WASHINGTON — The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Jack Lew to be the new U.S. ambassador to Israel as Congress gears up for a fight over how to provide funding to support Israel in its war against Hamas.
The vote was 53-43, with support from only two Republicans: Sens. Rand Paul, of Kentucky, and Lindsey Graham, of South Carolina. No members of the Democratic Caucus voted against him. In a statement defending his vote, Graham said that while there are "legitimate concerns" about Lew, it's essential for there to be a U.S. ambassador in Israel right now.
"The leaders I spoke with in the Israeli government both knew and were comfortable with Mr. Lew serving in this position," he said. "A vote for his confirmation was not something I took lightly, but given the circumstances, I believe it is the right call."
Lew, 68, had been expected to receive widespread support from Senate Democrats, but it was unclear how many Republicans he could win over. He needed only a simple majority to be confirmed.
The U.S. has not had a Senate-confirmed ambassador to Israel since Tom Nides left the administration in July. Stephanie Hallett, a career diplomat, has been the top official at the U.S. Embassy in the interim.
Congress is expected to take up legislation soon that would provide billions of dollars to Israel. The White House has asked Congress to pass a broader package that includes both aid to Israel and Ukraine, but Republicans in the House oppose combining funding to both countries in the same legislation.
The House GOP plan, however, is likely to face backlash in the Senate. Democrats are against the House GOP plan that would provide money to Israel because it includes cuts to the IRS. Senators, including some Republicans, also support the administration's comprehensive proposal.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday morning that aid to Ukraine and Israel, as well as money for border security, should all be included in the same bill.
“At the risk of repeating myself, the threats facing America and our allies are serious and they’re intertwined. If we ignore that fact, we do so at our own peril," he said.
Lew, who is Jewish, has decades of experience in Washington and has been active in pro-Israel advocacy circles. He was White House chief of staff for the last two years of President Barack Obama’s first term and then treasury secretary from 2013 to 2017.
During the Clinton administration, Lew helped develop the memorandum of understanding on multiyear U.S. funding for Israel, and in the Obama administration he worked several times to provide “crucial funding” for Israel’s missile defense systems that are designed to protect the country from attacks, a White House official said.
More recently, Lew has been a managing partner at Lindsay Goldberg LLC, a visiting professor of international and public affairs at Columbia University and a co-president of the board of the National Library of Israel USA.
Lew's nomination advanced on a 12-9 vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee this month. Sen. Rand Paul, of Kentucky, was the only Republican who voted with all Democratic members on the panel in favor of Lew.
At his confirmation hearing after the Oct. 7 attack, Lew said Israel’s “security is paramount” and called Iran “a threat to regional stability and Israel’s existence.”
Republicans had been critical of Lew over his involvement in the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. They accused him of having secretly given Iran access to U.S. financial markets in that period. Lew has denied the allegation, and he said at his confirmation hearing that Iran complained “that my actions are what kept them from getting full access to the world financial system.”
