Posted on 07/23/24
| News Source: Arutz-7
Republican members of the US House of Representatives held a press conference following their weekly meeting on Tuesday during which Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) criticized Vice President Kamala Harris for not planning to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress on Wednesday.
"I'm happy to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for what will be his fourth address to a joint session of Congress. He will set the record surpassing Winston Churchill, as the foreign leader who's addressed Congress the most times because we live in historic moments and because his testimony directly to Congress is so important," Johnson opened.
Johnson reiterated that the US and Israel are united in a common cause to bring the hostages home and against their common enemies and emphasized that "we have to be clear that Israel is not alone. It has never been more important than it is right now for us to stand with our closest ally in the Middle East."
Turning to Vice President Harris, the Speaker admonished: "It's outrageous to me and inexcusable that Kamala Harris is boycotting this joint session. This a historic moment, it's an important moment for the country, the gravity of this situation can not be overstated. And yet, Kamala Harris will abandon her seat. As you all know, as the Vice President and as the President of the Senate, she is supposed to be seated next to me at the rostrum. She will not be there because she refuses to attend. She needs to be held accountable for that, she needs to be asked very serious questions about why.
He continued: "They went down the roster to see who else would sit in the seat. Senator Patty Murry (D-WA) declined the opportunity as well, she will also boycott the event. They landed on Senator (Ben) Cardin (D-ME) who's retiring from the Senate so has little political risk. The idea that they're making political calculations when our ally is in such dire straits, fighting for its very survival and fighting back against the horrific attack in October is unconscionable to us.
"America's relationship with Israel has always been bipartisan and it should stay that way," he concluded.