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The election is over with now President-elect Donald Trump defeating Vice President Kamala Harris.

In October, the Biden-Harris administration cited a federal law related to restrictions on military aid to countries that block U.S. humanitarian aid. Israel was given 30 days to improve the humanitarian and relief situation in Gaza or potentially see weapons and munition aid restricted under the U.S. law.

The U.S. State Department said Tuesday (a week after the election) the U.S. would not be cutting off military aid to Israel after the administration sent the Israeli government a notice before the election that the humanitarian situation needed to improve.

The U.S. has spent $22.8 billion supporting Israel in the war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon after the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks, according to Brown University.

That includes $17.9 billion in weapons aid to Israel approved by Congress and the Biden-Harris administration since the start of the war. The U.S. typically allocates Israel $3.8 billion in military aid annually.

Hamas and Hezbollah are both Islamist Iranian proxies.

The Biden-Harris administration had considered — but is now opting against — restricting U.S. military aid to Israel over dire humanitarian situations and civilian deaths in Gaza in the continued Middle East War.

“The intent was to inject a sense of urgency with Israel to take necessary steps to address the dire humanitarian situation of children, women, and men in Gaza. The effect has been that of the 15 steps that we urged action on, Israel has taken action either in implementing or being in the process of implementing 12 of the 15 steps,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in remarks to reporters Wednesday.

Blinken said the U.S. wants to see more prolonged pauses in fighting to allow for more aid to get in and that Israel still needs to go better in notifying Palestinian civilians regarding the issuing and lifting of evacuation orders. The U.S. also wants to see more commercial trucks allowed in and out of Gaza to bring in aid and supplies.

“The challenge there in terms of restoring commercial trucking has been a huge problem of lawlessness and looting inside of Gaza that needs to be addressed and that we’re working on finding a solution to,” Blinken continued.

The move came before the 2024 election in which Harris faced criticism from anti-war voters (including Muslims and Arab-Americans) opposed to U.S. military support for Israel.

More than 43,700 Palestinians have died in the war in Gaza, according to numbers cited by the United Nations and Palestinian groups. Those numbers include civilians and Hamas and other Islamist fighters. There are dire conditions in Gaza for Palestinian civilians.

Israel Defense Forces contend Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon purposely embed their fighters and weapons with civilians and civilian assets.

There have been more than 1,800 Israeli deaths in the war including those killed on Oct. 7, 2023 and IDF soldiers killed in combat. Approximately 100 Israeli hostages (a handful of them with dual American citizenship) are still be held by Hamas in Gaza.

The U.S. administration has failed to get a ceasefire in the Israel war with the Iranian proxies.

Some voters and interests who support Israel were also distrustful that Harris would keep with the pro-Israel policies of President Joe Biden and previous administrations.

Exit polls from the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) found Harris finished third in the presidential race, nationally, behind the Green Party’s Jill Stein (53%) and Trump (who promised to end the Middle East War) (21%). Stein opposes U.S. support for Israel and the war in Gaza.

Harris got 21% of the Muslim vote nationally. There are close to 4.5 million Muslims in the U.S.

In Michigan, Stein received 59% of the Muslim vote versus 22% for Trump and 14% for Harris, according to CAIR.

Trump carried the key Electoral College battleground over Harris by 80,600 votes He won Dearborn and Dearborn Heights —which have the country’s highest percentage of Arab-American population — after those jurisdictions went for Biden in 2020.

Harris was installed by party leaders at the top of Democratic ticket after they pressured Biden, 81, to quit over age concerns. Biden got 8 million more votes nationally in 2020 than Harris did in 2024. That’s a 10% difference.

Roughly two-thirds of Arab Americans are Christians, according to the Arab American Institute. Trump reached out Christians and Muslims in Michigan promising to end the war.

In Michigan, Harris got 80,000 fewer votes in 2024 than Biden did in 2020.

“Our final exit poll of American Muslim voters confirms that opposition to the Biden administration’s support for the war on Gaza played a crucial role, leading to a sharp drop in support for Vice President Harris compared to the support President Biden received from Muslim voters in 2020, and a sharp rise in support for third party candidate Jill Stein. President-Elect Trump also managed to make in-roads with Muslim voters,” said CAIR National Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw.

The Arab American Institute, American Friends Service Committee (the Quakers), Global Ministries (United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ) and Progressive Democrats of America continue to push Congress to impose an arms embargo on Israel over the Gaza war.

In the other corner the American Israel Political Action Committee (AIPAC and Christians United for Israel — two of the top pro-Israel groups — oppose an arms embargo against Israel pushes from the left. They also welcomed U.S. Sen. John Thune, R-South Dakota, being elected Senate Majority Leader Wednesday citing his pro-Israel record.

Trump won two counties — Passaic County, New Jersey and Rockland County, New York— with high percentages of more conservative Jewish voters that were carried by Biden in 2020.

A pre-election poll by the Manhattan Institute found Harris leading Trump among Jewish voters by a 67% to 31% margin.

Biden carried 68% of the 2020 presidential vote compared to 30% for Trump, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.

Exit polls from Edison Research showed Jewish voters in 10 key states voted for Harris by a 79% to 21% margin over Trump.

That is in contrast to a pre-election poll in Israel showing 66% of Israelis backed Trump versus 17% for Harris.

There are close to 7.5 million Jews in the U.S. They make up 2.2% of the U.S. population and 44.5% of the world’s Jewish population, according to the Jewish Virtual Library.

There are more Jewish people living in the U.S. than Israel (7.4 million people, accounting for 44.3% of the world’s Jewish population, according to JVL.

Trump announced Tuesday to appointment of Mike Huckabee — an Evangelical leader and pro-Israel advocate who was the former governor of Arkansas — as his pick for the ambassador to Israel.

“He loves Israel, and the people of Israel, and likewise, the people of Israel love him. Mike will work tirelessly to bring about Peace in the Middle East!,” Trump said of Huckabee.

Trump continues to name appointees and met with Biden at the White House Wednesday

Evangelical Christians are among some of the most ardent supporters of Israel.

CUFI supports Huckabee’s appointment.

“There is no better person to represent the American people in Jerusalem at this time. Governor Mike Huckabee believes in Israel’s right to self-determination and defense, not because it is politically convenient to do so but because these are immutable tenets of his core beliefs. Whether serving his congregation as a Pastor or his constituents as Governor, Huckabee has both the heart and mind for this Ambassadorship, and we know he will work tirelessly to ensure the relationship between America and Israel remains stronger than ever,” said CUFI Action Fund Chairwoman Sandra Parker.