Nancy Pelosi to skip Netanyahu’s speech to Congress

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is among the Democrats who will skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu‘s address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday.

Dozens of Democratic senators and representatives, along with one House Republican, are boycotting the speech over Israel’s handling of its war against Hamas in Gaza. A spokesman for Pelosi said she would be meeting with families affected by the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel instead of going to the speech.

“Speaker Pelosi will not be attending today’s Joint Meeting of Congress,” Pelosi spokesman Ian Krager said in a statement. “This morning, she will join a Members meeting with Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings.”

The former House speaker has made her dislike for Netanyahu known but said she supports Israel. In April, Pelosi said Netanyahu should resign over the way he has handled the war.

Pelosi attended Netanyahu’s previous address to a joint session of Congress in 2015 but said afterward that she was “saddened” by parts of the speech in which he criticized the Obama administration’s negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program.

“That is why, as one who values the U.S. – Israel relationship, and loves Israel, I was near tears throughout the Prime Minister’s speech – saddened by the insult to the intelligence of the United States as part of the P5 +1 nations, and saddened by the condescension toward our knowledge of the threat posed by Iran and our broader commitment to preventing nuclear proliferation,” Pelosi said in a statement in 2015.

While current Republican and Democratic leadership in the House and Senate are mostly expected to attend the address, several prominent Democrats are skipping the speech.

Other notable Democrats skipping Netanyahu’s address include Vice President Kamala Harris, who said she would meet with Netanyahu but had to miss the address due to a previously planned speech, and Senate President Pro Tempore Patty Murray (D-WA), who declined to attend. With both Harris and Murray skipping, Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) will oversee the joint session alongside House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).

House and Senate leaders invited Netanyahu to address Congress in May. Wednesday’s address is expected to provoke significant protests in Washington from those opposed to the Jewish state.