A group of former US officials who left Joe Biden's administration in protest over its Gaza policy has urged potential Democratic contenders in the 2028 presidential race to publicly denounce that approach. The appeal came in a joint statement published on Wednesday under the title "Gaza Resignees."
Twelve former officials signed the statement. They resigned between late 2023 and 2024, saying they could no longer serve a government that provided what they described as "illegal and unconditional support for Israel's actions in Gaza."
The signatories argued that accountability should begin with keeping certain people out of future administrations. "The most basic level of accountability, the most minimal level of consequences, is to ensure that those who have wreaked so much harm from within the highest levels of our Government cannot return to it," the statement read. It asked 2028 nomination candidates to commit to not hiring any administration official directly responsible for enabling Israel's military actions in Gaza.
The authors also took aim at several people they called "architects" of Biden's Gaza policy, accusing them of "whitewashing their own roles in enabling genocide." According to the statement, these officials stayed silent when they could have defended US law and instead worked to pursue ends that violated both American and international law. The former officials said many of them are now seeking a way back into policymaking.
The statement asks Democratic candidates to take three pledges. The first is to uphold the Constitution and pursue the national interest of the United States. The second is to acknowledge US complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza through arms, funding and diplomatic backing. The third is to build an administration that reflects US interests and leaves "no space" for anyone who was an "architect, leader, defender, or key enabler" of policies of unconditional support for Israel that amount to complicity in genocide.
Several rights groups, experts, scholars and United Nations inquiries have concluded that Israel's war on Gaza amounts to genocide. Since October 2023, the war has killed at least 74,564 Palestinians and wounded at least 175,770, according to Palestinian health authorities.
The Biden administration, which governed from 2021 to 2024, has faced criticism from progressive lawmakers and activist groups since the war began. US Representative Rashida Tlaib and New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani have both opposed continued US support for Israel, which has persisted since President Donald Trump was re-elected last year.
