WASHINGTON — When Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint session of Congress on Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris won’t be there. Neither will Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the Senate pro tem, who is third in line to the presidency.
The main reason Netanyahu is visiting the U.S. this week is to give this speech, which he was invited to deliver by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). But so far, at least three dozen Democratic lawmakers plan to boycott his remarks in protest of the conservative Israeli leader’s military campaign in Gaza.
“Prime Minister Netanyahu has created a humanitarian catastrophe,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told CNN last month. “I’m not going.”
“No, Netanyahu should not be welcomed into the U.S. Congress,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Monday on social media. “On the contrary, his policies in Gaza and the West Bank and his refusal to support a two-state solution should be roundly condemned.”
“As I stated last month, I will not be attending his address,” Sanders added.
Since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, Israel’s air and ground assault has killed more than 38,000 people in Gaza, most of whom are civilians, Palestinian health authorities reported this month. Netanyahu, meanwhile, has rebuffed repeated calls for a ceasefire.
Democrats have been pressing President Joe Biden to reevaluate U.S. support for Israel as the humanitarian crisis drags on in Gaza, where more than 2.3 million people have been driven from their homes. In recent months, the president has been more critical of Netanyahu, and in May, the administration paused the shipment of some weapons. But Netanyahu has brushed aside calls from Biden administration officials to change course.
When Netanyahu speaks in the House chamber on Wednesday, the vice president would normally be seated behind. But Harris will be in Indianapolis, where she is giving remarks at Zeta Phi Beta sorority’s national convention. Her event was scheduled before she became the likely Democratic presidential nominee this week, but the timing sure is convenient.
“The Vice President is traveling to Indianapolis on July 24 for a previously-scheduled event and will be unable to preside over Prime Minister Netanyahu’s planned address to a joint session of Congress,” an aide to the vice president said Tuesday. “Her travel to Indianapolis on July 24 should not be interpreted as a change in her position with regard to Israel.”
Harris will meet with Netanyahu later in the week at the White House, separately from President Joe Biden’s meeting with him, per the Harris aide.
“We anticipate the Vice President will convey her view that it is time for the war to end in a way where Israel is secure, all hostages are released, the suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can enjoy their right to dignity, freedom, and self-determination,” said the aide. “And they will discuss efforts to reach agreement on the ceasefire deal.”
Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who is Donald Trump’s vice presidential pick, reportedly won’t be at Netanyahu’s address, either. He’ll be tied up with campaign activities, too.
But virtually everyone else skipping the Israeli leader’s address is doing it to send the message that they reject his military campaign in Gaza, the humanitarian crisis he’s caused there, and how he’s damaged U.S.-Israel relations in the process.
It’s not just progressive firebrands planning to boycott. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, just returned from a trip to Israel where he met with the families of hostages and those who lost loved ones on Oct. 7.
In a fiery speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday, Van Hollen ran through many reasons why he’ll be skipping Netanyahu’s address. One reason is that the Israeli families he just met told him that they haven’t heard from Netanyahu or any member of his government in the months since the Hamas attack.
“I say to Prime Minister Netanyahu: Before you come to speak to members of Congress, go meet with the families I saw whose loved ones were murdered on Oct. 7,” fumed the Maryland senator.
Tom Williams via Getty Images
Van Hollen said he also heard from these families the same thing he’s seen reflected in polling: that large swaths of Israelis want Netanyahu to resign, and that they see his invitation to speak to Congress as a political stunt “to escape legal and political accountability” for his Oct. 7 failures.
Netanyahu is desperate to remain atop his “ultra-right extremist coalition” that he personally staffed with “racist, religious bigots,” charged the Democratic senator. “It sends a terrible message” to bring him to the United States right now.
Earlier Tuesday, more than 30 current and former Israeli senior executives and Israeli security officials told congressional leaders they had “grave concerns” about Netanyahu’s visit to the U.S. They similarly warned that his trip is political, as he has “lost the support of the Israeli people” and is currently facing a criminal trial for fraud and bribery.
“Congress will be hosting a leader without a mandate and one who is facing prosecution for major crimes,” they wrote to Hill leaders. “We cannot overstate this: Prime Minister Netanyahu poses an existential threat to the State of Israel.”
Here’s a running list of all the lawmakers who have publicly said they won’t be at Netanyahu’s address to Congress, drawn from various public statements:
1. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.)
2. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)
3. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
4. Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.)
5. Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
6. Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.)
7. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)
8. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)
9. Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.)
10. Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.)
11. Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas)
12. Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.)
13. Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas)
14. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus
15. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.)
16. Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.)
17. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.)
18. Rep. Nydia Velázquez (D-N.Y.)
19. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.)
20. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.)
21. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.)
22. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.)
23. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.)
24. Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.)
25. Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.)
26. Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)
27. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)
28. Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.)
29. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)
30. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.)
31. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.)
32. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.)
33. Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-Calif.)
34. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.)
35. Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.)
36. Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.)
37. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.)
