President Harry Truman was fond of referring to State Department employees derisively as the “striped pants boys.” That antagonism was sometimes mutual, as was the case in May 1948, when Truman granted de facto American recognition of the newly established state of Israel. This was done to the chagrin of many in the State Department, where anti-Zionist sentiment was rampant.
Indeed, according to Truman biographer David McCullough, tensions between the White House and the State Department grew extremely fraught during this period. White House officials were accusing career State Department employees of antisemitism, while the State Department believed the White House was more concerned with domestic political considerations — i.e., the Jewish vote.
In the end, Truman’s prerogative as president won out. As he would later write, “The problem with many career officials in government is that they regard themselves as the men who really run the government.” Truman continued: “I wanted to make it plain that the President of the United States, and not a second or third echelon in the State Department, is responsible for making policy.”
Seventy-five years later, tensions between State Department employees and the White House are again threatening to boil over — and once again, it is over the Jewish state. Last month, an 11-year veteran at the State Department, Josh Paul, publicly resigned over the Biden administration’s policy of standing in solidarity with Israel. In a scathing resignation letter, Paul denounced the administration for its “blind support” for the Israelis over Palestinians.
That was just the opening salvo. This week, news broke that dozens of State Department employees have been circulating internal memos to Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling for a cease-fire in Gaza. This isn’t just yelling into the void. Blinken has met in person with at least some of these signatories, which might be a tacit admission that the problem won’t fizzle out on its own.
Such developments threaten to undermine President Joe Biden’s strong stance in defense of Israel. In the wake of the Hamas terror attacks of Oct. 7, the president responded resolutely by sending an American aircraft carrier to the region and boldly reaffirming U.S. support for Israel. More recently, however, that support seems to come with more and more caveats.
In private conversations with their Israeli counterparts, American officials are warning that Israel is running out of time before support erodes for its military operations. Publicly, Biden has urged Israel to avoid civilian casualties, which, of course, Israel already understands is crucial to retaining international support. This past week, the president observed that Gaza’s hospitals “must be protected,” even as the Israeli military was battling Hamas militants outside the al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, which sits atop one of Hamas’ underground headquarters.
It’s not just the executive branch that’s struggling to keep its ranks in order. The New York Times recently detailed the extent to which congressional staffers are breaking with their bosses over support for Israel. Recently, more than 100 congressional staffers took part in a walkout to protest the stance on Israel held by the members of Congress they work for.
“Our constituents are pleading for a cease-fire,” said a few of the aides. “We are the staffers answering their calls.”
Delusions of grandeur aside, this is reflective of a generational shift for Democrats on the issue. In recent years, the party’s base has shifted dramatically to the point in which, according to pollster Gallup, a majority of Democrats now support Palestinians over Israel. That’s a significant shift from just 10 years ago, when Democrats favored Israel by 35 percentage points.
For Democrats, it’s past time for the adults in the room to reassert control. From the White House to Capitol Hill, our elected officials cannot be strong-armed by their subordinates. In the coming months, the U.S. will have to make tough decisions in regard to the Middle East.
Americans deserve to know where the buck stops.
Tyler Michals is a practicing attorney in Chicago.
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