'We will not just talk': Bipartisan senators plead for aid to Israel after traveling to Tel Aviv

WASHINGTON − A bipartisan group of five U.S. senators in Tel Aviv were eating lunch in a hotel Sunday when sirens went off warning of incoming rockets.

The congressional delegation, led by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., rushed to a shelter until the area was safe. It was an experience, Schumer said, that Israelis now have every day as war rages on between Israel and Hamas.

"It shows you what Israelis have to go through," Schumer wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter. "We must provide Israel with the support required to defend itself."

Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel earlier this month that has led to a conflict with a death toll surpassing 4,000 people. Israeli defense forces responded, triggering a war between the country and Hamas, a terrorist group that controls the Gaza Strip.

Schumer led the bipartisan delegation to Israel over the weekend with Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona and Jacky Rosen of Nevada, as well as Republican Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Mitt Romney of Utah.

After a week-long recess last week, the Senate was back in session Monday, with the war in Israel the center of attention. But with the House unable to elect a speaker, Schumer is in the driver's seat steering the upper chamber to pass an aid package for Israel with enough bipartisan support that it will inspire the House to follow suit.

The House cannot consider aid to Israel, or other crucial legislation, until lawmakers pick a speaker.

"America will stand with its ally Israel and I, along with my colleagues here, will lead the effort in the United States to provide Israel with the support required to fully defend itself from this monstrous attack," Schumer said during a press conference in Tel Aviv Sunday.

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Schumer: 'We're not waiting for the House'

Schumer sent a clear message from Tel Aviv over the weekend: Despite the dysfunction and missing leadership in the House, the Senate would not wait on the lower chamber to pass an aid package to support Israel.

"We're not waiting for the House. We believe if the Senate acts in a strong, bipartisan way, it may indeed improve the chances that the House − even with its current dysfunction − will act," he said, adding that waiting on the House to elect a speaker and pass support for Israel would be "foolish."

Schumer said he personally would lead the effort to ensure Israel has the support it needs and anticipated moving a package in the next few weeks that would include military, intelligence, diplomatic and humanitarian assistance. He also called on lawmakers to work together and with the Biden administration to put together a plan.

The bipartisan delegation met with Israeli leaders including President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as family members of victims of the attacks or of those taken hostage by Hamas.

Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., part of the delegation, said the meetings he had with families of the American hostages were some of the toughest meetings he's had as a senator. He revealed that the photos and videos of the brutal attacks against Israelis were like nothing he had seen in his life, including in the 25 years he spent in the Navy flying in combat over Iraq and Kuwait.

"I will speak to members of Congress one by one if that's what it takes to get Israel the munitions that you need to defend yourselves," he said in Tel Aviv.

Schumer: 'We will not just talk. We will act'

Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish elected official in the United States, said he felt he had an obligation to visit Israel in the midst of the war.

The purpose of trip was threefold, according to the majority leader. First, leaders wanted to send a clear message to the Israeli people that the United States stands with Israel. They also wanted to meet with Israeli leaders to discuss the country's military, intelligence and humanitarian needs to best inform a future aid package. Lastly, leaders said they were seeking to show that Israel's support in the United States is bipartisan.

"I'm doing everything in my power to ensure the Senate delivers the support Israel needs to accomplish these military intelligence and humanitarian goals. We will not just talk. We will act. We will work to move this aid through the Senate ASAP," he said.

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., the only Jewish woman in the Senate, joined the delegation and said in Tel Aviv the United States stands with Israel "now and always."

"Our support remains unwavering and unconditional," she said.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., one of two Republicans in the delegation, said Americans living in Israel he met with during the trip all drew hope from the U.S' relationship with the country. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, condemned those who feel the U.S. should not get involved in the conflict.

"Backing away and saying, 'Hey, we're not going to worry about it' is not going to end their efforts,'" Romney said, later adding, "We're involved in the world because it's in America's interest, it's in Israel's interest, it's on all of our allies' interests (and) it's in the world's interest."

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., agreed with the need to support Israel in a speech on the Senate floor Monday.

"The United States must continue to provide maximum supports to Israel's counterterrorist operation as long as it takes," the minority leader said.

Senate set to vote on nomination for Israeli ambassador

The delegation's visit to Israel comes as the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is scheduled to hold a nomination hearing for Jacob Lew to be U.S. Ambassador to Israel. The United States currently does not have a designated ambassador.

But Lew, who served as Treasury Department secretary under former President Barack Obama's administration, doesn't face a path to ambassadorship without some hurdles.

Several Republican senators, including Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., have said they won't support Lew for the role.

"Jack Lew is an Iran sympathizer who has no business being our ambassador," Cotton said on "Fox News Sunday." "It's bad for the U.S. It's bad for Israel."

Cotton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, claimed Lew helped Iran avoid American sanctions and lied to Congress about it.

"I know Democrats are saying that we need to confirm Jack Lew quickly to show our support for Israel. I would say it's the exact opposite. We need to defeat Jack Lew's nomination to show we have a new approach to Iran," he added.

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, claimed Lew was a "key point man" in negotiations under the Obama administration related to agreements with Iran.

"Lew must answer for the failed Obama-Biden Middle East strategy as he appears before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for his confirmation hearing next week," Hagerty posted last week on X.

Schumer urged his colleagues in the committee to approve Lew as quickly as possible "without any partisan delays" to bring the nominee to the Senate floor for a full vote.

"Mr. Lew has proven himself a strong public servant, a ferocious ally of Israel, so delaying him would be egregious at a time like this. We must move him quickly and I hope we will," he said Monday on the Senate floor.

Biden officials to meet with senators

But what's next for lawmakers as the House remains without a speaker?

Schumer explained on the Senate floor Monday afternoon that the upper chamber will meet for an all-senators classified meeting Wednesday to hear from top Biden administration officials, including Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, Chair of the Joint Chiefs Gen. C.Q. Brown and Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines.

"It is essential that we hear what is going on with our top leaders," Schumer said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chuck Schumer: Senators plead for Israel aid as House remains frozen