Trump’s Plan to ‘Take Over’ Gaza Baffles Loyal GOP Senators: ‘Probably a Couple of Kinks in That Slinky’
President Donald Trump’s latest foreign policy bombshell — announcing that the US will “take over the Gaza Strip” — has left Senate Republicans and congressional loyalists scrambling for answers, and in some cases, speechless.
Trump, standing beside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a press conference Tuesday, offered no details on how he envisions the US assuming control of the territory but declared: “We’ll own it and be responsible.”
The reaction among GOP lawmakers, reported by Politico, was one of confusion and skepticism.
“There’s probably a couple of kinks in that slinky,” said Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) when informed of Trump’s remarks.
One Republican senator, granted anonymity by the outlet to speak candidly, was equally bewildered: “I did not have this on my bingo card… I got so many questions.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune told Politico: “I think we’re obviously all interested in facilitating a solution to the Middle East, particularly with the whole situation in Gaza. How we best achieve that I think is still—it’s a subject of conversation, sounds like he’s got an idea on that.”
In attempt to get comment from those on Capitol Hill, some senators dodged Politico’s reporters entirely. Senate Foreign Relations Chair Jim Risch (R-ID) said he hadn’t heard the statement and refused to comment while Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) said he didn’t “know what to make” of it before joking that reporters should check back in a day.
Others tried to temper their response without outright rejecting the idea. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.): “We’ll see what our Arab friends say about that. I think most South Carolinians would probably not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza. I think that might be problematic, but I’ll keep an open mind.”
Pressed on whether he supported U.S. troops being stationed in Gaza, Graham said: “That would be a tough place to be stationed as an American.”
The episode has revived a familiar pattern: Trump dropping a geopolitical grenade, leaving Republican lawmakers scrambling to either make sense of it or distance themselves. During his first administration, GOP senators routinely claimed ignorance when asked about Trump’s latest controversial remarks. That playbook appears to still be in use.
Meanwhile Democrats largely condemned Trump’s remarks, with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), the only Palestinian American in Congress, took to X to accuse Trump of “openly calling for ethnic cleansing.”
