Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced that she plans to run in Florida’s 20th Congressional District, which has been represented by a Black lawmaker for more than three decades, after her current district was redrawn by Florida Republicans in an effort to secure more seats in the House.

SCOOP | The highest-paid staffer on Washington, D.C., mayoral candidate Janeese Lewis George’s campaign has a social media history showing deep-seated hostility toward Israel and adherence to far left views on the Middle East, according to a review of the staffer’s public posts.

House Republicans postponed a vote on a war powers resolution on Iran, which was expected to pass given a series of GOP absences and Rep. Jared Golden’s anticipated flip to support the effort.

SCOOP | Sens. Elissa Slotkin and James Lankford are urging Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin to take action to move forward stalled Nonprofit Security Grant Program funding, an issue both lawmakers raised with Mullin during his confirmation hearing.

BREAKING | Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard is resigning effective June 30, citing her husband’s recently diagnosed “extremely rare form of bone cancer” in a resignation letter.

More than 2,000 New Jersey rabbis and lay leaders signed a petition to New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and state lawmakers urging them to take prompt action to implement the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism in the state.

Critics of Qatari funding of American universities are watching Northwestern University’s incoming president to see how he handles the school’s upcoming contract renewal for its satellite campus in Doha, Qatar’s capital.

SCOOP | The Wexner Foundation told alumni it will spin off its flagship leadership programs into an independent nonprofit, a major development that comes as the foundation’s benefactor, Les Wexner, continues to face pushback for his past ties to financier Jeffrey Epstein.

Brad Lander — favored to defeat Rep. Dan Goldman in next month’s Democratic primary — broadened his already sweeping criticism of Israel in a speech to a Queens mosque earlier this month, suggesting the country’s actions against Hezbollah in Lebanon could constitute genocide.

A group of Jewish parents from across Pennsylvania arrived at a virtual meeting with Sen. Dave McCormick with a plea: take note of antisemitism happening not just on college campuses but also in K-12 schools, and do something about it.

The Jewish Insider team has compiled our summer reading list — beginning with some banner new releases from this spring, and looking towards books coming out this summer.

Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. Michael Herzog said he does not view J Street, the progressive Israel advocacy group, as a pro-Israel organization, weighing in on the escalating war between his successor, Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, and J Street.

A new series of Emerson College polls of three closely watched New York Democratic congressional primaries shows a strong left-wing, anti-establishment sentiment coursing through the party.

Divides are emerging on aid to Israel among the Democratic candidates in the primary race in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District as one candidate picks up a series of endorsements from anti-Israel groups. Marc Rod reports:

The Barack Obama Presidential Center, slated to open in mid-June, will feature an exhibit highlighting the former president’s “patient and principled diplomacy” and “strategic engagement with adversaries” in the lead-up to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.

Read today's #DailyKickoff: 🚫 Gottheimer, Moskowitz vow to expel antisemitic Texas Dem if elected Full briefing 👇 ji.news/54ysc

"We care a lot about the ability of the public to determine the authenticity of content … we just don't think that there should be a centralized thumb on the scale," under secretary of state for public diplomacy said at the Hudson Institute. Emily Jacobs reports:

In a new voter guide from the Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington, Lewis George pledged that if elected, she would not seek to exclude anyone based on their political beliefs. Gabby Deutch reports:

Reps. Josh Gottheimer and Jared Moskowitz said on Wednesday that they would seek to expel Maureen Galindo, a Democrat running for Congress in Texas who has expressed extreme antisemitic views, if she is elected. Marc Rod reports:

NYC Council Speaker Julie Menin will back fresh legislation to compel the NYPD to establish formal protocols for deploying buffer zones around schools during protests — a push Menin said will sail through the council with more than enough votes to beat any effort from Mayor Mamdani to block it.

Sen. Bernie Moreno says he plans to bring the SACRED Act — buffer zone legislation around synagogues and houses of worship — to the Senate floor by unanimous consent "in the next day or two." Marc Rod reports:

“When patients are at their most vulnerable, when they’re in an exam room or a hospital bed or an operating room, they need to trust that every member of their team is focused on their well-being,” said Deena Margolies, an attorney at the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law.

While some geopolitical relationships have been tested by the Iran war, others have been strengthened: Emerging alignments between Israel, the UAE and India are creating new opportunities for cooperation, experts told Jewish Insider.

The Justice Department has announced that Leo Terrell will oversee the creation of the DOJ’s Antisemitism Advisory Committee. Terrell told Jewish Insider that he hopes to engage directly with Jewish community stakeholders in these places and urge Jewish Americans to get involved in local elections.

In a rare dual endorsement, JDCA backed both Rep. Haley Stevens and state Sen. Mallory McMorrow in Michigan's Senate primary — a move aimed at blocking Abdul El-Sayed, who holds a 10-point polling lead and has called Israel just as evil as Hamas. Matthew Kassel reports:

Barney Frank — the first openly gay member of Congress and a self-described Zionist — died at 86. The lifelong Democrat spent his final weeks urging his party to give Netanyahu an ultimatum: change course in Gaza, or lose U.S. aid. @GSDeutch reports:

🚨NEW: Netanyahu broke with his own coalition partner, saying Ben-Gvir's video taunting detained flotilla activists "is not in line with Israel's values and norms." Matthew Shea reports:

Read today's #DailyKickoff: 🗳️ Pro-Israel groups celebrate Massie defeat Full briefing 👇 ji.news/54uaq

A newly launched super PAC with ties to Republicans has spent nearly half a million dollars to help boost a Democrat running for a competitive open House seat in Texas who is facing growing bipartisan furor over a series of virulently antisemitic social media remarks.

Sen. Bill Cassidy — a Republican who has supported the Iran war — voted with Democrats to advance a war powers resolution days after losing his primary to a Trump-backed challenger. The motion passed 50-47 on Democrats' eighth attempt. Marc Rod reports:

The Jewish American Security Act — backed by nearly every major Jewish org, from the ADL to Agudath Israel — deliberately omits the IHRA definition of antisemitism to avoid the fate of the Antisemitism Awareness Act.

An Israeli national security think tank is warning that Israel's own policies have alienated American Jewish allies, and that further erosion of U.S. Jewish support "could help pave the way for the Democratic Party to turn fully against the alliance." ji.news/54s74

Cornyn warned JI in February that Paxton's regular appearances on Steve Bannon's podcast should be "alarming to Texas voters." Today, Trump endorsed Paxton over him. Emily Jacobs reports:

Treasury Sec. Scott Bessent pressed G7 allies to target Iran's financial networks — the same day OFAC sanctioned four individuals tied to a pro-Hamas flotilla organized within Hamas-aligned Muslim Brotherhood networks. Matthew Shea reports:

In the tight Michigan Senate race, state Sen. Mallory McMorrow has tried to present herself as a middle-of-the-road Democrat between Abdul El-Sayed and Rep. Haley Stevens. In a recent interview, McMorrow continued to position herself as an objective observer of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

In the closing days of his House reelection campaign against Trump-endorsed Navy veteran Ed Gallrein, Rep. Thomas Massie has focused his ire on pro-Israel and Jewish advocacy groups, claiming that his opponent is a “puppet” of such interests.

Read today's #DailyKickoff: 🧹 Massie gets messy Full briefing 👇 ji.news/54peq

Weeks before a heavily contested mayoral election in Washington, Trayon White, a member of the Washington, D.C. Council with a history of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories, is hitting the campaign trail with Councilmember Janeese Lewis George.

UJA-Federation of New York and JCRC-NY are boycotting Mamdani's Gracie Mansion Shavuot event — with UJA saying it won't attend an event hosted by "a mayor who denies a central pillar of our heritage — the State of Israel as the homeland of the Jewish People." Will Bredderman reports:

Northwestern — months after a $75M antisemitism settlement with the Trump administration — has named Purdue's Mung Chiang as president. Jewish leaders are cheering. Haley Cohen reports:

Maryland ranks first among top-10 states in share of antisemitic incidents at K-12 schools — 34% — and two-thirds of the state's incidents occurred in Montgomery County alone. At a JCRC forum, all three leading Dem exec candidates said MCPS has failed to act.

Rahm Emanuel — who helped secure U.S. military aid to Israel as Obama's chief of staff — now says the U.S.-Israel relationship "needs a solid dose of honesty," and will take that message to Tel Aviv University on July 8. Matthew Kassel reports:

Shortly before the start of Shabbat on Friday, Mamdani posted a video marking what Palestinians refer to as Nakba Day, sparking a wave of outrage among Jewish leaders for its failure to acknowledge crucial facts surrounding the birth of the State of Israel.

Read today's #DailyKickoff: 🥇 Elon Musk: Israeli innovation is No. 1 in the world Full briefing 👇 ji.news/54ine

Dogged by his vote to impeach Trump in 2021, Sen. Bill Cassidy lost his bid for reelection on Saturday night, finishing in third place in the Louisiana Republican primary behind Trump-endorsed Rep. Julia Letlow and state Treasurer John Fleming.

👀 SCOOP | Mamdani will appoint Rabbi Miriam Grossman — a veteran of various far-left and anti-Israel organizations, and one of the few Jewish religious leaders to back his campaign — to a taxpayer-funded post in his newly created “Office of Mass Engagement,” Jewish Insider has learned.

The Israeli military carried out a strike in Gaza on Friday targeting Izz al-Din al-Haddad, the most senior remaining Hamas commander in the enclave, according to a joint statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz.

Federal authorities have charged an Iran-backed militia commander with plotting to attack Jewish sites in New York City and Los Angeles.

🚨 Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen announced he will retire from the House after 20 years, following a redistricting push by Tennessee Republicans that carved up his Memphis district, ending his re-election campaign.

🔍 ANALYSIS | Jewish groups have poured $7M+ into the KY-04 primary — RJC nearly $4M, AIPAC's United Democracy Project $3.2M — as antisemitic attacks mount around the Massie camp. Tuesday's vote is a test of that investment. Marc Rod reports: