Latest news with #VictoriaCoates
Fox News
21-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Evening Edition: Fight Against Anti-Semitism Criticized
The Heritage Foundation, an influential conservative think tank in D.C., launched a major effort to fight anti-Semitism last year on the first anniversary of the October 7th terror attack on Israel. Heritage dubbed it 'Project Esther', named after a hero in Jewish culture, and it has a focus on shining a light on the support network of the terror group Hamas. It has also influenced the Trump Administration's fight against anti-Semitism, like cutting federal funding to certain universities that haven't done enough to curb anti-Semitism on their campuses, but the project is now being called radical by critics. FOX's Eben Brown speaks with Victoria Coates, former deputy national security advisor to President Donald Trump, Victoria Coates is Vice President of the Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation, who says the recent criticisms are political and religious 'hit jobs'. Click Here To Follow 'The FOX News Rundown: Evening Edition' Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Yahoo
13-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Direct aid to Israel should be phased out to 'reduce US leverage,' influential conservative groups argue
A new report from the conservative Heritage Foundation calling for the U.S. to phase out direct aid to Israel in favor of a "strategic partnership" is facing backlash from pro-Israel advocates. But the report's authors tell Fox News Digital they've been misunderstood. The "best thing" for Israel would not be to leave them at the mercy of U.S. policymakers who can choose to withhold direct aid, they say. "Our goal is actually to reduce U.S. leverage over Israel. I don't want to force them to do stuff," said Victoria Coates, deputy national security advisor to President Donald Trump during the first administration and co-author of the report. "We want them to do stuff because we have a strong partnership and they have confidence that the United States is their best partner, but we don't want that to be because we bought and paid for them," she explained in an interview with Fox News Digital. Trump Softens Gaza Stance, Says Palestinians Will Not Be Expelled From The War-torn Territory A current memorandum of understanding [MOU] signed in 2016 stipulates that the U.S. provides Israel $3.8 billion in foreign military financing per year until 2028. Congress allocated a supplemental $9 billion in 2024 for Israel's war against Hamas. Read On The Fox News App The memorandum must be renegotiated in 2026, which Heritage argues will allow Israel's relationship with the U.S. to evolve from "primarily a security aid recipient" to that of a "true strategic partnership." The Heritage plan calls for a new MOU that increases Israeli aid to $4 billion from fiscal year 2029-2032, and requires all of it be spent on equipment made in the U.S., before decreasing that number by $250 million per year until it ends in FY 2047. But the call to wind down military aid raised some eyebrows when it was first reported by Jewish Insider on Tuesday. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said it was, "wrong, dangerous, and gives comfort to those who seek [Israel's] destruction." House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter had been slated to headline an event at the Heritage headquarters Wednesday to discuss the report, but they abruptly withdrew the day before. An Israeli embassy spokesperson said the ambassador would not be able to attend due to a "miscommunication regarding the format for the event," but "looks forward to future engagement" with Heritage. Still, the idea of reorienting the Israeli relationship got the backing of Jonathan Schanzer, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish pro-Israel think tank. "It's a legitimate debate that I think needs to unfold," Schanzer told Fox News Digital. "What happened over the last year with the Biden administration withholding military assistance to Israel… must not happen again. "I believe that is the impetus for the discussion that is now taking place. There does need to be discussion about making sure that America's closest ally in the Middle East does not find itself in a position where it's begging for the assistance that it expects." Biden halted arms transfers to Israel last year amid frustrations over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war on Gaza. "There is a legitimate debate about whether this is healthy for Israel to continue down the path of total reliance on the U.S.," Schanzer asserted. Gop Lawmakers Push Trump To Recognize West Bank As Israeli Territory "Some are trying to cast us as alt-right isolationists. It's so disingenuous as to be laughable," said Coates, who last year authored a book entitled 'The Battle For The Jewish State: How Israel – And America – Can Win.' She claimed the plan was "non-controversial" among the Israeli officials Heritage had circulated it to. "The Biden administration used their control of Israeli resupply to try to coerce their behavior," she said. Once Trump leaves office, "we can't assume we'll have another friendly president to this alliance, and if we have started a process like this now, we'll be all the further along to having a more equal footing between Israel and the United States." Coates said the goal was for the U.S. to have the same sort of relationship it has with Israel as it does the United Kingdom. "We want to continue to invest in joint programs, the way we do with the U.K. Do joint exercises, station stuff in the country which gives them a lot of confidence, but not necessarily direct aid. "Given the scale of their economy, they don't actually need $4 billion a year from us." The report also calls for an increase in spending on U.S.-Israeli joint programs, like developing missile, rocket, and projectile defense capabilities for both nations, to $2.25 billion. Beginning in 2039, the plan calls for a $250 million per year increase in the amount of weapons the U.S. sells to Israel, until Israel is buying $2.25 billion worth of U.S.-made defense goods by 2047. Heritage also calls for an increase in intelligence sharing and joint counterterrorism measures, establishing a cybersecurity partnership, loosening export controls and establishing "high-level economic dialogue." It also said the U.S. should condition aid to Palestinians on "robust deradicalization and disengagement programming in Palestinian territories to undo decades of antisemitic and anti-Israel propaganda." In response to the backlash against the report, Coates added: "The outburst of antisemitism here in the United States, you know, the attacks on Israel, showed that there's a lot of work to do here." "Rather than trying to tear us down for contributing, you know, maybe, maybe we should look more to getting after the substance of these issues, instead of instituting a circular firing squad."Original article source: Direct aid to Israel should be phased out to 'reduce US leverage,' influential conservative groups argue
Fox News
13-03-2025
- Business
- Fox News
Direct aid to Israel should be phased out to 'reduce US leverage,' influential conservative groups argue
A new report from the conservative Heritage Foundation calling for the U.S. to phase out direct aid to Israel in favor of a "strategic partnership" is facing backlash from pro-Israel advocates. But the report's authors tell Fox News Digital they've been misunderstood. The "best thing" for Israel would not be to leave them at the mercy of U.S. policymakers who can choose to withhold direct aid, they say. "Our goal is actually to reduce U.S. leverage over Israel. I don't want to force them to do stuff," said Victoria Coates, deputy national security advisor to President Donald Trump during the first administration and co-author of the report. "We want them to do stuff because we have a strong partnership and they have confidence that the United States is their best partner, but we don't want that to be because we bought and paid for them," she explained in an interview with Fox News Digital. A current memorandum of understanding [MOU] signed in 2016 stipulates that the U.S. provides Israel $3.8 billion in foreign military financing per year until 2028. Congress allocated a supplemental $9 billion in 2024 for Israel's war against Hamas. The memorandum must be renegotiated in 2026, which Heritage argues will allow Israel's relationship with the U.S. to evolve from "primarily a security aid recipient" to that of a "true strategic partnership." The Heritage plan calls for a new MOU that increases Israeli aid to $4 billion from fiscal year 2029-2032, and requires all of it be spent on equipment made in the U.S., before decreasing that number by $250 million per year until it ends in FY 2047. But the call to wind down military aid raised some eyebrows when it was first reported by Jewish Insider on Tuesday. Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said it was, "wrong, dangerous, and gives comfort to those who seek [Israel's] destruction." House Foreign Affairs Chairman Brian Mast, R-Fla., and Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Yechiel Leiter had been slated to headline an event at the Heritage headquarters Wednesday to discuss the report, but they abruptly withdrew the day before. An Israeli embassy spokesperson said the ambassador would not be able to attend due to a "miscommunication regarding the format for the event," but "looks forward to future engagement" with Heritage. Still, the idea of reorienting the Israeli relationship got the backing of Jonathan Schanzer, executive director at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, a hawkish pro-Israel think tank. "It's a legitimate debate that I think needs to unfold," Schanzer told Fox News Digital. "What happened over the last year with the Biden administration withholding military assistance to Israel… must not happen again. "I believe that is the impetus for the discussion that is now taking place. There does need to be discussion about making sure that America's closest ally in the Middle East does not find itself in a position where it's begging for the assistance that it expects." Biden halted arms transfers to Israel last year amid frustrations over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling of the war on Gaza. "There is a legitimate debate about whether this is healthy for Israel to continue down the path of total reliance on the U.S.," Schanzer asserted. "Some are trying to cast us as alt-right isolationists. It's so disingenuous as to be laughable," said Coates, who last year authored a book entitled 'The Battle For The Jewish State: How Israel – And America – Can Win.' She claimed the plan was "non-controversial" among the Israeli officials Heritage had circulated it to. "The Biden administration used their control of Israeli resupply to try to coerce their behavior," she said. Once Trump leaves office, "we can't assume we'll have another friendly president to this alliance, and if we have started a process like this now, we'll be all the further along to having a more equal footing between Israel and the United States." Coates said the goal was for the U.S. to have the same sort of relationship it has with Israel as it does the United Kingdom. "We want to continue to invest in joint programs, the way we do with the U.K. Do joint exercises, station stuff in the country which gives them a lot of confidence, but not necessarily direct aid. "Given the scale of their economy, they don't actually need $4 billion a year from us." The report also calls for an increase in spending on U.S.-Israeli joint programs, like developing missile, rocket, and projectile defense capabilities for both nations, to $2.25 billion. Beginning in 2039, the plan calls for a $250 million per year increase in the amount of weapons the U.S. sells to Israel, until Israel is buying $2.25 billion worth of U.S.-made defense goods by 2047. Heritage also calls for an increase in intelligence sharing and joint counterterrorism measures, establishing a cybersecurity partnership, loosening export controls and establishing "high-level economic dialogue." It also said the U.S. should condition aid to Palestinians on "robust deradicalization and disengagement programming in Palestinian territories to undo decades of antisemitic and anti-Israel propaganda." In response to the backlash against the report, Coates added: "The outburst of antisemitism here in the United States, you know, the attacks on Israel, showed that there's a lot of work to do here." "Rather than trying to tear us down for contributing, you know, maybe, maybe we should look more to getting after the substance of these issues, instead of instituting a circular firing squad."
Washington Post
12-03-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
It's a popular stop on ‘ugly architecture' tours. Time for it to go.
Victoria Coates, a vice president of the Heritage Foundation, served as senior policy adviser to the secretary of energy in 2020. Justin Shubow is president of the National Civic Art Society and former chairman of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts. The General Services Administration is apparently rethinking its hastily withdrawn list of disposable federal buildings in Washington and around the country. But let's hope they keep one structure firmly on any future list. The massive James V. Forrestal Building, home of the Energy Department, is rightly a feature on 'ugly architecture' tours of the nation's capital. Buses full of tourists pull up in front of its hulking, stained exterior and gawk at the overpass that acts as a barrier between L'Enfant Plaza and the Smithsonian Castle, as well as the windowless concrete block addition that obscures the National Mall across the street. The real problem with the building, though, goes well beyond architectural aesthetics. The Forrestal's decrepit systems, labyrinthine footprint and dank, cavern-like interiors are physically preventing the Energy Department from playing a critical role in the emerging U.S. confrontation with China. Like the department itself, the building has aged poorly. It requires $500 million in must-do repairs, and bringing it up to class A office space would be even more costly. Due to its state of disrepair and low occupancy, it costs $130,000 to maintain and operate for each actual building user. By contrast, commercial office space costs $10,000 per occupant. Last month, the Public Buildings Reform Board, which was created to shrink the federal government's real estate portfolio, indicated that the building was ripe for demolition. The National Civic Art Society and others have proposed that it would be best to use the site for two new, congressionally authorized Smithsonian museums rather than wasting taxpayer dollars on Forrestal. The Energy Department was established by President Jimmy Carter in 1977 in response to the energy shocks of that decade, as turbulence in the Middle East exposed the vulnerability caused by U.S. reliance on energy imports to meet rapidly growing domestic demand. The department also encompassed the descendant of the World War II-era Manhattan Project that developed the atomic bomb at Los Alamos National Laboratory. Although it is a necessary institution, the Energy Department has lacked a strategic vision and coherent purpose. Indeed, its own website refers to its nonnuclear elements as 'a loosely knit amalgamation of energy-related programs scattered throughout the Federal government.' The selection of the Forrestal Building as its home compounded this structural problem. Built during the 1960s as an extension of the Defense Department and named for the first secretary of defense, the complex was not intended to be a technology center. It was never sufficient to support the department's needs, and subsidiary installations have been required as far afield as Germantown, Maryland. A product of 'urban renewal' that demolished a residential neighborhood, Forrestal is a Brutalist superblock building with an unrelentingly repetitive facade — the embodiment of faceless bureaucracy. Like the department itself, the building is a loose amalgamation of parts awkwardly connected by tunnels and overpasses. It certainly gives no indication that the Energy Department now has a compelling unified mission: to be the technological and resource arm of the burgeoning new cold war between China and the United States. There is bipartisan recognition of this incongruity in Congress. In February 2020, for example, when President Donald Trump's then-secretary of energy, Dan Brouillette, testified before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development, Chairwoman Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio) implored him to do something about the appearance of his building to reflect the remarkable energy renaissance in the United States, as well as the vital work that went on inside it. Kaptur instinctively understood that Forrestal's form was impeding its function — to the detriment of U.S. national security. The 21st-century Energy Department is a very different agency from what it was in 1977. In terms of energy resources, the United States has been transformed from an importing nation to a net exporter and is now one of the world's three largest producers. China, the world's largest importer, is now the energy-vulnerable party, a massive advantage that the United States needs to approach strategically. In addition, the Manhattan Project has blossomed into a network of 17 national labs scattered across the country and housing various critical specialties. While it had been hoped that after the Cold War the labs could be incubators of scientific collaboration, even with nations such as Russia and China, it is clear that Moscow and Beijing have no interest in working for the betterment of humanity; their only aim is to filch intellectual property from these crown jewels of U.S. ingenuity. The entire department requires a top-down reorganization to reflect its new and critical national security mission, which cannot be satisfactorily implemented in its current physical plant. Forrestal was never a suitable home for the Energy Department, and it is now a material and unfixable barrier to maximizing the agency's potential. Constructing a brand-new, purpose-built, cutting-edge and, yes, aesthetically pleasing campus along the recommendations of Trump's 2020 executive order promoting beautiful federal civic architecture would enhance and support the department's vital modern mission as effectively as the Forrestal Building undermines it.
Yahoo
28-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US companies would deter Russia from attacking Ukraine: Coates
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is visiting the White House on Friday and is expected to sign a deal with the United States on rare minerals. Victoria Coates, former deputy national security adviser to President Donald Trump, says Russian President Vladimir Putin could be deterred from attacking Ukraine if the country is hosting U.S. operations under the deal. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
