An invitation to Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress has Democrats up in arms, given that the party’s antisemitic base may revolt at the ballot box in November.
House Speaker Mike Johnson announced on Thursday during a speech on Israel’s independence that he was working with Netanyahu on an exact date and would be sending the formal invitation this week, NBC News reported.
“Tonight, I’m happy to announce something else to you: that we will soon be hosting Prime Minister Netanyahu at the Capitol for a joint session of Congress,” Johnson said at an event hosted by the Israeli Embassy, before adding, “This will be a timely and, I think, a very strong show of support to the Israeli government in their time of greatest need.”
Johnson appealed to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), who rejected a Netanyahu request in March, to sign onto the invite.
“My office told Senator Schumer’s office yesterday that he needed to sign the joint letter and if not, we were going to proceed and invite Netanyahu just to the House, and I’ll send individual invitations to senators,” Johnson said Tuesday, according to NBC News.
Schumer slammed Netanyahu in March while calling for new elections in Israel, claiming the prime minister had “lost his way” in his quest to defeat the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
“It’s a terrible idea. No, I won’t go. You have a Prime Minister who has created the worst humanitarian disaster in modern history,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said last week on CNN.
Sen. Bernie Sanders on Benjamin Netanyahu potentially being invited to address a joint session of Congress right now: “It’s a terrible idea. No I won’t go. You have a Prime Minister who has created the worst humanitarian disaster in modern history.” pic.twitter.com/czy0CICqSo
— Jeremy Slevin (@jeremyslevin) May 23, 2024
House Intelligence Committee Ranking Member Jim Himes (D-CT) said Netanyahu “should be focused on freeing hostages, not on charming legislators,” according to Axios.
Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI), a member of Democratic leadership, told the outlet, “I don’t think it’s a good time … let’s not complicate an already complicated situation.”
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said emphatically, “No.”
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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