Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with Senator Chuck Schumer, on Capitol Hill, Feb. 15, 2017. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)
Senate Majority Leader says he is prepared to have Netanyahu address joint session of Congress – even after excoriating the Israeli leader and snubbing his request to speak with Senate Democrats.
By World Israel News Staff
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is prepared to sign off on a Republican-backed plan to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress, just a week after he publicly lambasted the Israeli premier on the Senate floor and called or his ouster.
Last week, Schumer blasted Netanyahu over his government’s opposition to a Palestinian state and called for snap elections to replace Israel’s longest-serving premier.
“The Netanyahu coalition no longer fits the needs of Israel,” Schumer said. “The Israeli people are being stifled right now by a governing vision that is stuck in the past.”
According to a report by Punchbowl News Wednesday, Schumer rejected a request by Prime Minister Netanyahu to address Senate Democrats, saying that such a meeting should not be made in a “partisan manner.”
While Netanyahu’s request to speak with Republican senators was accepted, with the premier addressing a luncheon of GOP lawmakers Wednesday, House Republicans have pushed for the Senate to agree to a joint session of Congress hosting Netanyahu.
The Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNBC he supported the plan, though a joint session of Congress would also require the Senate Majority Leader’s agreement. Johnson added that should Schumer deny the invitation, the Republican-controlled House would host Netanyahu without a joint session of 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.”
In a statement provided to the media, however, Schumer said he would welcome Netanyahu to Congress.
Israel, Schumer said, “has no stronger ally than the United States and our relationship transcends any one president or any one Prime Minister.”
“I will always welcome the opportunity for the Prime Minister of Israel to speak to Congress in a bipartisan way.”
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