Trump administration officials and a bipartisan group of lawmakers reaffirmed the Holocaust would “never again” occur at the annual commemoration for the Days of Remembrance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, as Republicans and Democrats face growing accusations of antisemitism.
The Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Days of Remembrance ceremony has been held every year since 1979, commemorating the six million Jewish people killed in the Holocaust and honoring the U.S. troops who fought in World War II.
“We recommit to taking action together,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said, “in the effort to combat antisemitism, and Holocaust denial cannot be a Democratic issue or Republican issue. It is an American issue.”
Lawmakers used their speeches to condemn growing antisemitism in the country and honor a Nuremberg trials prosecutor with the Congressional Gold Medal, avoiding partisan finger-pointing.
But Trump-appointed administration officials didn’t receive the same response when they praised President Donald Trump as the “greatest friend” to Jewish people.
“No one thought it was possible that time and again, President Trump has shown through action, not just words, but bold action, that [he] is the greatest friend of the Jewish people,” Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said.
The remarks from Lutnick and Trump-appointed U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council Chairman Jeffrey Miller about the president were met with a small applause, while the bipartisan group of lawmakers’ statements emphasizing “never again” received standing ovations.
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With over 20 Holocaust survivors in attendance, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC), and Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL) honored the survivors during their remarks.
“The poisons of fascism and antisemitism come from the same vine,” Schumer said. “The only antidote is to call out and condemn antisemitism wherever and whenever it rears until the end. That is why we will continue. Keep our eyes open. Never again.”
Jeffries reaffirmed the commitment of Democrats and Republicans working together to end antisemitism.
“We must all commit to the destruction of antisemitism, burying it in the ground, and making sure that it never rises again,” Jeffries said.
Meanwhile, Johnson emphasized in his remarks the antisemitism on some college campuses that came to the forefront after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“Today, the work is even more important than ever,” Johnson said. “Not only because those who personally witnessed this tragedy grow fewer in number each year, but because denying and destroying the truth of the Holocaust has become something, once again, that is tolerated and, in some cases, even defended on college campuses.”
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Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was also seen in attendance but didn’t speak.
Nuremberg prosecutor honored
Johnson presented the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award bestowed by Congress, in honor of Benjamin Ferencz, who served in the U.S. Army during World War II and prosecuted Nazi war criminals in the Nuremberg trials.
Ferencz, who died in April 2023, was the last surviving prosecutor from the Nuremberg trials. He served as chief prosecutor in the 1947 Einsatzgruppen case that famously convicted 22 Nazi commanders for murdering over a million people.
Members of Ferencz’s family, including his daughter, nephew, and niece, accepted the medal on his behalf.
While taking a photo with the lawmakers after accepting the medal, Ferencz’s daughter cried out her father’s famous line to the silent crowd: “Law not war.”
Rising antisemitism in political parties
The bipartisan event comes at a critical time for both political parties, as they navigate accusations of antisemitism amid Israel’s escalating military operations in the Middle East.
An overwhelming majority of Jewish people, 91%, say they feel less safe as a Jewish person in the U.S. due to violent attacks in the past year, according to the American Jewish Committee 2025 report.
In the same study, 86% of American Jews say antisemitism has increased in the U.S. since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks.
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Democrats and Republicans have faced calls to condemn famous political commentators on both sides, including progressive Hasan Piker and conservative Tucker Carlson, for their controversial statements about Israel and Jewish people.
Piker has referred to some Orthodox Jews in Israel as “inbred,” while Carlson recently promoted a conspiracy theory blaming the Chabad-Lubavitch movement for the Iran war.
