House Speaker Mike Johnson is set to formally invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress as Israel continues its war with the terrorist group Hamas.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, plans to send out the invitations within the next eight weeks. If he fails to do so within that time frame, the Israeli prime minister could be invited to speak in September after the August recess, according to a senior spokesman for Johnson. The invitation timeline is as follows: Punchbowl News.
Johnson’s office said Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had agreed to Netanyahu’s joint speech despite Netanyahu’s recent call for new elections in Israel, which is at war with the country, and pressure from the Democratic left to oppose it.
Yale, Michigan University Anti-Semitism Faces Congressional Investigation
House Speaker Mike Johnson is preparing to formally invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, despite a public rift between President Joe Biden and Israel. (Getty Images)
When asked earlier about the possibility, Schumer told reporters: “I’m discussing this with the Speaker right now. As I’ve always said, our relationship with Israel is strong and it transcends any prime minister or president.”
This comes as Democrats and the Biden administration itself continue to publicly break with Israel, with the White House recently expressing opposition to a bipartisan effort to impose sanctions on the International Criminal Court over its warrant request against Netanyahu and another Israeli official.
“The United States has, in fact, said it supports the sanctions bill,” Netanyahu told host Morgan Ortagus on his SiriusXM show scheduled to air Sunday, as first reported by Politico. “Until just a few days ago, there was a bipartisan agreement, so I thought that was still the U.S. position.”
Republican senators call for criminal investigation into Trump judge’s gag order
Prime Minister Netanyahu was surprised and disappointed by the White House’s stance on ICC sanctions. (Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via Associated Press, File)
The Israeli prime minister told President Biden he was “frankly surprised and disappointed.”
The bipartisan opposition to ICC sanctions marks the administration’s latest public break with Israel.
The White House rejected the ICC’s decision, saying it did not believe the court had jurisdiction, while National Security Council Coordinator John Kirby said: “We don’t believe that sanctions against the ICC are the right approach here.”
Biden Administration Questioned for Promoting Abortion Pills Without Proper Environmental Studies
Biden had previously warned Israel against certain actions in Rafah. ((Fox News/Getty Images))
Israel has come under renewed scrutiny over its actions in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where it launched attacks targeting Hamas officials there and killing scores of civilians, further angering activists and lawmakers who have already criticized Israel’s actions in Gaza.
Biden White House rejects ICC sanctions proposed by lawmakers following Israeli warrant request
Smoke rises after an Israeli fire attack during an Israeli military operation in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, May 28, 2024. REUTERS/Hatem Khaled (Reuters/Hatem Khaled)
Biden has sent a clear message to Israel not to go ahead with an attack on Rafah, even claiming in a recent CNN interview that “if Israel invades Rafah, I have made it very clear that we will not supply them with the weapons that have historically been used to deal with Rafah or any city that deals with that.”
Click here to get the FOX News app
But the administration has suggested the president’s red line has not been violated by Israel’s recent actions in Rafah. “We are not going to talk about any policy changes as a result of Sunday’s attack,” Kirby told reporters after the attack.
Neither the White House nor Schumer’s office immediately responded to Fox News Digital for comment.
