Republican lawmakers are criticizing Vice President Kamala Harris' decision to skip Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress, calling it “disgraceful” as she opts to speak at a women's convention instead.
Netanyahu is set to address a joint session of Congress on Wednesday amid Israel’s 292-day war with the Hamas terror group. Harris, the likely Democratic presidential nominee after President Biden dropped out of the 2024 race, declined to preside over the address and will instead speak at the Zeta Phi Beta sorority’s Grand Boulé in Indianapolis, Indiana.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called Harris's decision “inexcusable.”
“She won't be there because she refuses to attend,” Johnson said at a GOP news conference Tuesday. “She needs to be held accountable for that.”
Israeli PM Netanyahu to address Congress amid absences of high-profile figures
“Kamala Harris is reportedly refusing to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress tomorrow. This is a disgrace. She continues to display her anti-Semitism and contempt for the Jewish people,” Sen. Marsha Blacburn, R-Tenn., wrote in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Vice President Kamala Harris will not be attending Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's joint address. It is shameful that she is turning her back on one of our most important allies,” said Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., said Harris' decision not to attend the speech was “to appease the radical anti-Semitic base of the Democratic Party.”
Families of U.S. citizens detained by Hamas pin hopes on Netanyahu's address to Congress
“Kamala Harris is the president of the Senate. Her conduct and behavior matter, both at home and abroad. Her decision not to attend tomorrow's address is a matter of petty politics and a shameful treatment of one of America's strongest allies,” said Rep. Anthony D'Esposito, R-N.Y., in X.
According to published reports, neither Biden nor the vice president were present to greet Netanyahu when he arrived on Monday. Biden, in particular, was in Delaware, still recovering from COVID-19.
Vice President Kamala Harris speaks at a campaign rally on June 28, 2024, in Las Vegas. (Bizuayehu Tesfaye/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
“Kamala Harris's refusal to greet Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu on the tarmac is reprehensible,” Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, said in a statement. “Her plan to boycott their joint address to Congress is shameful. It is clear that Harris sides with progressive, anti-Semitic members of her party. Texas will always stand with Israel.”
“Kamala Harris did not greet Prime Minister Netanyahu when he landed yesterday. She will not attend their joint address to Congress. And other Democratic senators also plan to skip it. Republicans are with Israel. The left is not,” Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, posted on X.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said Harris' absence from the speech was “cowering in the face of radical leftist anti-Semitism.”
“It's been 291 days since Iran-backed Hamas terrorists brutally attacked Israel and took so many hostages, including Americans,” Scott said. “When @Netanyahu arrived yesterday, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris refused to meet with him, once again turning their backs on our friend and ally Israel. Harris then doubled down on her disrespect for our ally by refusing to chair Prime Minister Netanyahu's address to a Joint Session of Congress.”
A security fence was put up around the US Capitol on Tuesday morning ahead of Netanyahu's speech the following day. (Fake Images)
Among the 120 hostages held by Hamas, eight are American citizens.
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An aide to the vice president told Fox News Digital that while she will not be present at the speech, Harris will meet with Netanyahu at the White House at some point during her visit to Washington, DC.
Fox News' Julia Johnson contributed to this report.
