Mitch McConnell called the suggestion 'grotesque' and 'foreign interference.'
In this image from video provided by Senate TV, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks on the Senate floor at the Capitol in Washington, March 14, 2024.Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has stayed largely silent as others in his party have been critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the wake of Hamas' attack in Israel Oct. 7.
"I have known Prime Minister Netanyahu for a long time. While we have vehemently disagreed on many occasions, I will always respect his extraordinary bravery for Israel on the battlefield as a younger man. I believe in his heart his highest priority is the security of Israel," he said. "However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel," he said.
"I also believe a majority of the Israeli public will recognize the need for change, and I believe that holding a new election once the war starts to wind down would give Israelis an opportunity to express their vision for the post-war future," he added.
After Schumer wrapped his remarks, two of his Democratic Senate colleagues embraced Schumer with hugs and handshakes as he walked off the floor. "It is grotesque and hypocritical for Americans who hyperventilate about foreign interference in our own democracy to call for the removal of a democratically elected leader of Israel," McConnell said on the Senate floor moments later. "This is unprecedented. We should not treat fellow democracies this way at all."
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