Blue and White party chairman Benny Gantz said at the start of his faction's meeting that "the prime minister landed in Washington today on a trip whose primary purpose should be advancing a mechanism to return all the hostages. I say again: The prime minister has backing from the people and he also has political backing. We are not talking with anyone about joining the government and there is no need for it." Gantz also addressed the military service exemption law, adding: "I would have expected the prime minister before his flight to insist on conscription, and not to postpone it to ensure that the law is full of enough holes to maintain the coalition."