Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer listens to a question during a news conference on President Barack Obama's signature healthcare law, Wednesday, Jan. 4, on Capitol Hill. | AP Photo McConnell, Schumer back resolution condemning U.N. over Israel vote

Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer are backing a resolution championed by Marco Rubio that objects to the United Nations’ recent condemnations of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, all but assuring the Senate will move to publicly criticize the international body.

The resolution, written by Rubio and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) with heavy input from leadership in both parties, will express “grave objection” to the United Nations vote in December and calls for a reversal of the controversial action, according to a copy of the resolution reviewed by POLITICO.


The resolution “urges the current presidential administration and all future presidential administrations to uphold the practice of vetoing all United Nations Security Council resolutions that seek to insert the Council into the peace process, recognize unilateral Palestinian actions including declaration of a Palestinian state, or dictate terms and a timeline for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” according to the draft text. It also “demands that the United States ensure that no action is taken at the Paris Conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict scheduled for January 15, 2017."

Given the effort’s bipartisan nature, the resolution does not explicitly criticize the Obama administration’s decision to abstain from vetoing the U.N.’s 14-0 vote against the Israeli settlements. But it does demand that both President Barack Obama and Donald Trump work against further anti-settlement actions by the U.N.

“This resolution expresses the Senate's rejection of continued anti-Israel efforts at the United Nations, reiterates our commitment to Israel, and urges the incoming administration to work with Congress on this issue,” Rubio said in a statement.

And in a forthcoming release, McConnell and Schumer will both criticize the administration for not vetoing the UN resolution.

"It is highly regrettable that one of President Obama's last actions in office was again to abandon our ally Israel,” McConnell will say.

“Past administrations — both Democrat and Republican — have protected Israel from the vagaries of this biased institution,” Schumer will say. “Unfortunately, by abstaining on United Nations Resolution 2334, this administration has not followed in that path."

Rubio and Cardin already have 20 co-sponsors for the measure, including GOP hawks like Tom Cotton of Arkansas and John McCain of Arizona and Democrats like Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), who introduced his own response to the UN, is also on board.

With Senate action looking imminent, it appears the entire Congress is set to decry the United Nations' stance toward Israel. The House plans to pass a similar resolution on Thursday.