Senate Democrat calls Trump Gaza plan a 'hot mess'

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Monday that President Trump’s plan for the U.S. to take over Gaza is a “nonstarter” for many U.S. lawmakers and called it a “hot mess.”

“I'll be very blunt. My view is that the Trump plan is a non-plan. It's a hot mess,” Blumenthal said at a press conference in Israel, standing alongside bipartisan members of the Senate on a delegation to the country.

“The possibility of takeover by the United States is a nonstarter, I think, for most of us,” the Connecticut Democrat continued. “A takeover involving any troops, any taxpayer dollars, is simply a nonstarter.”

Blumenthal said he was encouraged, however, that Arab states will be presenting a plan to Trump and remarked on his recent talks with Jordan’s King Abdullah II.

“My talks with King Abdullah convinced me that the plan that the Arab states will offer to President Trump provides a realistic prospect for normalizing relations, self-determination by the Palestinians, regional defense arrangements and security for Israel,” Blumenthal said.

“If those components are part of a realistic plan, it could be a game changer for the region,” he continued.

At a press conference earlier this month, Trump laid out a proposal for the United States to take over war-torn Gaza and push nearly 2 million Palestinians in the region to resettle elsewhere.

“The U.S. will take over the Gaza Strip, and we will do a job — whether we’ll own it and be responsible for dismantling all of the dangerous unexploded bombs and other weapons on the site, level the site, and get rid of the destroyed buildings, level it out,” Trump said at the press conference earlier this month.

“Create an economic development that will supply unlimited numbers of jobs and housing for the people of the area, do a real job, do something different,” he said.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a close Trump ally, said at the Monday press conference that he just spoke to the Israeli prime minister and Israeli government officials, and “Their view is that Palestinians should be given the opportunity to leave if they would like.”

“I support that,” Graham said. “I will work with Israel to find countries that would host Palestinians if they choose to leave.”

He made clear, however, that “we're not talking about a forced exodus by Israel or anyone else.”

“One thing I will say, there's very little appetite that I've seen in the United States Senate for America to take over Gaza in any way, shape or form,” Graham added. “I think that would be a difficult sell in South Carolina.”

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