FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — A move by House Democratic leaders puts U.S. Rep. Jared Moskowitz in position to help influence U.S. policy on Israel and the Middle East — assuming he gets reelected and Democrats take control of the House of Representatives in the November election.

House Democratic leaders announced Tuesday they had selected Moskowitz to serve as the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa, a move that puts him in line to chair the subcommittee if Democrats win control of the House.

The timing of the announcement — which stems partially from the downfall of a former colleague — could give him an election-season boost.

He is running in the newly configured 25th Congressional District in Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade counties, where an estimated 25% of the residents are Jewish.

Both Moskowitz and the Republican nominee, former Mayor Scott Singer of Boca Raton, are Jewish.

Moskowitz is in his second term, but he’s new to about half the voters in the 25th District because Florida congressional boundaries were changed significantly for the 2026 midterm elections.

The Moskowitz-Singer contest is among the most hotly contested races in the country. All the major independent ratings — Cook Political Report, Inside Elections, and Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics — report the 25th District is a toss up.

“As a Jewish Member of Congress, the grandson of Holocaust survivors, and a representative of a South Florida community with deep ties to Israel, this role is deeply personal to me,” Moskowitz said in a statement. “I will use this position to strengthen the unbreakable relationship between the United States and Israel, expand regional peace with our Gulf allies, and make sure American foreign policy is grounded in strength, security, and reality.”

Moskowitz had been the top Democrat on the Subcommittee on Oversight & Intelligence.

Party leaders were able to shift him over to the top spot on the Middle East subcommittee because of troubles involving former U.S. Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who represented an adjacent South Florida district.

She lost the committee spot after her November indictment on more than a dozen federal charges of stealing federal disaster funds, laundering the proceeds and using the money to support her 2021 election campaign.

Cherfilus-McCormick resigned in April after a House Ethics subcommittee found she committed 25 violations. She has denied wrongdoing and entered a not guilty plea to the criminal charges. She lost a comeback attempt in the Aug. 18 primary.

The Middle East subcommittee spot had been filled temporarily by U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif.

Moskowitz, a champion of Israel, was criticized by his unsuccessful primary challenger for receiving campaign contributions from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the big pro-Israel lobbying organization that has become a lightning rod for criticism among many progressives and some conservatives. The website OpenSecrets, which tracks money in politics, reports that of the $2.9 million Moskowitz raised through Aug. 4 for this year’s election, AIPAC was responsible for $953,900. Moskowitz has defended AIPAC money as “not anything other than Jewish Americans donating through an organization.”

Moskowitz defeated Oliver Larkin 63.5% to 36.5% in the Aug. 18 primary.

A week after the primary, party leaders elevated Moskowitz.

The progressive organization Demand Progress condemned the move. “Elevating someone who consistently sides with (President Donald) Trump in support of Israel … represents clear political malpractice on behalf of House Democratic leaders,” the organization’s senior policy adviser Cavan Kharrazian said in a written statement.

Ben Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser in the Obama administration, castigated the move in a series of social media posts. Reposting Moskowitz’s statement that he was honored by the appointment, Rhodes said, “Translation: a giant f— you from Democratic leadership to Democratic voters.”

The Council on American-Islamic Relations said in a statement that, “Giving Rep. Moskowitz oversight of Middle East policy in the House is an insult to American voters and a desperate attempt to shield the Israeli government from accountability.”

The current chair of the subcommittee is an across-the-aisle pal of Moskowitz, U.S. Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., who congratulated him on social media. “I look forward to partnering with him to protect America’s interests in the region, combat Iran and its malign influence and terror proxy network, and stand resolute in support of a strong US-Israel relationship.”

Like Moskowitz, Lawler is one of the most endangered incumbents in the House. His district in New York City’s northern and western suburbs is one of less than two dozen toss-up races.

Singer’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment. But he has made clear he thinks the subject is politically advantageous for him.

“I’m a strong supporter of Israel,” he said in an interview last month with the South Florida Sun Sentinel. “I’m optimistic about our chances in this district that is 25% Jewish. After August, finally voters in this district who care about Israel and Jewish issues will have a pro-Israel Jewish conservative” candidate.

At a Republican Party of Florida Republican primary debate in June, Singer said, “I’m confident about my chances in November because I know so many moderate voters who just voted for Jared Moskowitz because he’s a Jewish candidate and he’s OK on Israel, except that he’s really not,” adding that “I’m a proud American, a proud Jewish Republican, and I’m going to appeal to swing voters that we need.”

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