Secretary of State Marco Rubio is planning to merge the responsibilities of the Palestinian Affairs Office into the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem in an effort to continue a diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that was put in place by President Donald Trump during his first term in office.

State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce announced Rubio’s decision during a press briefing Tuesday.

‘Secretary Rubio has decided to merge the responsibilities of the office of the Palestinian Affairs Office fully into other sections of the United States Embassy in Jerusalem,’ Bruce said. ‘This decision will restore the first Trump-term framework of a unified U.S. diplomatic mission in Israel’s capital that reports to the U.S. ambassador to Israel.’

She added that U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee will begin to make the necessary changes to implement the merger over the coming weeks.

‘The United States remains committed to its historic relationship with Israel, bolstering Israel’s security and securing peace to create a better life for the entire region,’ Bruce said.

The Biden administration established the U.S. Office of Palestinian Affairs in 2022 after reversing Trump’s closure of the consulate to the Palestinians in Jerusalem during his first administration.

Biden’s move was viewed by some as rewarding the Palestinian leadership after a wave of terrorism during which two Palestinians wielding an ax and knife murdered three Israelis in the town of Elad in May 2022.

The first Trump administration helped to negotiate groundbreaking agreements, called the Abraham Accords, in 2020 to normalize diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.

The Israeli government vehemently opposed a reopening of the Palestinian consulate in Jerusalem because it would undercut the holy city as the undivided capital of Israel.

The U.S. Jerusalem Embassy Act of 1995 recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and calls for it to remain an undivided city. 

Trump, in 2017, recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in 2017 and moved the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem the following year.

Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump’s new special envoy to the Middle East was sworn in by Secretary of State Marco Rubio Tuesday in an Oval Office ceremony.

Speaking before the swearing-in, Trump praised Witkoff, who was instrumental in securing an extended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the return of 33 hostages, including two Americans, who were being held by Hamas. 

Trump said Witkoff has ‘been with me, more or less, one way or the other, every step of the way,’ adding that he has ‘absolute confidence and support and trust’ in his Middle East envoy’s ability to secure key deals in the realm of foreign diplomacy, such as ceasefire agreements between Israel and Hamas and between Ukraine and Russia. 

Though Witkoff is a real estate businessman by trade, Trump said he ‘quickly established himself as one of the toughest, smartest and best negotiators in the business,’ which is why he chose him for the important role of special envoy to the Middle East.

‘As a businessman, he’s admired and respected by all, and now Steve is putting his talents to work for America’s special envoy to the United States and making a lot of progress. Our country is blessed to have a negotiator of such skill and experience who really selflessly steps up to the plate, puts himself forward all the time,’ the president said.

Trump did note there was somewhat of a learning curve for Witkoff when it came to foreign government relations but said he has been ‘figuring it out’ at a lightning pace. 

‘It takes him about an hour to figure it out,’ Trump said. ‘After that, he’s brutal. He does a great job.’ 

Trump noted Witkoff has already been active over the last several months, meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and leaders from Iran. 

‘He’s working tirelessly to end the bloody and destructive conflicts,’ said Trump, touting Witkoff’s success so far in negotiations with various world leaders.

After the ceremony, Trump took questions from reporters, addressing a range of topics, including the just-announced ceasefire between the U.S. and the Houthis. When asked about conflicting reports indicating the Houthis do not plan to stop attacking Israel, Trump said that the terror group’s surrogates have indicated ‘very strongly’ that ‘they want nothing to do with [the United States].’  

Trump was also asked questions about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and, in particular, about the release of the remaining 21 living hostages. 

‘This is a terrible situation. We’re trying to get the hostages out. We’ve gotten a lot of them out,’ Trump told reporters, noting it is also just important to find and return the bodies of those already killed by Hamas. 

He shared that two weeks ago a couple whose son died as a hostage came to him and said, ‘Please, sir, my son is dead. Please get us back his body.’ 

‘They wanted his body. He’s dead,’ Trump said from the Oval Office after Witkoff’s confirmation. ‘They know. He said they wanted his body as much as you would want the boy if he was alive. It’s a very sad thing.’

Trump also commented on Iran and its potential development of nuclear weaponry. The president said definitively that ‘they’re not going to have a nuclear weapon.’

‘This is really crunch time. I would tell you, for Iran and for their country, this is a very important time for Iran. This is the most important time in the history of Iran, for Iran, and I hope they do what’s right,’ Trump told reporters. 

‘I’d love to see a peace deal, a strong peace deal. … We want it to be a successful country,’ he added. ‘We don’t want to do anything that’s going to get in the way of that. But they can’t have a nuclear weapon. And if they choose to go a different route, it’s going to be a very sad thing. And it’s something we don’t want to have to do, but we have no choice.’ 

The top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee has called on the Department of Justice and the FBI to ‘immediately investigate’ a string of anonymous pizza deliveries sent to judges’ homes.

In the event that the DOJ and the FBI have already initiated investigations, Senate Judiciary Committee Ranking Member Dick Durbin, D-Ill., also asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Kash Patel for an update on those efforts. 

‘In recent months, federal judges and their relatives have received anonymous deliveries to their homes,’ Durbin wrote in a letter to Bondi and Patel on Tuesday. ‘These deliveries are threats intended to show that those seeking to intimidate the targeted judge know the judge’s address or their family members’ addresses. The targeted individuals reportedly include Supreme Court justices, judges handling legal cases involving the Administration, and the children of judges. Some of these deliveries were made using the name of Judge Esther Salas’s son, Daniel Anderl, who was murdered at the family’s home by a former litigant who posed as a deliveryman.’

‘These incidents threaten not only judges and their families, but also judicial independence and the rule of law,’ Durbin wrote. ‘It is imperative that the Justice Department (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) investigate these anonymous or pseudonymous deliveries and that those responsible be held accountable to the full extent of the law.’

Durbin asked that Bondi and Patel provide ‘information on any steps that DOJ or the FBI have taken to protect the judges and their families who have received anonymous or pseudonymous deliveries and to prevent further anonymous or pseudonymous deliveries and other threats.’ His letter also highlighted ‘the essential role that the U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) plays in protecting the federal judiciary and urge you to ensure that the size of the USMS workforce is not reduced.’ 

The Democrat said USMS Acting Director Mark P. Pittella reportedly sent a letter on April 15 to more than 5,000 USMS employees offering them the opportunity to resign. 

‘In the midst of increasing threats of violence against judges, it is inappropriate and unacceptable to reduce the size of the agency tasked with protecting the federal judiciary and the judicial process,’ Durbin wrote. ‘Accordingly, I ask you to commit to fully supporting USMS and to maintaining or increasing its current number of employees.’ 

The letter further asked that Bondi and Patel brief the committee and provide responses to a series of questions by May 20, including how many anonymous pizza deliveries have been sent to judges’ homes or the homes of their family members since Jan. 20 – President Donald Trump’s Inauguration Day; whether each matter prompted an investigation and if not, why; and how many suspects have been identified and if there’s any reason to suspect coordination. 

Durbin said any responses with ‘classified or law-enforcement sensitive material’ should be sent to the committee Democrats under a separate cover.

The letter only named one impacted judge – U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. 

Salas’ 20-year-old son, Daniel Anderl, was murdered on July 19, 2020, at the family’s home in North Brunswick, New Jersey. The gunman, who posed as a FedEx delivery driver, also critically wounded Salas’ husband. The suspect was identified as Roy Den Hollander, a self-proclaimed anti-feminist lawyer who previously appeared in Salas’ courtroom. Authorities said Den Hollander died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in upstate New York days after killing Daniel. 

Before the shooting, Salas had handled high-profile cases, including those involving Jeffrey Epstein and the Real Housewives of New Jersey stars Teresa and Joe Giudice.

Last month, Salas told news outlets that she and other judges have received strange pizza deliveries at their homes, with at least 10 of them having her son’s name on the order. 

In March, Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s family members reported receiving strange pizza deliveries to separate households, Newsweek reported. Authorities said Barrett’s sister also received a bomb threat. 

J. Michelle Childs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also claimed in a podcast last month that a mysterious pizza delivery had arrived at her door. 

‘Federal judges are receiving anonymous deliveries as an intimidation tactic. It’s an ongoing threat… and it’s increasing,’ Durbin wrote on X. ‘Some deliveries are even using the name of a judge’s son who was murdered by a former litigant posing as a deliveryman. Attorney General Bondi and FBI Director Patel must investigate.’ 

‘Judges are facing ongoing and increasing threats… even against their families,’ Senate Judiciary Democrats said on X. ‘Pam Bondi must commit to fully supporting the Marshals Service and—at minimum—maintaining the current size of its workforce.’ 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Justice Department and the FBI for comment early Wednesday but did not immediately hear back.