A bipartisan effort is underway to remove Sen. Bernie Sanders from the governing board of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum after records showed that he has failed to attend a single meeting during his 18 years of service, according to a report by The New York Post.
Sanders (I-Vt.) was appointed in 2007 to the Holocaust Memorial Council, the body that oversees the Washington museum located roughly two miles from the U.S. Capitol. The council convenes twice annually to guide the institution’s operations and educational mission.
Documentation provided to The Post by museum staff indicates that Sanders has been absent from every council meeting since joining the board. During that same period, Sanders rose to national prominence through his 2016 and 2020 campaigns for the Democratic presidential nomination, which helped bring democratic socialism into the political mainstream.
“There are two large meetings every year where people fly in from all over the country for it. But Bernie Sanders couldn’t be bothered to walk across the road in DC,” said board member Robert Garson, president of the American Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists.
Another council member, Wall Street executive Jonathan Burkan, also criticized Sanders’ record. “Eighteen is a good number in Judaism, but not in this case,” Burkan said. Both Garson and Burkan emphasized that they were speaking in a personal capacity and not on behalf of the museum.
The Holocaust Memorial Council was created by Congress in 1980 and is made up of 55 presidential appointees serving five-year terms, along with 10 members selected by congressional leadership, split evenly between the House and Senate.
Garson and Burkan, both appointed by President Donald Trump, are among roughly a dozen signatories to a letter urging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to replace Sanders. The letter cites Sanders’ failure to attend meetings as well as his repeated public claims that Israel has committed genocide in Gaza.
“In the current context, with Jew hatred and Holocaust distortion rising globally, it is imperative that Senate-appointed representatives on the Council are fully engaged and steadfastly supportive of its mission,” the letter states. The signatories also objected to Sanders’ “public statements regarding contemporary genocidal conflicts” and noted that he “has rarely, if ever, attended Council meetings.”
“This is not a partisan issue, just common sense,” said Alex Heckler, a longtime Democratic Party activist and fundraiser who was appointed to the board by President Joe Biden.
“[Sanders’] beliefs and public statements do not reflect the stated mission of the museum. Also, he has never attended a meeting in the years I have been on the Council,” Heckler added. Heckler previously served as deputy national finance chairman of the Democratic National Committee during the 2020 campaign and remained on the board after Trump removed other Biden appointees earlier this year.
Trump-appointed board member Jimmy Resnick also voiced frustration over Sanders’ absence. “Why take someone’s place who will show up? I just don’t understand it,” Resnick said.
“He doesn’t care. It’s like a non-existent position,” Resnick added, noting that his late father, Abe Resnick, had also served on the council.
Resnick said other Democratic appointees had attended meetings, including Biden appointees Susan Rice and former second gentleman Doug Emhoff, both of whom participated as recently as last year before being removed from the board.
The reasons behind Sanders’ longstanding disengagement from the council remain unclear. Historically, socialist and communist groups played significant roles in armed resistance to the Nazis, and socialist Zionist leaders — including Israel’s first president, David Ben-Gurion — were central to the establishment of the Jewish state.
Neither Schumer nor Sanders responded to requests for comment. Senate President pro tempore Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who may also have authority to make a replacement, likewise did not respond.
Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, is one of 10 Jewish senators currently serving in the Senate. His critics argue that there are many other qualified candidates who could take his place on the council.
While the Holocaust museum does not shape government policy, it is widely regarded as one of the most significant Jewish cultural institutions in Washington and plays a major role in Holocaust education nationwide.
Sanders has been an outspoken critic of the Israeli government and earlier this month administered the oath of office to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a fellow socialist who has threatened to arrest Israeli Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu should he visit New York City.
In a lengthy statement published in September, Sanders accused Israel of committing genocide in Gaza, writing: “The intent is clear. The conclusion is inescapable.”
“That word emerged from the Holocaust — the murder of six million Jews — one of the darkest chapters in human history,” Sanders wrote. “Make no mistake. If there is no accountability for Netanyahu and his fellow war criminals, other demagogues will do the same. History demands that the world act with one voice to say: enough is enough. No more genocide.”
{Matzav.com}Federal authorities say more than 10,000 illegal immigrants have been taken into custody in Minneapolis since the beginning of the second Trump administration, with roughly 3,000 arrests made in just the past six weeks, according to an announcement Monday from the Department of Homeland Security.
“PEACE AND PUBLIC SAFETY IN MINNEAPOLIS!” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem declared in a post on X.
Noem said those arrested “were killing Americans, hurting children and reigning terror in Minneapolis because Tim Walz and Jacob Frey refuse to protect their own people and instead protect criminals.”
The stepped-up enforcement effort comes amid sharp criticism from city leaders. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey drew attention Sunday after describing ICE activity in the city as an “invasion” by the federal government during an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union.”
DHS said the arrests are part of what it has described as the largest immigration enforcement operation ever conducted in Minneapolis. Beginning shortly after Thanksgiving, the department deployed approximately 3,000 personnel from multiple agencies, including ICE, Customs and Border Protection, Homeland Security Investigations, and other federal units.
“In the last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murders, rapists, child pedophiles and incredibly dangerous individuals. A HUGE victory for public safety,” Noem said, before shifting her focus to a massive fraud investigation underway in the state.
“There is MASSIVE Fraud in Minneapolis, at least $19 billion and that’s just the tip of iceberg. Our Homeland Security Investigators are on the ground in Minneapolis conducting wide scale investigations to get justice for the American people who have been robbed blind,” she wrote.
The $19 billion figure cited by Noem exceeds earlier estimates. U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson previously put the total amount stolen by illegal immigrant fraud rings from Minnesota’s human services programs at approximately $9 billion, much of it allegedly tied to members of the state’s Somali community. The higher number was also referenced by President Donald Trump in a Truth Social post late Sunday criticizing Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.
“There is 19 Billion Dollars in Somalia Fraud. Fake ‘Congresswoman’ Ilhan Omar, a constant complainer who hates the USA, knows everything there is to know. She should be in jail, or even a worse punishment, sent back to Somalis, considered one of the absolutely worst countries in the World. She could help to MAKE SOMALIA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump wrote.
{Matzav.com}
The Kremlin said Monday that Russian President Vladimir Putin has been invited to take part in a U.S.-initiated “Board of Peace” focused on Gaza, an announcement that immediately drew attention given Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow is reviewing the proposal, which was conveyed through diplomatic channels, to join the peace council established by U.S. President Donald Trump late last year. The body is intended to help sustain a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and to supervise Gaza’s reconstruction following months of fighting.
“President Putin has indeed received an offer through diplomatic channels to join this Board of Peace. We are currently studying all the details of this proposal,” Peskov told the Russian state news agency TASS.
“We hope to contact the U.S. side to clarify all the details,” he added.
According to reports, Trump has extended invitations to a number of international leaders to participate in the Gaza initiative. Bloomberg reported Saturday that those invited include Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and Argentine President Javier Milei, as part of what is described as a broader Board of Peace framework.
Other countries have also confirmed receiving invitations. AP News reported Sunday that Hungary, India, Jordan, Greece, Cyprus, and Pakistan have all acknowledged being asked to join the Board of Peace.
Bloomberg further reported that the Trump administration is seeking a $1 billion payment from participating nations in exchange for permanent membership on the board, citing a draft charter outlining the group’s structure.
Putin’s potential inclusion has prompted questions due to Russia’s war against Ukraine, which has resulted in massive casualties among both soldiers and civilians. The conflict is nearing its fourth anniversary in February, with estimates placing the death toll in the hundreds of thousands.
Over the weekend, the United States also announced the members of a “founding Executive Board” for the council. The list includes former British prime minister Tony Blair, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, among others.
Israel, however, has expressed dissatisfaction with the way the initiative is taking shape. In a statement released Friday, Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu’s office said, “the announcement regarding the composition of the Gaza Executive Board, which is subordinate to the Board of Peace, was not coordinated with Israel and runs contrary to its policy.”
{Matzav.com}
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the Trump administration’s campaign to root out waste, fraud, and abuse has expanded to the Federal Reserve, where potential ethics violations by multiple senior officials are now under review.
Appearing last week on Newsmax’s “Rob Schmitt Tonight,” Bessent criticized the central bank’s financial performance and lack of accountability while discussing an investigation involving Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. “The Fed is now losing $100 billion a year – $100 billion with no accountability,” Bessent said. “We had the worst inflation in 49 years.
“And we’ll see what the tally ends up being, but a very good chance that we will have had ethics violations over the past — four to six of the regional presidents or governors.
“And there needs to be some accountability.”
Bessent contrasted the Fed’s structure with that of the presidency, arguing that while the Federal Reserve prides itself on independence, it operates without the same checks applied to elected officials. He suggested that unelected officials wield enormous power over monetary policy without sufficient oversight, even as they control money creation and interest rates.
“The Federal Reserve occupies a unique spot in the American governmental process,” Bessent told Schmitt last Wednesday. “They have no supervision, they have no accountability.
“And I think that we will look at this and think of a couple of things on Chair Powell’s watch.”
Bessent continued his criticism during appearances on Sunday talk shows, again warning about what he described as a lack of restraint and transparency at the central bank.
“Of course, he’s committed to the independence of the Federal Reserve, but independence does not mean no oversight,” Bessent said on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” referring to President Donald Trump’s pressure on Powell to lower interest rates.
During the interview, host Kristen Welker attempted to draw a comparison between construction work at the White House and renovation costs at the Federal Reserve, a comparison Bessent rejected outright.
“The renovations at the White House are not $700 million, more than $1 billion or $1.5 billion over budget, Kristen, and the White House, that is being paid for with private funds,” Bessent responded.
He went on to argue that the Fed’s financial autonomy demands greater transparency. “If I want to buy a new chair for my office at Treasury, that is an appropriation. Just to understand, the Federal Reserve has magic money. They print their own money. So when you have no oversight, why not have a little sunlight?
“Kristen, I have called since last summer for the Fed to do its own internal investigation. And that has not been heeded, not been heeded.
“And again, I don’t know about you. If I were to receive inquiries from the Justice Department, I would answer them. They went unanswered.”
{Matzav.com}