WASHINGTON – House Speaker Mike Johnson says he plans to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress, a present of assist from Republicans amid rising Democratic criticism of Netanyahu’s management.
“I would love to have him come in and address a joint session of Congress,” Johnson mentioned Thursday morning on CNBC. “We’ll certainly extend that invitation.”
Johnson mentioned it could be “a great honor of mine” to invite the Israeli leaderbut “we’re just trying to work out schedules on all this.”
Republicans have rallied round Netanyahu since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., known as for brand new elections in Israel on the Senate flooring final week. Schumer, who’s Jewish and a robust supporter of Israel, mentioned he believes that the prime minister has “lost his way” and is an impediment to peace in the area amid the rising humanitarian disaster in Gaza.
A U.S. speech by Netanyahu throughout the brutal warfare with Hamas might be seen in the U.S. as extremely politicized and could be met with criticism from many Democrats, particularly as many on the left flank have been sharply crucial of his techniques in the warfare.
Netanyahu appeared earlier than a joint assembly of Congress in 2015 at the invitation of then-Republican speaker John Boehner throughout delicate U.S. talks about Iran’s nuclear program, a transfer that Democrats criticized as partisan as a result of President Barack Obama’s White House was not initially consulted.
In an announcement, Schumer mentioned he would welcome an address by Netanyahu.
“Israel has no stronger ally than the United States and our relationship transcends any one president or any one prime minister,” he said. “I will always welcome the opportunity for the prime minister of Israel to speak to Congress in a bipartisan way.”
Johnson mentioned Wednesday that he had had a prolonged dialog with the prime minister and had “reiterated to him the House Republicans’ strong support for Israel in their efforts there.”
Netanyahu additionally spoke by video with Senate Republicans at their weekly caucus lunch on Wednesday, telling them in the closed-door assembly that he believes he nonetheless has assist in the United States and Israel and that he believes Schumer’s remarks have been inappropriate.
“We made it clear to the prime minister that in our judgment, the American people overwhelmingly support Israel’s war, that we understand the need to prosecute the war,” Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy mentioned after the video name. “Without conquering Hamas, we cannot have peace.”
Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell mentioned that Netanyahu had known as him final week and mentioned he needed to address the GOP convention. “Bipartisan support for Israel seems to be cracking on the political left in this country,” mentioned McConnell, who has been sharply crucial of Schumer’s remarks.
Former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, escalated the criticism earlier this week when he mentioned that “any Jewish person that votes for Democrats hates their religion.”
Schumer, the first Jewish majority chief in the Senate and the highest-ranking Jewish official in the U.S., strongly criticized Netanyahu in his 40-minute speech, saying that the prime minister has put himself in a coalition of far-right extremists and “as a result, he has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows.”
He warned that the nation may turn out to be a global pariah amid sustained bombardment of Gaza and that the warfare may go on eternally.
“As a democracy, Israel has the right to choose its own leaders, and we should let the chips fall where they may,” Schumer mentioned. “But the important thing is that Israelis are given a choice.”
Netanyahu had additionally requested to address Democratic senators individually, however Schumer rejected the request, arguing that such conferences must be bipartisan.
After Netanyahu’s remarks to the Republicans, Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, who can also be Jewish, praised Schumer’s speech and mentioned that the majority chief “appears to have shaken up the prime minister.”
“I think he’s nervous,” Schatz mentioned. “I have been here 12 years and I have never seen a prime minister talk to one party or the other.”
The Democratic Party has been more and more break up on the warfare and President Joe Biden has stepped up public strain on Netanyahu’s authorities, arguing that he wants to pay extra consideration to the civilian loss of life toll in Gaza.
Biden mentioned final week that Schumer “made an excellent speech” and expressed issues shared by many Americans. But he didn’t repeat Schumer’s enchantment for Israel to maintain elections.
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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves and Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report.
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