Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told Newsmax on Thursday that Senate Democrats who backed resolutions to block arms sales to Israel delivered a "clear, clarion call" to a base that he said is increasingly aligned against the longtime U.S. ally.
Meadows, appearing on "National Report," said the vote — which saw 40 Democrats support one resolution targeting a $295 million bulldozer sale — reflects a broader and more troubling political shift.
"I think it is a very, very clear, clarion call to their base, which is largely anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian," he said.
Meadows argued the vote shows Democrats are responding to pressure from the far left, even at the expense of longstanding bipartisan cooperation on Israel.
"When you start to see this, they have a constituency, especially on the far left, that they have to continue to appease," he said.
The growing divide marks a sharp break from his time in Congress, Meadows said, when support for Israel frequently crossed party lines.
"I was in Congress a little more than a decade ago, and oftentimes Israel was a bipartisan issue," he said.
Meadows pointed to his own work with Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., on targeting Hezbollah as an example of that cooperation.
"Her job was to make sure that I got kicked out of Congress and yet we were able to do it in a bipartisan way to target Hezbollah," he said.
"Now we're seeing that fall down," Meadows added, warning that Democrats are "largely embracing this anti-Israel and, I would say, anti-Jewish kind of initiative."
Turning to President Donald Trump's Middle East strategy, Meadows said the president remains focused on the broader promise of peace and economic growth in the region.
"We can look back to the first term in the Abraham Accords and what was negotiated," Meadows said, calling it "the first step in trying to make sure that the Middle East is not only prosperous but is brought in in terms of an economic power that goes well beyond oil."
At the same time, he emphasized Trump's willingness to take political risks to pursue that vision.
"He's accomplished more by being willing to engage and willing to take the arrows," Meadows added, saying he remains optimistic "we'll see a real good outcome."
Meadows also brushed off criticism from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who argued Americans do not want taxpayer dollars supporting Israeli military actions.
"Well, I've never known Bernie Sanders to be someone who can espouse what conservatives are really thinking, so I find that a little bit humorous," Meadows said.
He also rejected Sanders' broader claim about taxpayer spending priorities.
"To say that Democrats, Republicans and independents want to make sure your tax dollar is well spent — well, no, Democrats want to make sure that your tax dollars are spent and not well spent," Meadows said.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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