Stalwart Israel defender Brian Mast tapped to lead House Committee on Foreign Affairs

The US House of Representatives Republican Steering Committee announced its selection of Rep. Brian Mast (R-Florida) as the next chairman of the Committee on Foreign Affairs.

Mast currently serves on the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Oversight and Accountability.

 Roll Call described the Mast pick as surprising and said the conservative congressman is “known for his sharp tongue and grievance politics.” Axios called Mast the “dark horse” choice over Reps. Darrell Issa (R-California), Joe Wilson (R-South Carolina), and Ann Wagner (R-Missouri).

Mast will bring to the role his staunch support of President-elect Donald Trump, Israel and, notably, opposition to continued US support of Ukraine.

Israel support

While he is Christian, Mast devoutly supported Israel for several years before his 2022 run for office.

 Mast is a 12-year army veteran and an alumnus of Sar-el, the National Project for Volunteers for Israel, two titles he holds proudly.

He was a member of the US Army’s elite Joint Special Forces Special Operations Command, where he served as an explosive ordnance disposal operator. In 2010, he lost his legs to a bomb blast.

He credits witnessing anti-Israel protests at the Boston Common as a student at Harvard in 2014 – and being harassed for being a veteran by those protesters – for sparking his determination to support Israel.

Mast described the incident in a 2021 campaign video, saying, “Because of that instance, I decided that I was going to go and show my support for Israel, and I knew that I wanted it to be something military.”

He continued, describing an opportunity to volunteer alongside the IDF in 2015.

“One of the important things that I learned while I was over there serving was how every citizen across Israel desires nothing more than peace,” he said, explaining how he spent Shabbat with families who were all waiting for children or grandchildren to return from military service.

“And as a father of three, I know that there is no quicker way to break me down than to have to think about losing or burying one of my children, but that is the reality for every single family across Israel,” he said.

“That’s how I know that every single one of them truly desires nothing more than peace with Libya, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and every other neighbor throughout the Middle East,” he said. “Because they want to see their kids grow, and they want to see them prosper, and they want to see them start families.”

 SEVERAL DAYS after October 7, Mast caused shock waves by wearing his IDF volunteer uniform to Capitol Hill.

“Hamas called today ‘the Global Day of Rage.’ I call BS,” Mast said at the time. “That’s why, today, I pulled the uniform that I wore when I volunteered with the IDF out of the closet. It was my way to show solidarity with our biggest ally in the Middle East on the day that Hamas called for violence on Jewish people globally.”

He said wearing his IDF uniform was the “least he could do” to make it clear that the US would stand with Israel.

Several weeks later, the Republican representative again made waves on the floor of Congress when he said he’d encourage Democrats to “not so lightly use the term innocent Palestinian civilians as frequently [it was being] said.

“I don’t think we’d so lightly throw around the term innocent Nazi civilians during World War II,” he continued, justifying his claim that innocent Palestinians could not exist because of Hamas-infiltrated schools.

This January, Mast co-introduced the “Stop Support for UNRWA Act of 2024,” which would prevent any US funding to the relief agency or any other humanitarian one affiliated with terrorism.

“Our great ally is at war with our non-ally. And there’s one entity that is the entire workforce; nearly all of it is made up of our non-ally and works to support our non-ally, and we’re paying the salaries of these people that our non-ally is at war with,” Mast said in an interview with The Jerusalem Post in February after his bill was in markup. “We’re paying for the resources of these people: None of that adds up.”

Democrats, including Committee on Foreign Affairs Minority Leader Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), overwhelmingly opposed Mast’s legislation.

Mast told the Post that even if it’s in Israel’s best interest to prevent a humanitarian disaster in Gaza, it’s irresponsible to be asked to support both sides of a war.

His legislation did not move out of committee.

Voting record on Ukraine

 Mast’s voting record flip-flopped on Ukraine over the course of the war.

In 2022, after Russia’s invasion, he praised the resilience and determination of the Ukrainian people and said that the US needs to stand with Ukraine.

“America should always choose the side of democracy and freedom,” he said at the time. “I’ll continue to make that choice every day that I represent you in Congress.”

But Republicans for Ukraine, a watchdog from Defending Democracies Together, ranked Mast with a “very poor” F rating on Ukraine support.

Both this year and last year, he voted against a slew of Ukraine funding legislation and said he would not “blindly send” US tax dollars to a conflict with no clear goal.

Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the current chairman of the committee, praised the selection of Mast as his successor.

“With the world on fire, the House Foreign Affairs Committee is more important than ever. And I have no doubt Congressman Mast – a distinguished combat veteran and experienced member of this committee – will serve the nation well in this role, as he sacrificed in Afghanistan,” McCaul said.

“I look forward to continuing to work alongside him to advance US foreign policy through this crucial committee in the 119th Congress. Congratulations, chairman-elect!”

Fellow Steering Committee Florida Republican Reps. Mario Díaz-Balart, Vern Buchanan, and Byron Donalds called Mast a “true champion for freedom, both at home and abroad.”

“This is an honor for our state,” the representatives said. “And we were proud to advocate for him in this powerful position.”