View from DC | The National

This "lame duck" government is looking quite lacklustre for those hanging on to the hope that President Joe Biden and his Democratic Party would act more emphatically on Israel's conduct in Gaza in their final weeks of power. This week saw the Biden administration and congressional Democrats again reject efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions in Gaza and Lebanon. At the UN yesterday, the US blocked a Security Council resolution – which otherwise had unanimous support – that demanded an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza. And the Democrat-controlled Senate rejected resolutions brought forward by Bernie Sanders that would have blocked the sale of specific offensive weapons to Israel. For the optimists who had hoped Washington would place conditions on aid to its long-time ally, though, the vote was itself a historic feat - almost half of Senate Democrats voted in favour. As Hadar Susskind, president and chief executive of the Jewish-American group Americans for Peace Now told me, such a measure was “inconceivable a year or two years ago”. Before that vote, White House Jewish liaison Shelley Greenspan retweeted a post on X that stated the Biden administration is “not the lame duck the left was hoping for” when it comes to Israel and Gaza. Meanwhile, as Washington prepares for a major changing of the guard and a full Republican takeover, the emboldened conservative party delivered a decisive message to Israel: “Reinforcements are on the way.” The incoming Senate majority leader John Thune told reporters after a party lunch on Tuesday that Republicans in January would bring forward sanctions against the International Criminal Court over its prosecutor's requests to issue arrest warrants for Israeli officials. “In six weeks, Republicans will reclaim the Senate majority, and we will make clear that the United States Congress stands squarely in Israel’s corner,” he said. EYE ON THE WHITE HOUSE A “treasonous” Russian ally, a “Gonzo agent of chaos”, “unserious men” – these are just some of the words establishment Washington politicians have used to describe president-elect Donald Trump's nominations for crucial cabinet positions. Brian Katulis of the Washington-based Middle East Institute told me he thinks this new administration is “going to look like the first term on steroids”. Mr Trump's nominations of Tulsi Gabbard as director of national intelligence and Matt Gaetz as attorney general have sent shock waves across the capital. Ms Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman-turned-Republican who has been described on Russian television as Moscow's “girlfriend” and who met Syrian President Bashar Al Assad in 2017, signals a new Trump administration could lean into the president-elect's anti-Nato and pro-Russia inclinations. Even still, Republican leaders in Washington maintain faith that the party's mainstay foreign policy goals, and not obstructionism, will most define US relations in the new government. Republican House foreign affairs committee chairman Mike McCaul, a vocal critic of Mr Al Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin, dodged my questions about Ms Gabbard's positions on Damascus and Moscow, but told me: “A GOP-controlled Washington will re-establish deterrence against Iran and its proxies in the Middle East.” Merissa Khurma, programme director at the Wilson Centre's Middle East programme, told me that Mr Trump's broader line-up makes it clear that Washington “will be returning to a more hawkish approach to the region, particularly when it comes to Iran” – but she emphasised that Washington is not the centre of the universe. Read more Ukraine : President Joe Biden has given Ukraine approval to use long-range missiles against Russia. Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha called the Biden administration's decision a “game changer”, as a more Moscow-friendly Donald Trump prepares to take the reins of US government. The US announced yesterday that it will also give Ukraine landmines. Stop Terror Financing Act : The US House of Representatives narrowly passed a bill on Tuesday that could pave the way for Republicans and Mr Trump to crack down on non-profit organisations deemed to be supportive of terrorists, a measure pro-Palestinian groups fear could disproportionately affect them. The bill has two parts: one that postpones the tax deadlines and reimburses paid late fees for US citizens who are “unlawfully or wrongfully detained or held hostage abroad”; and another more controversial provision that terminates the tax-exempt status of “terrorism-supporting” organisations. Elizabeth Warren : The senator from Massachusetts will become the highest-ranking Democrat on the Senate banking, housing and urban affairs committee during the new Congress next year. Her anti-crypto record is poised to be an important check on the new pro-crypto mandate in the coming Republican-majority Senate. During his campaign, Donald Trump reached out to Arab Americans with promises that he would bring about peace in the Middle East – but to the chagrin of many in the community, recent nominations to top foreign policy posts have included staunchly pro-Israel figures. “They're so pro-Israel and anti-Palestinian, it's disgusting,” an Arab-American voter who supported Mr Trump told our senior US correspondent Jihan Abdalla. “It’s a disaster for us.” The Trump voter also lamented the fact that so far, no Arab or Muslim American has been nominated to any high-profile position. This week, the Arab American Chamber of Commerce in Dearborn published a letter addressed to Mr Trump calling on him to fulfil his campaign promises. “Dearborn, Michigan, among other pivotal areas, turned red in this election due to president-elect Trump’s genuine outreach and promise to address our community’s concerns,” Faye Nemer, chief executive of the organisation, said in the letter. “We look forward to seeing that promise actualised through immediate peace measures in Lebanon and Palestine.” Read more ONLY IN AMERICA Throughout his campaign, president-elect Donald Trump heaped scorn on the federal Department of Education, describing it as being infiltrated by “radicals, zealots and Marxists”. He has picked Linda McMahon, a billionaire who co-founded World Wrestling Entertainment, to lead the department. But like many conservative politicians before him, Mr Trump has called for dismantling the department altogether – a cumbersome task that would probably require action from Congress. Ms McMahon served as administrator of the Small Business Administration during Mr Trump’s first term from 2017-2019, afterwards becoming chairwoman of pro-Trump super pac America First Action. “Linda will use her decades of leadership experience, and deep understanding of both education and business, to empower the next generation of American students and workers, and make America number one in education in the world,” Mr Trump said.