House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday he will extend an invitation to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress after members of his conference encouraged him to do so.
“We will certainly extend that invitation,” Johnson said on CNBC.
It’s unclear whether Johnson intended to invite Netanyahu to address both chambers of Congress or just the House of Representatives specifically. An invitation to address a joint session of Congress would require buy-in from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat who sharply criticized Netanyahu in a floor speech last week and called for Israel to hold new elections.
CNN has reached out to Schumer’s office about the invitation.
Netanyahu has since responded with sharp criticism of Schumer of his own and also addressed Senate Republicans via a video conference at their closed-door lunch on Wednesday.
On Thursday, Johnson also revealed he has been invited by Netanyahu to speak at the Knesset and that it would be a “great honor” to do so. Johnson’s predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, addressed the Knesset when he was speaker.
The consideration of having Netanyahu address Congress also comes at a time when additional military aid to Israel appears stalled on Capitol Hill. The House passed a standalone military aid bill to Israel in November that the Senate did not advance because the House bill offset the cost with cuts to the IRS. The Senate passed a bill with aid to Ukraine and Israel in February, but Johnson has made no effort to put that legislation up for a vote in the chamber as House Republicans have mulled several alternatives for sending aid overseas.
This story has been updated with additional developments.
