs. Since 2020, according to The Intercept's analysis of their tax forms, these organizations have spent over $26 million to recruit and support lone soldiers from initial drafting to reintegration. The groups provide subsidized apartments, therapy, wellness retreats, and equipment to Israeli military units. The Intercept reviewed five years of tax documents that show 2023 was the most lucrative year on record for lone soldier programs. After Israel began calling up hundreds of thousands of reservists in the wake of Hamas's October 7 attack, U.S. donors poured funding into the organizations. Each year from 2002 to 2020, between 3,000 and 4,000 lone soldiers served in the Israeli military, about a third of them from North America. Since October 7, 2023, it is estimated that 7,000 lone soldiers from the U.S. alone have either signed up or returned to Israel to serve. The programs have helped to prop up an Israeli military now facing its biggest recruitment crisis in decades. As Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu drags the assault on Gaza through its second year, civilians have protested his government and soldiers have refused to show up for reserve duty. With an estimated 100,000 Israeli soldiers refusing service, volunteers from the U.S. and other countries provide reinforcements. Last year, the Israeli military estimated that at least 23,000 American citizens were currently serving, a combination of lone soldiers and Americans who immigrated to Israel with their families. On social media, Nevut and other organizations post pictures, videos, and testimonies from lone soldiers serving in Gaza. Earlier this month, Nevut promoted a video advertising a day at a shooting range as 'a little dose of enjoyable fire.' A man wearing military tactical gear says: 'All the guys here serve in the IDF; a majority serve in the war in Gaza.' Another Instagram video encourages lone soldier veterans to reach out if they're thinking of going back into combat. One Nevut post advises viewers on 'What not to ask a lone soldier,' including: 'Did you kill anyone?' 'How many people died over there?' and 'Were you in Gaza or Lebanon?' 'These can potentially feel like dismissive, political, or emotionally charged questions,' the post warns. A screenshot from Nevut's Instagram. Screenshot: Nevut / Instagram While the United States' steady supply of weapons shipments to Israel has come under scrutiny from elected officials to the United Nations, thousands of U.S. civilians who travel to Israel to join the army have received markedly less attention. Back at home, American lone soldiers do speaking tours to cleanse the reputation of the Israeli military. 'I almost died for Palestinian children,' said lone soldier Eli Wininger at an event in an Alabama church put on by the Massachusetts-based lone soldier organization Growing Wings. A Los Angeles native, Wininger has touched many sides of the lone soldier ecosystem: He was recruited after taking part in the youth scouts program Garin Tzabar, served with the Israeli military in Gaza, returned to the United States, and recently started a volunteer position as a youth leader with the U.S. nonprofit Friends of the IDF. Speaking at the Growing Wings event earlier this year, he said he was instructed 'not to kill Palestinian children. There is not a single soldier in there that is doing that.' According to the U.N., over 50,000 children have been killed or injured in Gaza since October 7, 2023 — though this is likely an undercount. Wininger did not respond to The Intercept's request for comment. In response to questions on lone soldiers and the army's affiliation with U.S. nonprofit groups, the IDF told The Intercept it had 'no comment.' Neither Nevut nor Growing Wings responded to The Intercept's requests for comment. Federal law prohibits recruiting for foreign armies within U.S. borders, but it allows donations and promotion of foreign volunteering. Where, if at all, efforts to help American teens join the Israeli military run afoul of U.S. policy on foreign fighting is hard to determine, experts say. 'The State Department basically says on the website that we don't want Americans serving abroad,' said David Malet, an associate professor of justice, law, and criminology at American University who researches foreign fighters. 'But realistically, we know it's kind of hard to enforce that.' A State Department spokesperson said U.S. citizens serving in the Israeli military are not required to register their service with the U.S. government. Dual citizens must comply with the laws of both countries of which they are a citizen, including any mandatory military service. The department said U.S. citizens are encouraged to consult current travel advisories for Israel, the West Bank, and Gaza. (It recommends that people reconsider their travel to Israel and the West Bank, and not travel to Gaza.) 'Our embassies overseas maintain rough estimates of U.S. citizens in their countries for contingency planning purposes, but these estimates are imperfect, can vary, and are constantly changing, which is why we do not generally disclose them publicly,' a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. 'U.S. citizens are not required to register their travel to a foreign country with us, so we cannot track with certainty how many U.S. citizens are in any particular country.' The State Department referred questions about legal implications of serving in a foreign military to the Department of Justice. DOJ referred questions to the Department of Defense, which referred questions to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS referred questions back to the State Department. Across the Jewish diaspora and in Israel, lone soldiers are receiving more recognition than ever. 'I'm definitely aware of increased numbers of volunteers which are welcomed in Israel right now,' Malet said. 'You can see a lot more recognition and efforts to honor fallen lone soldiers than you would have seen before October 7.' Becca Strober was hailed as a hero when she returned to the U.S. while serving as a lone soldier in Israel. As she walked around her father's synagogue in Philadelphia in 2009, the congregants stood up to shake her hand and thank her. 'I had just finished guarding a West Bank settlement,' said Strober, now an anti-occupation activist. 'Even then, I was like, this is such a weird experience.' Strober was first introduced to the possibility of joining the Israeli military when she was 17, during a high school semester she spent in Israel. She said alumni of the semester in Israel program wearing miliary uniforms spoke to her group. 'There were a lot of informal ways of talking about enlisting in the army,' Strober told The Intercept. She later joined after participating in the Garin Tzabar program, which runs two major drafting sessions each year. The program is funded by Tzofim, the biggest Zionist youth movement in Israel and the U.S. Also known as the Friends of Israel Scouts, the group has a U.S. nonprofit in New York. Tzofim 'begins educating kids at five years old,' said one former Zionist youth leader in Australia, who requested anonymity for fear of professional retaliation. He took part in groups affiliated with Tzofim as a teen. 'There is a direct funnel from educating toddlers to, as soon as they turn 18 — they're of military age and they're indoctrinated and groomed and brainwashed, and they're ready to fight the battle.' Garin Tzabar continues to recruit lone soldiers from the U.S., who often end up serving in combat in Gaza and 'protecting civilians' in the West Bank — where Israeli settlers and forces have killed 1,000 Palestinians since October 7, 2023. Israeli soldiers talking to settlers in the West Bank in April 2025. Photo: Georgia Gee The recruitment pipeline includes many U.S. day schools — from more conservative yeshivas to modern Jewish day schools — that advertise how many alumni go on to serve in the Israeli military. The Frisch School in Paramus, New Jersey, had 51 alumni serving in the Israeli military as of 2023. Another school in New Jersey, the Rae Kushner Yeshiva, has congratulated an alum who became a social media manager in the IDF Spokesperson's Unit. 'Her work was recognized as important for hasbara by the Israeli news,' the school boasted on Facebook, using a term for Israeli public diplomacy, including propaganda tailored to international audiences. Another alum of the school served as a lone soldier in the army and was a friend of the son of Netanyahu, who commemorated him after he died while traveling in 2018. One charity reviewed by The Intercept, the Lone Soldier Foundation, specifically provides funds for the children of families that attend a synagogue in northern New Jersey who join the Israeli military. According to the group's most recent tax filing, it also supports the units in which the children of members of its congregation serve. In 2023, the group spent over $80,000 on providing 'non-combat and equipment to IDF units in which eligible American citizens served.' Read our complete coverage North American lone soldiers are a 'great example of the Zionist spirit or the Zionist dream,' Strober told The Intercept. 'It keeps American Jewish communities very, very close to the Israel question. It doesn't allow them to think critically because it's so close, because you know people who have been killed, or people who have served.' Under heightened public scrutiny, U.S. nonprofits have distanced themselves from directly funding projects in the West Bank or other settlements, which are illegal under international law. But U.S.-based nonprofits granted $8.8 million to specific lone soldier programs in 2023 alone, The Intercept found. It's possible the real number is higher, as nonprofits only have to report foreign grants above a certain threshold. 'It doesn't allow American Jewish communities to think critically, because you know people who have been killed.' The biggest known funder is Friends of the IDF, which has spent nearly $20 million on its lone soldier program since 2020, supporting more than 6,500 lone soldiers each year, according to documents filed with the Internal Revenue Service. In a statement, Friends of the IDF, an official partner of the Israeli military, said it provides more than 7,000 lone soldiers 'with practical, emotional and mental health support throughout their service to make sure they never feel alone.' The group said about half of the soldiers it backs are from Israel but are considered lone soldiers because they don't have family support. On its Instagram page, the group says it is the 'only U.S. non-profit working directly with IDF leadership to provide critical support for Israel soldiers' health, well-being & education.' Other organizations help offset the costs of living for lone soldiers. Bayit Brigade, which operates in both the U.S. and Israel, helps lone soldiers find affordable housing in Tel Aviv and raises emergency funds to help transport soldiers to their bases and provide supplies in the field. Bayit Brigade has posted videos of volunteers providing resources to the Israeli military's Yahalom Unit, which conducts 'tunnel warfare' and demolitions in Gaza, including destroying areas to allow the military to operate. The organization's revenue jumped from approximately $160,000 in 2022 to $1.3 million in 2023, according to nonprofit documents. In a statement, the group told The Intercept that following October 7, it 'temporarily expanded its community support efforts to address urgent needs on the ground,' but have 'no formal relationship with any government entity or with the IDF.' The lines between support, education and recruitment of lone soldiers — including what a formal relationship entails — are often blurred, said Strober, the former lone soldier. Garin Tzabar, for example, is operated in part by Israel's Ministry of Aliyah and Integration. Other efforts to finance lone soldiers, like Bayit Brigade, distance themselves from any sort of affiliation with the Israeli government. Other organizations also advertise their support for soldiers who fought in Gaza. Friends of Emek Lone Soldiers held concerts in the West Bank for women who served in Gaza. The website of the Michael Levin Lone Soldier Foundation includes testimonies of soldiers who received support while serving in Gaza. When she was part of the Israeli military, Strober still considered herself a believer in human rights, she told The Intercept. She was working for a human rights organization that supported Gazans' freedom of movement when, in 2014, Israel launched a series of attacks on Gaza that killed more than 2,000 Palestinians in under two months. 'I didn't really know anything about Gaza,' Strober said. 'It was kind of the first time that I had any concept of who Palestinians were on the other side and how much control Israel had.' Strober said she watched her friends get called up from the reserves and realized she didn't want to go serve in Gaza. 'I just remember thinking, I'm not going to go zero in guns to kill Gazans when I'm talking to Gazans on the phone every day,' she said.
