Top Dem to oppose Trump’s Israel ambassador pick

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) will oppose President Trump’s ambassador to Israel during a vote this week.

Cardin, the top Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee, announced his opposition to David Friedman a day before the committee will vote on the nomination.

“Taken together, Mr. Friedman’s statements and affiliations make it clear that he does not believe the two-state solution is necessary for a just and lasting peace,” Cardin said in a statement. 

He added that he believes Friedman’s past stances will negatively impact “his ability to represent the United States as a credible facilitator of the peace process.”

{mosads}Cardin, as the top Democrat on the committee, has wide sway over where his conference comes down on foreign policy. But he separately told reporters on Wednesday that he isn’t working to sway Democrats on the committee for or against his nomination. 

Multiple hecklers disrupted Friedman’s confirmation hearing last month.

Friedman, a longtime friend of Trump’s, has voiced support for Israel’s construction of settlements in the West Bank, which Israelis and Palestinians both lay claim to. 

He has also advocated for Israel to annex the West Bank and opposed a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Democrats don’t have the ability to block Friedman’s nomination. He only needs a majority of the committee, and the full Senate, to be confirmed.

Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of the liberal Jewish group J Street, said in a statement that lawmakers in both parties should oppose Trump’s pick “based on his record of inflammatory and undiplomatic statements and equivocation on a two-state solution.”