Johnson says Netanyahu will address joint session of Congress ‘soon’

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) announced Thursday that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will “soon” speak to a joint session of Congress.

“Tonight, I am pleased to announce one more thing: that we will soon welcome Prime Minister Netanyahu to the Capitol for a joint session of Congress,” Johnson said Thursday during a speech marking Israel’s independence at an event organized by the Israeli embassy.

“This will be a timely and I believe very strong demonstration of support for the Israeli government in its time of greatest need,” he continued.

The Hill has reached out to Johnson’s office for more details on the exact date, although Johnson told reporters on Wednesday that he was working with Netanyahu and would send a formal invitation this week, NBC News reported.

The expected joint session follows days of back-and-forth between Johnson and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY.) over whether Netanyahu should be allowed to address a joint session of Congress amid sharp criticism over the strategy of Israel in its war with Hamas in Gaza.

Johnson said Wednesday that he expected Schumer to sign off on Netanyahu’s visit after informing the Senate leader that he needed to sign off on the joint invitation, or the House would proceed with the Israeli leader’s House-only invitation.

Schumer’s office told The Hill earlier this month that the Senate leader “intends to join the invitation, the timing is being worked out.”

The Hill reached out to Schumer’s office Thursday night for comment.

Some Democrats have already said they plan to skip the speech, including Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), who is Jewish and described Netanyahu as “a threat.”

“I boycotted your last visit. I certainly won’t be attending this one,” she said.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Wednesday he would boycott any speech by Netanyahu, citing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, where at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed since the beginning of October.

Netanyahu last traveled to the Capitol and spoke to Congress in 2015. Several Democrats missed his speech at the time as a way of protesting the Israeli leader, who criticized then-President Obama for the nuclear deal with Iran.

Schumer’s promised support for Netanyahu comes after he called for new elections in the Middle Eastern country and declared that Netanyahu had “lost his way” in a speech to the Senate plenary in March.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story