Summary

Chris Coons was born in 1963 and is currently serving as the junior United States Senator from Delaware. Senator Coons’ seat is up for election 2026.

Coons joined the U.S. Senate in 2010 after winning a special election. He was elected to a full term in 2014. Before serving in the Senate, he served as President of the the New Castle County Council from 2001 until 2005 and as County Executive of New Castle County from 2005 until 2010.

Senator Coons is currently serving as the Vice Chair of the Select Committee on Ethics. He also serves on the Appropriations Committee; Foreign Relations Committee; Judiciary Committee; and the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship.

Below is Senator Coons’ voting record and public positions on issues important to the Jewish Community 

Senator Coons supported the Iran nuclear deal. He did not support the move of the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem. Senator Coons is a strong supporter of the two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Senator Coons supported the Taylor Force Act, which states that no American governmental funds shall be given to a Palestinian entity that financially rewards terrorists or their families. He criticized the UN Security Council Resolution 2334, which claimed that Israel’s settlements have no legal validity, and cosponsored legislation that objected the resolution.

Senator Coons 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.

Senator Coons opposes the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement and cosponsored the Israel Anti-Boycott Act and the Combating BDS Act of 2017, two bills that aim to fight discriminatory boycotts that target Israel. In 2019, he voted for the Strengthening America’s Middle East Security Act which, among other things, strengthened Israel’s security and allowed a state or local government to adopt measures to divest its assets from entities that boycott Israel.

Senator Coons is a cosponsor of the Anti-Semitism Awareness Act, which aims to provide for the consideration of a definition of anti-Semitism for the enforcement of Federal antidiscrimination laws concerning education programs or activities. 

Senator Coons is a cosponsor of Senate Resolution 234 – introduced in Congress on June 5th, 2019 – which reaffirms the commitment of the U.S. to the two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and argues that Israeli annexation of territory in the West Bank would undermine peace and Israel’s future as a Jewish and democratic state.