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Sen. Ben Cardin, a Maryland Democrat, pledged on Wednesday to oppose David Friedman as President Trump’s pick for next United States ambassador to Israel, becoming the second Jewish politician in the chamber to announce a “no” vote on the controversial nominee.

“I have concluded that his past record would make it very difficult for him to serve as that unifying force… For that reason, I am unable to support his nomination as America’s top diplomat in Israel,” Cardin said in a statement Wednesday, referring to Friedman’s history of derisive remarks.

The bankruptcy attorney and Trump friend has drawn the ire of liberal Jewish groups such as J Street for calling left-wing Jews Nazi-enabling “kapos,” blasting former President Obama as an anti-Semite and backing right-wing settlement policies on the West Bank.

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Cardin is the ranking Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which considers the nomination before it is sent to the entire Senate for a floor vote. Friedman’s nomination is likely to pass no matter how many Democrats oppose him, given a wall of Republican support for the choice.

Contact Daniel J. Solomon at [email protected] or on Twitter @DanielJSolomon

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