Netanyahu Greeted by a Ton of Maggots at Watergate Hotel

On the eve of his address to Congress Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu got a rude experience during his stay at the Watergate Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Protesters left mealworms and maggots on banquet tables in the hotel, perhaps to bring awareness to maggot infestations afflicting wounded Palestinians in Israel’s brutal war in Gaza. They also set off fire alarms on multiple floors. Activists with the Palestinian Youth Movement and its Washington, D.C.-area chapter took credit for the disruption in a video posted to X and Instagram.

In a statement to The New Republic Wednesday afternoon, the hotel confirmed that an incident took place but refused to comment further because law enforcement is looking into the matter:

We are aware of the social media video circulating on multiple platforms involving The Watergate Hotel and the unfortunate incident that occurred at the property yesterday. Our top priority is the safety and well-being of our guests and staff. We took the necessary steps to ensure the property has been sanitized and is now operating as normal. We are cooperating fully with authorities, who are handling the situation. As this is an open case, we are unable to provide any further details at this time.

The effort was part of larger planned protests across the city against Netanyahu’s visit to Washington and address to Congress. On Tuesday, massive protests organized by Jewish Voice for Peace filled the Cannon House Office Building’s rotunda near the Capitol.

Netanyahu isn’t being given the red carpet treatment that he’s been used to on previous D.C. visits. President Joe Biden has pushed his meeting with the Israeli prime minister to Thursday after it was initially up in the air, and Vice President Kamala Harris skipped his congressional address, instead planning to meet with the Israeli prime minister privately. Netanayahu will be meeting with Trump on Friday at the convicted felon’s Mar-a-Lago estate, perhaps trading notes on their legal issues and attempts to control their countries’ judiciaries.

Israel’s brutal war has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians in Gaza, including over 15,000 children. Netanyahu has ignored calls for a cease-fire, which contributed to Biden’s drop in popularity among young people and communities of color. On Tuesday, seven major labor unions joined forces to demand an end to weapons aid to Israel.

None of this affected Netanyahu’s address to Congress, or America’s policies toward his country and the atrocities it continues to wage as its leader is accused of war crimes. What ought to happen is not a protest of insects and maggots but lawmakers standing up to Israel and ending weapons shipments to the country.

Representative Rashida Tlaib attended Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress Wednesday and protested from her seat, holding up a sign that read “war criminal” on one side and “guilty of genocide” on the other.

Speaker Mike Johnson warned against protests during Netanyahu’s speech, threatening arrests and claiming there would be an increased police presence. Tlaib was approached by a floor staffer at least twice during Netanyahu’s speech, and put the sign down each time. At one point, Republican Representative Anna Paulina Luna came and spoke to her before returning to her seat.

While many seats were empty during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech Wednesday, as about half of congressional Democrats boycotted his address, tech billionaire Elon Musk was in attendance.

Musk attended Netanyahu’s address to Congress as his personal guest, he told reporters. The X (formerly Twitter) owner sat in the Senate gallery among rescued Israeli hostages and behind the prime minister’s wife, according to CNN.

Musk and Netanyahu have spoken several times over the past year, including before the war, discussing artificial intelligence and antisemitism. More recently, during a visit to Israel in November, Musk toured a kibbutz with Netanyahu.

This comes as Musk has continued to boost antisemitism on his platform, even explicitly agreeing with claims that Jewish people push “diabolical hatred against whites.”

Five attendees were arrested at the U.S. Capitol for wearing yellow T-shirts with protest slogans in the House Gallery during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to Congress on Wednesday.

Throughout the beginning of the speech, guests unbuttoned their dress shirts and jackets to reveal yellow T-shirts that read, “Seal the Deal NOW!” They were promptly removed from the room by security, according to Axios. Those wearing the shirts were arrested and charged for disrupting Congress.

Several family members of Israeli hostages being held in Gaza reportedly walked out during Netayahu’s speech, according to The Times of Israel’s Jacob Magid in a post on X.

Democratic California Representative Jared Huffman posted about a meeting he had with the families of hostages Wednesday morning, who “felt abandoned and betrayed by Netanyahu.”

“I join them in calling for Netanyahu to stop playing politics and ‘seal the deal’ for a ceasefire & hostage release,” Huffman wrote.

Netanyahu has received significant criticism from Israelis, as after nearly 10 months of military action in Gaza, he has failed to secure the safe return of hostages. He has also overseen the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians in Gaza, as well as mass displacement and widespread famine.

This story has been updated.

Representative Ilhan Omar tore into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Wednesday—and her colleagues’ decision to invite him to speak to Congress.

“It is utterly immoral and cruel to the millions of lives impacted by [Netanyahu’s] catastrophic actions to platform him, let alone give him the honor of addressing Congress,” she wrote in a statement ahead of Netanyahu’s speech. “He is a war criminal who is actively committing genocide against the Palestinian people while putting the lives of the hostages and the stability of the region in jeopardy. I fully agree with the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice that he should be held accountable for his crimes, not addressing Congress.”

“Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are now responsible for the murder of over 38,000 and injuring over 88,000,” she added.

Omar is one of dozens of members of Congress boycotting Netanyahu’s speech on Wednesday, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and at least one MAGA Republican.

In her place, she has offered her ticket to family members of an American hostage held in Gaza.

Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie is openly feuding with the pro-Israel lobby ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress.

The Republican representative, part of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, is the only GOP member who said he would boycott Netanyahu’s Wednesday speech.

“Today Congress will undertake political theater on behalf of the State Department. The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war,” Massie wrote on X (formerly Twitter). “I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be attending.”

In response, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) quote-tweeted the representative’s post, slamming Massie for “standing with” progressives such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders “against our ally Israel.”

Massie shot back, tweeting, “Call me anything you want. I still won’t be attending your war rally.”

This isn’t the Republican’s representatives first time feuding with AIPAC.

On matters of foreign policy and war, Massie often finds himself siding with House Democrats, which has earned him the scorn of pro-Israel groups. As John Nichols wrote for The Nation, “They recognize that he upends the claim that opposition to pro-Israel policies comes from ‘the extreme left.’”

During the Kentucky Republican primary in May, the AIPAC-affiliated United Democracy Project spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on attack ads against Massie. He responded by addressing the effort head-on, saying that the group “bought $300,000 of ads against me because I am often the lone Republican for freedom of speech, against foreign aid, and opposed to wars in the Middle East.” Massie won his primary with a massive 75 percent of the vote.

Massie also voted against both resolutions to censure Representative Rashida Tlaib, the only Palestinian American in Congress, over her comments about the war in Gaza. He helped to kill the initial motion to censure her, but the House passed a second motion a week later.

Massie has since teamed up with progressive House Democrats to condemn Israel’s attack on Iran, and he was accused by the White House of “virulent antisemitism” for an anti-Zionist tweet featuring a Drake meme.

Massie says charges against him of antisemitism are “simply not true” and that he was aiming to squash “open-ended support” for Israel’s war and efforts to shut down free speech.

When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to a joint session of Congress Wednesday afternoon, he might notice some empty seats. 

From Tea Party and House Freedom Caucus members to progressive Jewish leaders, here is an ongoing list of all the politicians planning to boycott Netanyahu’s speech so far: 

Senate

1. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
2. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
3. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
4. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)
5. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
6. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
7. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
8. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)
9. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.)

House

10. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.)
11. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.)
12. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas)
13. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.)
14. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
15. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.)
16. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.)
17. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.)
18. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)
19. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.)
20. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.)
21. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.)
22. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.)
23. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)
24. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.)
25. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.)
26. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)
27. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
28. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)
29. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)
30. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)
31. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)
32. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.)
33. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.)
34. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)
35. Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.)
36. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)
37. Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.)
38. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.)
39. Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-N.M.)
40. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández (D-N.M.)
41. Rep. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.)
42. Rep. Judy Chu (D-Calif.)
43. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.)
44. Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas)
45. Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.)
46. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas)

Some politicians, such as Virginia Democratic Senator Tim Kaine and 
Vice President Kamala Harris, are missing the event due to previously scheduled commitments. But  both have called for Netanyahu to establish a cease-fire in Palestine and increase humanitarian aid into Gaza. 

Progressive Jewish Representative Becca Balint said that the speech will “serve as a distraction from the prime minister’s failure of leadership.” Her fellow progressive Vermont lawmaker Senator Bernie Sanders went further, calling Netanyahu a “war criminal” presiding over a “right-wing extremist government.”

Representative Jamie Raskin had previously said he would boycott the speech and instead meet with the families of Israeli hostages. He now plans to attend Netanyahu’s speech, but for a good reason. According to a press release, Raskin said he was asked by one of the hostages’ family specifically to attend. 

“As she put it, ‘I don’t want you to boycott his speech, I want you to go and confront his lies. That is how you can help us,’” he explained in his statement. 

Perhaps most surprisingly, Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky, a House Freedom Caucus member, will also boycott the speech. “Today Congress will undertake political theater on behalf of the State Department,” he wrote on X. 

“The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel and to quell int’l opposition to his war. I don’t feel like being a prop so I won’t be attending.”

This story has been updated.

Republicans have unleashed a slew of racist remarks about Vice President Kamala Harris, claiming that she is a “DEI” candidate, an explicitly racist dog whistle meant to suggest that her position is a result of her being a Black South-Asian woman, not because she’s actually qualified.

Fox News Business host Larry Kudlow went on a heated buzzword-salad rant Tuesday afternoon in which he couldn’t even keep his criticism of Harris straight. The only thing he knew was that Harris was “DEI,” but, ultimately, he didn’t seem sure about what that meant.

“And of course, her whole history is DEI. Diversity, uh exclusion, and equity. I mean, inclusion and equity. I mean, what does that tell you? It’s totally woke, and it’s anti-cops,” Kudlow said.

“So among all the other things, putting the economics aside: more DEI, defund the police, de– eliminate ICE, never even talked to the chiefs of the border patrol. I mean, really? How’s she gonna stand up to that?” A better question might be, how’s she gonna understand the question?

The racist smears against Harris on conservative news coverage began even before Biden had endorsed her as the Democratic nominee. Earlier this month, Sebastian Gorka, Donald Trump’s former deputy assistant, called her a DEI hire, as well as a particularly outdated slur during an appearance on Newsmax.

“She’s a DEI hire, right? She’s a woman! She’s colored. Therefore she’s gotta be good,” Gorka said sarcastically.

Wyoming Representative Harriet Hageman also credited Harris’s gender and race for her nomination for the vice presidency, amidst a slew of attacks on Tuesday.

“Well, I think she’s one of the weakest candidates I’ve ever seen in the history of our country,” said Hageman, claiming that Harris was “intellectually, just really kind of the bottom of the barrel.”

Hageman went on to criticize Harris’s handling of the border, before explaining what her actual problem with Harris seems to be.

“I think she was a DEI hire, and I think that that’s what we’re seeing. And I just don’t think that they have anybody else,” said Hageman.

On Monday, Representative Tim Burchett called Harris a “DEI hire” with an “abysmal” record, lamenting Biden choosing Harris in 2020. “What about white females? What about any other group? It just, when you go that route, you take mediocrity,” Burchett said.

That’s turning out to be Tennessee Republican’s favorite new insult. That same day, Burchett called former U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle a “DEI horror story,” suggesting that she had been improperly hired due to her gender.

Former United States Representative Adam Kinzingzer slammed Burchett for his racist, sexist remarks—and everyone else pushing the DEI claim—on CNN Tuesday.

DEI “is a disgusting dog whistle; it’s not even a dog whistle anymore, it’s an outright whistle,” Kinzinger said.

“Basically what they’re saying is only white men are deserving of certain positions, and I thought we got past that about 60 years ago in this country.”

Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin took advantage of a rare joint appearance on Fox News with House Oversight Chair James Comer, a Republican, to poke fun at his colleague on live television.

On Tuesday evening, Raskin and Comer appeared together on Special Report with Bret Baier for a segment called “Common Ground,” and Raskin began by criticizing Trump and defending Vice President Kamala Harris in her run for president.

Baier joked that “you can only do common ground so long” before asking Comer if it was time to “call for an end to the impeachment effort of President Biden?”

Comer said Republicans “did what we were supposed to do.”

“My job wasn’t to impeach. My job was to investigate, and I investigated and we turned over our findings to Speaker Johnson’s office,” Comer said. “He can determine what to do with that, but I believe the American people know a lot more about what the Bidens have done because of our work.”

Raskin replied with some sarcastic praise for his colleague.

“Well, I think Chairman Comer did a magnificent job exonerating Joe Biden of all the fraudulent charges that were raised against him in this Congress, and, of course, there was no high crime, no misdemeanor, and Joe Biden is a passionate public servant filled with integrity—”

Comer cut Raskin off. “Ah, I strongly disagree with that,” Comer said, laughing. “Nobody’s buying that. Nobody’s buying what he’s selling on that.”

“America’s buying it,” Raskin replied. “The reservoir of love for Joe Biden is deep and really bottomless in America.”

As the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, Raskin has frequently butted heads with Comer, particularly regarding the GOP’s fruitless attempt to impeach Biden, which ultimately ended with pointless criminal referrals to the Justice Department for the president and his son Hunter. The two were actually on Fox to discuss a rare point of agreement: that the head of the U.S. Secret Service, Kimberly Cheatle, needed to resign. They were successful, but it remains to be seen if they find another point of agreement, particularly as Republican attacks on Harris intensify.

As Trump desperately tries to separate his campaign from Project 2025, users on X have noted one big problem: J.D. Vance wrote the foreword to a forthcoming book by the plan’s lead author, Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts.

On the Amazon product page, the promotional material for the book, titled Dawn’s Early Light, highlights Roberts’s role in composing Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation proposal for a conservative overhaul of the federal government.

[The New Republic has obtained J.D. Vance’s full foreword for this book. Read it here.]

The product page also includes a favorable review from Vance. “Never before has a figure with Roberts’s depth and stature within the American Right tried to articulate a genuinely new future for conservatism,” the review says. “We are now all realizing that it’s time to circle the wagons and load the muskets. In the fights that lay ahead, these ideas are an essential weapon.”

When the book first became available for preorder on June 19, Vance promoted it on X, writing, “I was thrilled to write the foreword for this incredible book, which contains a bold new vision for the future of conservatism in America.”

On the Amazon page for Dawn’s Early Light, the subtitle reads, “Taking Back Washington to Save America,” but an archived version of the page from June 19 indicates it was initially “Burning Down Washington to Save America.”

Inflammatory language in the blurb has also apparently been tamped down.

A sentence on the archived page that says the book “blazes a warpath for the American people to take back their country” now says it “blazes a promising path.” Another fiery sentence on the archived page read, “Just as a controlled burn preserves the longevity of a forest, conservatives need to burn down these institutions [the FBI, The New York Times, the Department of Education, etc.] if we’re to preserve the American Way of life.” It now says that those institutions “need to be dissolved if the American way of life is to be passed down to future generations.”

These changes, while slight, perhaps indicate a hope to dispel the emerging public perception that Project 2025 would wreak havoc on the country. Trump, undoubtedly aware of the plan’s growing unpopularity, has claimed, “I know nothing about Project 2025” and that “some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.”

But it will certainly be harder for the Republican ticket to distance itself from the Heritage Foundation manifesto come publication day in September.