Sheldon Whitehouse

Sheldon Whitehouse was born in 1955 and is currently serving as the junior United States Senator from Rhode Island. Senator Whitehouse was reelected in 2018 and his seat will be up for election again in 2024.

A member of the Democratic Party, Whitehouse served as Rhode Island’s United States Attorney from 1994 to 1998, nominated by President Bill Clinton. He was elected Attorney General of Rhode Island in 1998, a position in which he served until 2003. He ran and won the 2006 election to represent Rhode Island in the U.S. Senate and was reelected in 2012.

Senator Whitehouse is currently serving on the Finance Committee; the Judiciary Committee; the Budget Committee; the Environment and Public Works Committee; and the Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission).

Below is Senator Whitehouse’s voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish community.

Senator Whitehouse supported the Iran nuclear deal. He supports the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Senator Whitehouse criticized the decision to move the US embassy to Jerusalem arguing that it was a move that negatively impacted the relationship of the United States with Turkey and Saudi Arabia. He opposed UN Security Council Resolution 2334 that claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity.

In 2018, Senator Whitehouse cosponsored the United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act, a legislation that supported full funding of security assistance to Israel as outlined in the 2016 U.S.-Israel Memorandum of Understanding.

In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthens Israel’s security and allows a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel. In June 2019, Senator Whitehouse expressed his support for a resolution that opposes the delegitimization of Israel and the global BDS movement.