Hakeem Jeffries Receives Bipartisan Standing Ovations When Addressing Congress About Israel

Before he introduced the new Speaker of the House Wednesday, minority leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) received several bipartisan standing ovations for his remarks about Israel.

“Let’s also stand by President Biden,” Jeffries said as some Republicans muttered in the gallery, then reversed course as Jeffries continued.

“As he works to bring American hostages, and Israeli hostages held by Hamas back home. And international hostages,” Jeffries said as seats began to rise. “And American hostages, and Israeli hostages, and international hostages back home,” he repeated.

“We must also stand by our friends on the international stage,” Jeffries continued. “And we have no better friend in the Middle East than the state of Israel.

Again, Republicans and Democrats stood and clapped.

“Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state. The special relationship between the United States and Israel is unbreakable; our commitment to Israel’s security is iron-clad, and Israel has the right to defend itself under the international rules of war against the brutal terror unleashed on its citizens by Hamas.”

Once again, the entire gallery stood and applauded.

Earlier in the day, Jeffries went head-to-head with Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) for the House speakership. Johnson received unanimous support by all 220 Republicans to win the seat, while Jeffries received 209 votes from all of the Democrats present. Johnson is a supporter of Donald Trump and played an instrumental role in trying to have the 2020 election results reversed.

Watch the clip above via C-Span.