Eric Levine, a prominent GOP fundraiser, wants Steve Witkoff, a special envoy to President Donald Trump, to be fired after Witkoff made comments defending Putin and Hamas.
Levine said in an email obtained by The Hill that Witkoff, a friend of Trump, was an "embarrassment to country and the President he serves.
"He should do the honorable thing and resign. Failing that, he should be summarily fired," Levine said in a personal email to his contacts.
Witkoff said he likes Putin and he did not see him as a bad guy in an appearance on Tucker Carlson’s podcast. He also said Hamas was ideologically "intractable" and that they need to demilitarize and "then maybe they could stay there a little bit … be involved politically," the Hill reported.
Levine, a board member of the Republican Jewish Coalition, said Witkoff was being naive and criticized his decision to sit down with Carlson.
"Anyone this naive and who is willing to rely on the word of a nihilistic Nazi death cult which has been clear about its contempt for Western Civilization, and its intentions to exterminate the Jews, destroy Israel, and which launched the October 7 attack, is simply not qualified to represent the United States in such critical state craft," Levine wrote in the email. "He clearly does not understand who he is dealing with or how to effectively negotiate with them."
Vice President JD Vance defended Witkoff amidst backlash to his comments Monday.
"The people sniping at him are mad that he is succeeding where they failed for 40 years," Vance said. Turns out a lot of diplomacy boils down to a simple skill: Don’t be an idiot."
Levine had previously donated to Sen. Tim Scott’s presidential campaign.