President Donald Trump’s far-fetched proposal that the U.S. take ownership of the Gaza Strip and redevelop it into the “Riviera of the Middle East” befuddled some Republicans, who noted it would contradict what he campaigned on.
“The pursuit for peace should be that of the Israelis and the Palestinians,” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) wrote in a post on Wednesday. “I thought we voted for America First. We have no business contemplating yet another occupation to doom our treasure and spill our soldiers blood.”
Paul had responded to a post from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who suggested he agreed with Trump. “Make Gaza Beautiful Again,” Rubio said.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a foreign policy hawk who rarely agrees with libertarian-leaning senators like Paul, also called the proposal “problematic.”
“I think most South Carolinians would probably not be excited about sending Americans to take over Gaza. It might be problematic,” Graham told reporters on Capitol Hill.
And Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said he didn’t “think it’s the best use of United States resources to spend a bunch of money in Gaza.” He told reporters that he would “prefer that to be spent in the United States first.”
Israeli bombardment and ground operations have demolished much of the Gaza Strip, turning several cities into “rubble-strewn wastelands.” The U.N. has estimated the process of rebuilding there is likely to take decades, with costs running as high as $80 billion.
Trump said Tuesday during a press conference at the White House that it will remain a “demolition site” for the next 10 to 15 years, urging Gazans to leave and never return.
“All of them — we’re talking about probably 1.7 million, maybe 1.8 million, but I think all of them,” Trump said. “I think they’ll be resettled in areas where they can live a beautiful life and not be worried about dying every day.”
Democrats condemned Trump’s comments and the of idea forcibly removing Palestinians from their homeland.
“Trump’s proposal to push 2 million Palestinians out of Gaza and take ‘ownership’ by force if necessary is simply ethnic cleansing by another name,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in a statement.
“It defies decades of bipartisan American support for a two-state solution — the only viable means to guaranteeing peace, stability, and security for both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples,” he added.
Others noted Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza follows his expansionist rhetoric elsewhere in the world, including advocating for the U.S. to acquire the Panama Canal, Greenland and even Canada.
“Trump wants to invade Panama, Greenland and now Gaza. Trump is a warmonger,” Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) wrote in a post online.
Trump’s proposal for a U.S. “takeover” and reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, likely involving U.S. troops, comes as his administration is shuttering the federal agency responsible for administering foreign aid and development assistance abroad.
Nearly all USAID employees have been put on administrative leave and told they would be recalled back to the U.S., except for those deemed essential. The agency’s workforce totals more than 10,000 direct hires. The Trump administration said it was working on a plan to pay for transportation for USAID employees and their families back to the U.S.
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“Spent the weekend feeding USAID into the wood chipper,” billionaire Elon Musk, the chair of Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, boasted over the weekend.