US Senator: Trump ‘probably’ still moving US embassy to Jerusalem

A Republican US Senator suggested that perhaps Trump has only delayed moving the US embassy to Jerusalem instead of reversing course. 

US Senator from Tennessee, Bob Corker, gave an open-ended answer in an interview with the Politico Magazine‘s “Global Politico” podcast, regarding the prospects of President Donald Trump going forward with his previously-stated plan to move the US embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

“I see some evolutions taking place,” said Corker, chairman of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, in the interview. “I know that the (Trump administration’s) views relative to Israel…were potentially, a fairly strong departure from what has been the US view of the long-haul, best place for Israel to be with a two-state solution, and now you see discussions about slowing settlements down with Prime Minister Netanyahu.”

Corker suggested that Trump’s team may have been planning to make the move immediately after Trump’s inauguration.

“I think at one point, they were ready to move the embassy at 12:01 on January 20, maybe 12 and 30 seconds,” he added. “I think that was gonna be their first move at one point.”

Corker speculated that perhaps the Trump administration decided on delaying the move so as not to interfere with the upcoming Senate hearings on Trump’s nominee for US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, who is a staunch proponent of moving the US embassy to Jerusalem.

“My guess is they may be waiting now until after (Friedman) is confirmed, to make additional moves,” Corker said.

Although the senator’s hunch is that “they’re probably still moving there,” he recommends that the Trump administration “communicate properly” to the Arab world while moving forward with his plan.

“I think that they’ve got to communicate to the Arab world that this is not dampening in any way the two-state solution,” Corker suggested.

In a recent interview with Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN), Trump said that “there’s certainly a chance” that he will decide to move the US embassy to Jerusalem, but that the decision is “not easy” and “has two sides to it.”

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News