Dem
51
GOP
49
Normally, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is a fairly unassuming guy who does most of his talking when the cameras are off. Not yesterday, though. Nope, yesterday he stood on the floor of the Senate and delivered a fiery (by his standards) address in which he called for an end to Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership of Israel.
Now, note that "by his standards" qualifier in the previous paragraph. Most of the reporting on Schumer's speech (and everybody had it as the lead story yesterday) gives the impression that it was very, very aggressive, along the lines of Ronald Reagan's "Tear down this wall." That is not the case. Schumer is still a cautious fellow, and what he actually said was that new elections should be held "once the war starts to wind down." The Majority Leader also said that Mahmoud Abbas, leader of the Palestinian Authority, needs to be shown the door, although this is being mentioned very rarely.
Still, cautious or not, Schumer said that Netanyahu is no longer a fit for Israel, and the Israeli people need to be given an opportunity to choose someone to lead them into their next era, at risk of that nation becoming a "pariah." That is a pretty bold statement, particularly coming from a guy who is the highest-ranking Jew in American political history, and who has previously been a staunch defender of Israel. Certainly, Haaretz thinks so, and we tend to trust their assessments of these things (Note, once again: soft paywall).
The upshot is that the Netanyahu administration's relationship with the U.S. is fraying badly, to the point that even strongly pro-Israel Democrats like Schumer and Joe Biden are being openly critical. This may well force Netanyahu's hand when it comes to a ceasefire, or to toning down his plans for an offensive in Rafah.
What it is certainly doing is giving the leaders of the Democratic Party much more room to maneuver, such that they can do things like cut off arms shipments to Israel and/or they can be much more aggressive when it comes to helping the civilian populace of Gaza. And those are the things that are going to be necessary if Biden wants to have a chance at winning back a bunch of those "uncommitted" voters in Minnesota and Michigan. (Z)