Democrat congressional candidate and former member walks back calling Kevin McCarthy’s meeting with Hasidic leaders a ‘waste of time’ after antisemitism accusations
- ‘This disgusting post is insulting to Jewish people and every person of faith,’ Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat from New Jersey, shot back
- ‘This was not a waste of time. It is never a waste of time to meet with religious leaders,’ added Rep. Jared Moskowitz
Democrat Mondaire Jones walked back a remark where he accused Speaker Kevin McCarthy of ‘wasting time’ by meeting with Hasidic Jews after it drew backlash from within his own party.
Reacting to the news McCarthy was ousted as speaker, Jones posted a photo of the California Republican meeting with Hasidic leaders and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., on X. ‘Well this was a waste of everyone’s time,’ he captioned the photo.
Jones was voted out of Congress last year but is running again for Lawler’s seat.
‘This disgusting post is insulting to Jewish people and every person of faith,’ Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a Jewish Democrat from New Jersey, shot back.
‘Meeting with religious leaders is critical to understanding the needs of our communities. This antisemitic rhetoric is deeply concerning.’
Jones walked back a remark where he accused Speaker Kevin McCarthy of ‘wasting time’ by meeting with Hasidic Jews after it drew backlash from within his own party
‘This was not a waste of time. It is never a waste of time to meet with religious leaders,’ added Rep. Jared Moskowitz, a Florida Jewish Democrat. ‘Additionally, I doubt your choice of religion to highlight here was coincidental.’
McCarthy has made a number of pilgrimages to New York to meet with Orthodox Jewish leaders to court their support for Republican candidates in the Empire State.
A day later, Jones issued a retraction. ‘I posted a tweet that was too open to misinterpretation,’ he wrote on X.
‘My point was to communicate that Kevin McCarthy, and by extension Mike Lawler, cannot possibly deliver for communities in Rockland because he’s no longer Speaker. Regrettably, I did not make this point clear enough, and so I have deleted the tweet.’
His comments came one day after McCarthy was pushed out of his job with the votes of eight Republicans and all Democrats.
Jones lost his seat after redistricting in New York put him in a primary with then- Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) chairman Sean Patrick Maloney. Maloney was then unseated by freshman Rep. Lawler in the swing district.