House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday that he will invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before a joint session of Congress about the ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza, but did not indicate that the request has already been made.
“I would love to have him come in and address a joint session of Congress,” the Louisiana Republican told CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” “We’ll certainly extend that invitation.”
Johnson said Netanyahu has invited him to speak to Israel’s Knesset once the scheduling is worked out, the speaker confirmed, adding that he guesses “we’ll find out” if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who spoke out against the prime minister last week, will need to agree to allow him to address Congress.
“I’m the one that extends the invitations to speak in the House, and if we just have the House, that’s fine too,” said Johnson. “But I think a big majority of that Senate would want to come and stand in support of Netanyahu and Israel.”
A Schumer spokesperson told Axios that Johnson and Schumer have not yet discussed the invitation.
But Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a statement that Israel “has no stronger ally than the United States and our relationship transcends any one president or any one Prime Minister, adding that he “will always welcome the opportunity for the Prime Minister of Israel to speak to Congress in a bipartisan way,” he added.
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