Democratic congressional candidate and former member walks back, calls Kevin McCarthy’s meeting with Hasidic leaders a ‘waste of time’ after accusations of anti-Semitism
- “This disgusting post is an insult to the Jewish people and every person of faith,” Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat from New Jersey, shot back.
- “This wasn’t a waste of time. It is never a waste of time to meet with religious leaders,” added Rep. Jared Moskowitz
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Democrat Mondaire Jones walked back a comment accusing Speaker Kevin McCarthy of “wasting time” meeting with Hasidic Jews after it sparked resistance within his own party.
In response to the news that McCarthy was being ousted as speaker, Jones posted a photo of the Republican meeting in California with Hasidic leaders and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., in X. photo.
Jones was voted out of Congress last year but is running again for Lawler’s seat.
“This disgusting post is an insult to the Jewish people and every person of faith,” said Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat from New Jersey.
“Meeting with religious leaders is critical to understanding the needs of our communities. This anti-Semitic rhetoric is deeply concerning.”
Jones walked back a comment accusing Speaker Kevin McCarthy of “wasting time” meeting with Hasidic Jews after receiving backlash from his own party.
“This wasn’t a waste of time. It is never a waste of time to meet with religious leaders,” added Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Jewish Democrat from Florida. “Besides, I doubt that the choice of religion you highlight here was coincidental.”
McCarthy has made a number of pilgrimages to New York to meet with Orthodox Jewish leaders to drum up support for Republican candidates in the Empire State.
A day later, Jones withdrew his retraction. “I posted a tweet that was too sensitive to misinterpretation,” he wrote on X.
“My point was to communicate that Kevin McCarthy, and by extension Mike Lawler, cannot possibly deliver results for Rockland communities because he is no longer Speaker. Unfortunately, I didn’t make this point clear enough and that’s why I deleted the tweet.’
His comments came a day after McCarthy was removed from his job with the votes of eight Republicans and all Democrats.
Jones lost his seat after redistricting in New York put him in the primary with then-chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC), Sean Patrick Maloney. Maloney was subsequently dethroned by freshman Rep. Lawler in the swing district.