Pennsylvania GOP Senate Candidate Dave McCormick Visits Israel in Show of Solidarity

Dave McCormick, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania, meets with attende
Matt Rourke/AP
Nick Gilbertson

Businessman Dave McCormick, a Republican U.S. Senate candidate in Pennsylvania, was in Israel on Tuesday to reportedly show solidarity with the nation and to “understand [the] situation from the ground,” according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid. 

While many members of Congress are slowly making the trek back to Washington, DC, after ringing in the New Year, the candidate who is vying for Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-PA) seat spent January 2 in Israel – three months after Hamas’s terrorist attacks on the nation.

On Tuesday, McCormick met with “IDF [Israeli Defense Force officials at Kfar Azza,” a kibbutz in Southern Israel, according to Ravid. 

“He will meet military leaders, government officials & hostage families. Source says he is there to show his solidarity & understand situation from the ground,” Ravid added. 

The Senate candidate’s wife, Dina Powell, who served as deputy national security adviser in former President Donald Trump’s administration, accompanied him on the trip.

After the October 7 attacks on Israel, McCormick emphasized the United States “must stand with Israel and its right to defend itself.”

And while Casey has voiced his support for Israel, McCormick was critical of him over his vote to table the House’s stand-alone funding bill, the Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, on November 14, which would have provided $14.3 billion in emergency aid to Israel.

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Dec. 7, 2021. Casey, one of the last self-styled pro-life Democrats on Capitol Hill, said Tuesday, May 10, 2022, that he will support a bill to write abortion rights into federal law as Democrats scramble to respond to the Supreme Court’s leaked draft decision that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Dec. 7, 2021. Casey, one of the last self-styled pro-life Democrats on Capitol Hill, said Tuesday, May 10, 2022, that he will support a bill to write abortion rights into federal law as Democrats scramble to respond to the Supreme Court’s leaked draft decision that would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)

The legislation would also slash $14.3 billion in IRS funding, and it does not include aid for Ukraine. Senate Democrats have sought to have Israel and Ukraine aid tied together in one package – a similar framework to the one proposed by the White House in the fall. 

While Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he would not hold a vote on the legislation, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-KS) forced a vote to proceed with the House bill on the Senate floor, and Casey, along with his democrat colleagues, voted to table the bill, as Politico noted.

Earlier that day, Casey had attended the March for Israel rally on the Washington mall.

“Senator, while I appreciate you showing your solidarity, hours later you voted AGAINST aid for Israel,” McCormick wrote in a social media post that retweeted Casey’s tweet from the event.

“If you wanted to ‘ensure Israel has the resources and support it needs to defeat Hamas,’ you could have voted to deliver it today,” McCormick added, quoting Casey’s own words. 

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