WASHINGTON – Today on the floor, U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) reproached Democrat Leader Schumer for his speech calling on Israel to hold new elections and criticizing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu five months after Hamas launched its horrific attack on October 7. Excerpts of Sen. Cornyn’s remarks are below, and video can be found here.

“I was shocked to hear the comments of the Senate Majority Leader this morning excoriating our closest ally, the only democracy in the Middle East.” 

“The Majority Leader’s speech this morning was deeply disrespectful of our ally, which is… a sovereign nation.”

“For somehow to say now five months after that horrible attack on October 7 that Israel ought to stay its hand and allow Hamas, potentially, to reconstitute in Gaza is not only deeply disrespectful, it undermines the ability of the Israelis to do what they must do, which is destroy that threat.” 

“We need to stand with Israel. They need to be able to finish the job not because they want to, but because they must in order to continue to exist.”