By Donald H. Harrison
SAN DIEGO — The week since the Nov 5 election has revealed new Jewish U.S. senators, governors, mayors, and designees for major appointments in the upcoming administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump.
At the national level, Trump has announced that he will appoint former Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-New York) to head the Environmental Protection Agency, which he is expected to strip of some of its power. Also, if the scuttlebutt in true, he will appoint Stephen Miller as his White House deputy chief of staff in charge of policy. Miller is considered a hardliner on immigration.
In time for the new administration, Israel will change its ambassador to the United States. Yechiel Leiter will replace Ambassador Michael Herzog. Leiter has been a leader in the “settler movement” in Judea and Samaria. Herzog is the brother of Israel’s President Isaac Herzog.
President-elect Trump has announced that he will replace the U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield with Republican Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-New York). Stefanik has won praise from members of the Jewish community in recognition of her sharp condemnation in the House Education Committee of the then-presidents of Harvard, Penn, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology over their failure to say that calls for the genocide of Jews violated campus policies. Late Monday, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) received Trump’s nomination for Secretary of State. Rubio is considered a good friend of Israel.
Congressman Adam Schiff (D-California) has been elected to the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by the late Dianne Feinstein and temporarily filled on an interim basis by Laphonza Butler. Likewise, in Michigan, Democratic Congresswoman Elissa Slotnik has been elected to the U.S. Senate seat from which Debbie Stabenow is retiring.
Returned by voters to the U.S. Senate are Democrat Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Independent Bernie Sanders of Vermont. Another five Jewish Democratic senators were not up for reelection this cycle. They are Chuck Schumer of New York, who lost his Majority Leader status to a new Republican majority; Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, and Ron Wyden of Oregon.
Two new Jewish governors brought the nation’s total to six. Delaware voters elected Democrat Matt Meyer to their state’s highest office, while North Carolina voters elected Josh Stein. The other four Jewish governors, whose terms extend beyond this election, are Jared Polis of Colorado, J.B. Pritzker of Illinois, Josh Green of Hawaii, and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
Two western cities will be governed by Jewish mayors: former Democratic Congresswoman Shelley Berkeley in Las Vegas, Nevada, and businessman and Levi Strauss heir Daniel Lurie in San Francisco.
Anchorman Chris Wallace, meanwhile, informed the Cable News Network (CNN) that he did not wish to renegotiate his contract, but instead planned to explore establishing his own podcast. CNN has several remaining Jewish anchors including Dana Bash, Wolf Blitzer, and Jake Tapper.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World.
This is very helpful Don. Thank you