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Several events are expected to draw thousands of protestors to Capitol Hill on Wednesday ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s afternoon address to Congress.

In Room 210 in the Cannon House Office Building, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) plans to address an audience at an event called “Peace is Possible: An Alternative Vision for Israel and Palestine” as Netanyahu delivers his speech. Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) was also expected to speak, but he had to pull out after being diagnosed with Covid, his office told POLITICO.

The event will spotlight two activists who flew from the Middle East to organize the counter-event: Aziz Abu Sarah, a Palestinian whose brother died while being held in an Israeli prison, and Maoz Inon, an Israeli whose parents were killed by Hamas on Oct. 7.

“I was shocked by the congressmen in the U.S. that they chose to be in the dark side of history,” Inon told POLITICO in an interview at a coffee shop on Capitol Hill.

Abu Sarah said the U.S. has become too accustomed to staying engaged in military conflicts without finding a long-term solution: “Our goal is to show Congress that that’s a stupid policy.”

Several other Democratic lawmakers will also meet with families of American hostages instead of attending the address.

“One thing that I know is that to bash the prime minister is not going to get us the support we need for him to make this deal” to bring the hostages home, said Liz Naftali, the great aunt of Abigail Edan, who was one of the Americans released during the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas.

She added: “What we do is we keep pushing Republicans and Democrats to put on the pressure.”

And thousands of people are expected to gather on Capitol Hill to protest before Netanyahu’s speech, spearheaded by several Black, Indigenous and multiracial activist groups. Among their demands: that Israel halts its military operation in Gaza and the U.S. ends military assistance to Israel.

“He is not welcome in D.C., where communities have come for decades to demand justice against oppression,” Mohammed Khader, policy manager at the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights, told POLITICO.

Progressives have swung behind Kamala Harris in surprisingly quick fashion in the 48 hours since Joe Biden left the presidential race, largely setting aside their past skepticism of the vice president with an eye to defeating Donald Trump in November.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is still notably withholding his endorsement until Harris reveals a working-class agenda. But instead of an array of litmus tests and demands for Harris and her 2024 platform, liberals are mostly clearing a path for Harris much as some tried to for Biden — desperate to project party unity, out of intense fears that Trump could win another term.

Even Sanders said Monday: “I want her to win.”

Within 30 hours of Biden’s decision to step aside, 90 percent of the House Democratic caucus had publicly backed Harris. That included unequivocal support from leading progressives like Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) — though they cautioned it wasn’t the same thing as endorsing all of Harris’ positions and priorities.

“I would not interpret this as a rubber stamp with any policy or platform,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Rather, Democrats like Ocasio-Cortez see no choice but to back Harris if they want to beat Trump, given the now-rushed process to steer a new nominee leading up to the Democratic convention in August. The New York lawmaker had previously delivered impassioned defenses of Biden both publicly and privately, even as other Democrats in the caucus called for him to step aside.

“Really, this is about having as much stability as possible leading into the November election so that we can defeat the threat of Donald Trump,” Ocasio-Cortez said. While liberals would still press Harris on her platform through the election, she added there is a “very real understanding” that the convention is just a month away, with early voting in the general election beginning in less than two months.

Democrats have lined up a wide swath of the party behind Harris’ nascent campaign. But the left wing falling in line is especially notable, as it could have been the most disruptive to the party’s efforts to coalesce around Harris.

There is still a push to shape the vice president’s platform. Sanders is choosing not to endorse yet as he seeks more meetings with Harris to push for a working-class agenda and to “speak to the needs of people who have been forgotten for so many years,” as he told CBS News Monday.

Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) said the party’s quick alignment with Harris doesn’t mean progressives won’t be exerting pressure on her future administration if she is elected. But for now, Ramirez stressed, the goal “is to be able to win.”

She added that the stakes are simply too high — with someone who would “overthrow democracy, do mass deportations and enact a white supremacist agenda” — to stand in the way.

“We have to do everything we possibly can to get as many of us as quickly as possible together under one priority, and that’s defeating Donald Trump,” Ramirez argued.

Of course, there are some exceptions. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a member of the progressive “Squad,” has deep divisions with the White House over its handling of the Israel-Hamas war and hasn’t endorsed Harris. (She also had not endorsed Biden.)

Four years ago, many progressives did not initially back Biden or Harris, with their own candidates like Sanders and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in the running. They were skeptical of Biden’s centrist tilt and Harris’ career as a prosecutor at a time when the base was moving to put more oversight on law enforcement. And even early in Biden’s administration, progressives like Jayapal clashed with him over his legislative plans — particularly on a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Now, progressives have come to terms with their only real option. Uniting behind Harris, who has the name recognition and Biden’s war chest, gives them the best chance to beat Trump in November. They’ll worry about specific policy issues when they win, many of them say.

When and if that happens, the vice president has other existing relationships with Hill Democrats to draw on, including her former colleagues in the Black Caucus, Asian Pacific American Caucus, and what some South Asian American lawmakers had joked was the “samosa caucus.” Many Democrats have already shifted to privately and publicly discussing potential running mates for Harris.

“Why wouldn’t we?” said progressive Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.). “She supports the Green New Deal, Medicare for All. She cared about the care economy. She’s been great.”

It’s Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s first full day in Washington this week, and his arrival has been mostly met with eye rolls and shoulder shrugs on Capitol Hill.

Netanyahu will address Congress Wednesday afternoon, a monumental event that would normally take up the political oxygen in Washington in the weeks leading up. An appearance by a controversial far-right leader, widely chastised internationally for his handling of Israel’s devastating war against Hamas militants in Gaza, has all the ingredients ripe for attention.

But it appears Netanyahu has had very little to do in Washington during his visit so far. Some aides on both sides of the aisle needed to be reminded that the leader was even in town.

“I had someone ask me what I thought Netanyahu would say in his speech and I had to stop and think for a minute to realize that was this week. I had completely forgotten it was happening,” said a senior House aide.

Because of the mind-boggling news cycle — one U.S. presidential candidate was almost killed while another dropped out of the race a week later — Netanyahu “hasn’t really been able to get the traction and the airtime they would have expected,” another House aide added.

A third aide in the Senate underscored the impact the news cycle has had, saying that Netanyahu’s visit is “barely registering” on the Hill. All were granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Outside the Watergate Hotel, where Netanyahu is staying, a POLITICO reporter noticed two rings of fences put up, drones buzzing overhead, a mass redirection of traffic, multiple security checkpoints and closed roads. According to posts on X, a spattering of pro-Palestinian protestors gathered outside the Watergate complex on Tuesday calling for Netanyahu’s arrest.

President Joe Biden will meet with Netanyahu on Thursday, the prime minister’s office said, after Biden postponed their meeting scheduled for Tuesday. It’s unclear when Vice President Kamala Harris — who isn’t attending Netanyahu’s address — will meet with him. Netanyahu will meet with Donald Trump in Florida on Friday, the former president said on Truth Social on Tuesday.

On Capitol Hill, Democratic lawmakers weighed whether or not to attend the address, while Republicans brainstormed how they’d show support for the embattled leader. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a staunch critic of the Biden administration’s Israel policies, said Tuesday that he won’t attend the address.

“I refuse to be a political prop in this act of deception because he’s not the great guardian of the U.S.-Israel relationship,” Van Hollen told a small group of reporters in his office, days after returning from a trip to the Middle East.

A group of congressional Democrats, including Van Hollen and several others who plan to boycott Netanyahu’s speech, plan to meet on Wednesday with families of Israeli hostages.

“The issue is some of us, including myself, are not going to attend the speech but want [it to be] understood that this is not about Israel, it’s not about the Israel people,” Rep. Rosa DeLauro, (D-Conn.), one of the lawmakers leading the effort, told POLITICO. “Every fiber of our bodies wants to get those hostages back.”

Van Hollen told reporters he doesn’t want to show support for Netanyahu when his hardline policies and partners like Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are “sabotaging” U.S.-Israeli relations.

Netanyahu, who met with the families after arriving in the U.S. on Monday, is also facing political pressure at home to finalize a deal for the release of the captives and a cease-fire with Hamas.

Van Hollen said that in his previous meetings with the relatives of hostages in Israel, they were disappointed that Netanyahu “has not prioritized returning hostages. While I was there, there were protests in the street saying, don’t go speak to a joint session of Congress, focus on releasing the hostages.”

As of Tuesday morning, Netanyahu didn’t have plans to meet with key foreign policy lawmakers: Rep. Gregory Meeks, the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s top Democrat, said he is open to a meeting with him. The office of the panel’s chair, Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), said he would be part of a group of lawmakers welcoming the prime minister and meeting with him afterward but wasn’t currently aware of other separate meetings.

Families of the American hostages being held in Gaza are putting immense pressure on the prime minister to secure a cease-fire deal with Hamas militants and bring home the hostages by the end of the week. If he doesn’t succeed, they said in a joint statement, it would “constitute an abject failure of his trip.”

Liz Naftali — the great aunt of Abigail Edan, who was one of the Americans released during the pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas — told Netanyahu during an hour-and-a-half-long meeting on Monday that he must call for a deal during his address.

“This is the time to make this deal,” she told POLITICO in between meetings with numerous lawmakers on the Hill. “If we do not capture this moment, these hostages may not come home.”

The House Foreign Affairs Committee hosted a roundtable with the families on Tuesday, after which McCaul condemned Harris and congressional Democrats over their plans to skip the speech, arguing the security situation Netanyahu will speak about impacts the U.S.

“Case in point — the committee heard from the families of American hostages still being held by Hamas terrorists this morning,” he said in a statement. “We need to show the world our united determination to eradicate terrorism and bring home all of the hostages. I hope my colleagues will reconsider and attend this important address.”

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House Republican leaders told lawmakers to focus on criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris’ record without reference to her race and gender, following caustic remarks from some Republicans attacking her on the basis of identity.

During a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning, chair of the House GOP campaign arm Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) and others issued the warning after a series of comments by their members that focused on Harris’ race as well as claims she is a “DEI” pick, according to two people in the room.

In the 48 hours since President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Republican leaders have tried to train their criticism of the presumptive Democratic nominee on her handling of the border and her plan to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech before Congress.

But several Republicans immediately took the criticism in a different direction. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said Monday that Harris was a “DEI vice president” and Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Wis.) over the weekend questioned if Democrats are sticking by her “because of her ethnic background.” If nominated, Harris would be the first Black and South Asian woman to be a major party nominee.

“This should not be about personalities. It should be about policy. And we have a record to compare,” Speaker Mike Johnson told POLITICO as he left the Tuesday meeting, saying Harris would have to answer for Biden’s record. “This has nothing to do with race. It has to do with the competence of the person running for president, the relative strength of the two candidates and what ideas they have on how to solve America’s problems. And I think in that comparison, we’ll win in a landslide.”

The remarks about Harris’ race have privately infuriated some Republicans, who feel it shifts the spotlight back on the GOP instead of Democrats’ missteps.

One House Republican, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Republicans who made comments about Harris being a DEI pick, which stands for diversity, equity and inclusion, needed to stop.

“We have everything going our way and you just can’t handle that?” this member added. “We’ll give you a cheat sheet if you don’t know what else to talk about.”

Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), who chairs the governing-minded Main Street Caucus, said Republicans “should run this campaign based on the fact that she hasn’t done a very good job” rather than “make allegations.”

And the right flank is facing additional pushback from their Republican colleagues beyond the race comments. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) introduced a second impeachment resolution against Harris on Tuesday, according to a copy of the measure obtained by POLITICO, an effort some of his colleagues have already panned. His first attempt to impeach Harris last year stalled in the Judiciary Committee.

Additionally, conservatives have argued the House GOP should investigate Harris and pressure Cabinet officials to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Biden. Most Republicans have brushed off those pushes as well, instead gearing up to hammer Harris on the border and other policies.

“I see no more reason for investigations to start in the House if they’re going to be politically weaponized. I believe that her record is his record, and we should focus on that,” said Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio), a former aide in Donald Trump’s administration.

Republicans are also more openly admitting that their long-stalled endeavor to impeach Biden is likely dead. Miller said it’s time to move on.

“I think that we can redirect our resources elsewhere into something that will be more fruitful. If we had anything to level against him, it already would have been exposed and we would have impeached him. That obviously hasn’t happened,” he added.

House Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.), who has led the Biden impeachment push, told POLITICO that while he is probing questions about Biden’s mental health — focusing on the White House physician and three White House staffers — that he has no plans to subpoena Harris or ask her to appear in front of his panel.

“No,” Comer said when asked whether there is a potential probe into Harris.

He added that his part of the impeachment inquiry into Biden, which has largely focused on the business deals of his family members, is over. And that he is done drafting his part of an impeachment report that his panel is working on with the Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees.

“I feel like we’ve done our job. … Our part of the report has been finished for a long time. They can publish it or not — I guess things change if he’s not running again,” Comer said.

The sentiment that it’s time to move on from impeachment was echoed across many corners of the conference. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), who filed articles of impeachment against Biden, agreed that push should be on the backburner given his decision to drop out.

“I think Republicans’ best strategy is introducing Kamala Harris to the world,” she said, essentially backing GOP leaders’ messaging plan.

Dusty Johnson, asked about impeaching or investigating Harris, responded that “we’ve got appropriations we need to take care of.” Republicans appear poised to leave town as soon as Wednesday with much of that work unfinished, meaning they’ll return from August recess without much done on government spending ahead of a Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.

Not everyone is fully on board the plan to focus on Harris and legislative needs, however. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), a member of the Freedom Caucus, and Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) have introduced separate resolutions that call on Harris to invoke her 25th Amendment powers and essentially have the Cabinet declare Biden unfit to be president. Those resolutions have three and zero co-sponsors, respectively, and likely don’t have the support required to pass the House.

Asked about invoking a resolution backing the 25th Amendment, centrist Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said that “it’s not going to pass” and added of impeaching Biden “there’s not the support to do it — that’s just reality.” Rep. Nick LaLota (R-N.Y.) added that resolutions to push the Cabinet to invoke the 25th Amendment are “not an effective path right now.”

House GOP leaders are instead considering a border-related resolution led by Conference Chair Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.), which aims to condemn Harris’ efforts to address the record surge of border crossings under the Biden administration. That vote could occur as early as Wednesday, and is expected to draw more support than the 25th Amendment approach, particularly in the GOP’s paper-thin majority.

House GOP leadership, during a press conference after their closed-door meeting, repeatedly linked Harris to Biden, in a likely preview of the next few months.

“She’s still the sitting vice president, but she’s also been the architect of many of President Biden’s worst failures,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) told reporters.

Those criticisms extend not only to the border, but also to the Israel-Hamas war. Republicans are particularly critical of Harris over her decision to skip Netanyahu’s joint address because of plans her office said she had on the books before the speech was scheduled.

“To not attend is very disrespectful to our ally and will alienate many Americans. It is a grave mistake to not attend,” said Bacon, a vulnerable member who pointed to Israeli hostages who still remain in captivity.

“Not attending is a slap in the face to all these families,” he added.