House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is facing renewed criticism from progressives after one of the House's most outspoken pro-Israel Democrats received a key foreign policy assignment at a time when Democratic voters are increasingly critical of Israel's conduct in Gaza. Florida Representative Jared Moskowitz was named ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa on Tuesday, a decision announced by New York Representative Gregory Meeks, the panel's top Democrat. While Meeks is the committee's ranking member, Jeffries has been the one who has absorbed most of the backlash, with progressives casting the pick as another sign of Democratic leadership's unwillingness to shift on Israel, even as its voters have.
Moskowitz confirmed the appointment on X, thanking Jeffries and Meeks, calling it an honor and pledging to strengthen relationships between the United States, Israel and Gulf allies at what he described as a moment of significant change across the region. Moskowitz's appointment quickly drew criticism of House Democratic leadership from progressive media figures and at least one former Obama administration official. Ben Rhodes, a former deputy national security adviser under President Barack Obama, wrote on X that the decision amounted to a giant "f*** you from Democratic leadership to Democratic voters." Cenk Uygur, host of The Young Turks, focused on a different part of the decision, arguing that the influence of political donors has shaped how lawmakers in both parties approach Israel, as well as issues involving pharmaceutical companies and defense contractors.
Journalist Prem Thakker echoed the criticism over the timing, pointing to the new polling showing support among Democratic voters for sanctions against Israel and an end to weapons transfers. Another prominent critic, podcast host Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk, wrote on X that Jeffries had picked a "diet MAGA pro-war pro-Israel" Democrat to lead on foreign policy and said Jeffries "needs to resign." Hasan Piker, the left-wing streamer who broadcasts as HasanAbi, also weighed in, arguing that Democratic leaders were ignoring their voters on what he described as a lopsided issue. Wally Rashid, a Palestinian-American journalist and political commentator, took the criticism in a different direction, pointing to earlier reporting that Jeffries had met with Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and a special peace envoy.
Rashid suggested that the meeting could be connected to Moskowitz's promotion, although he offered no evidence linking the two events. The appointment comes as Jeffries' standing with voters remains mixed. A Civiqs national tracking poll found that 26 percent of respondents viewed Jeffries favorably through August 12, compared with 54 percent who viewed him unfavorably.
Another 20 percent said they were unsure. The unfavorable numbers are not limited to Civiqs. A CNN poll conducted by SSRS in April found Jeffries' unfavorable rating had reached its highest point since the network began tracking him.
In that survey, conducted March 26-30, 16 percent of respondents viewed the House Democratic leader favorably, compared with 36 percent who viewed him unfavorably. The 20-point gap was the widest CNN has recorded on Jeffries since December 2022, when 17 percent viewed him favorably and 19 percent unfavorably. His unfavorable rating climbed to 27 percent in April before reaching 36 percent this spring.
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