Speaker Johnson, other GOP leaders rip Schumer’s Israel remarks

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. — House GOP leadership, including Speaker Mike Johnson, slammed Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer’s call for regime change in Israel.

“This is not only highly inappropriate, it’s just plain wrong for an American leader to play such a divisive role in Israeli politics while our closest ally in the region is in an existential battle for its very survival,” Mr. Johnson, Louisiana Republican, said Thursday.

Mr. Schumer, New York Democrat, said earlier in the day on the Senate floor that Israel should replace Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government, arguing that the leader of the Jewish state was one of four “major obstacles” to peace in the Israel-Hamas war.

“The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel after Oct. 7,” Mr. Schumer said. “The world has changed — radically — since then, and the Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”

Mr. Johnson shared his outrage ahead of a planned lunch with Israeli Ambassador Michal Herzog.

Mr. Schumer argued that Mr. Netanyahu had “lost his way” and that he and “radical right-wing Israelis” in government and society, along with Hamas and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, were standing in the way of a peaceful end to the conflict.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Minnesota Republican, warned that Congress shouldn’t undermine Israel in the middle of its war with Hamas and said the Democratic Party had been taken over by “anti-Israel members of their own party.”

“If Schumer wanted to focus on elections overseas, maybe he should have called for an election in Gaza instead,” he said.

Republicans renewed criticism of Mr. Schumer and President Biden for stalling relief to Israel. The House previously passed a $14.6 billion aid package for the Jewish state that has remained untouched by the Senate, which wants Mr. Biden’s more sweeping foreign aid package, with billions for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific.

“The obstacle to peace is Democrat Leader Chuck Schumer, who has refused to pass the Israel aid package, which supports our ally Israel as they fight Iranian-backed Hamas and Hezbollah terrorists,” said House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, New York Republican.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, Louisiana Republican, demanded that Mr. Schumer apologize to Israeli voters who elected Mr. Netanyahu and his coalition government.

“They need to look in the mirror and recognize who our friends are and who our enemies are,” Mr. Scalise said. “And if you can’t tell the difference, you don’t have the responsibility to lead.”