On the recordJuly 24, 2024
Mr. President, this afternoon--in just, actually, a few short hours--Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will deliver an address to a joint session of Congress. As his country faces multiple attacks on multiple fronts--an existential threat, actually--Prime Minister Netanyahu has come to the United States to affirm the strong relationship between his country and ours and to highlight the stakes of this war. This joint address comes at a critical time, and I am absolutely stunned and profoundly disappointed that the Vice President of the United States has decided to boycott participating in this particular speech. As we all know, it is traditional that the Vice President, as the President of the Senate, and the Speaker sit behind the invited speaker--in this case, Prime Minister Netanyahu. I remember several years back, when Prime Minister Netanyahu was last here, that the Vice President and the Speaker both sat in those chairs, recognizing the importance of lending that dignity and sense of gravity to the proceeding. But Vice President Harris can't be bothered with any of that. She is blaming her decision on a scheduling conflict even though the date of this speech was announced in early June. The only other item on the Vice President's schedule is a speech to a sorority convention in Indianapolis.…





