House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., invited NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to address a joint session of Congress next month.
“It is my honor as Speaker, on behalf of the bipartisan leadership of the House of Representatives and the Senate, to extend to you an invitation to address a Joint Meeting of the two houses of Congress, assembled in the Chamber of the House of Representatives at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, April 3, 2019,” Pelosi wrote in a letter.
“During this critical time for the United States, NATO and the European Union, the U.S. Congress and the American people look forward to your message of friendship and partnership, as we work together to strengthen our critical alliance and advance a future of peace around the world,” she added.
The invite for the address, which comes as the North American Treaty Organization’s 70th anniversary nears, was agreed upon by both Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.,
“Leader McConnell and Speaker Pelosi have agreed to invite Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to address a joint session of Congress this spring. We will have additional details of the secretary general’s speech in the weeks to come,” McConnell spokesman David Popp told the Washington Examiner.
President Trump has previously criticized NATO, specifically criticizing NATO partners for slow progress in meeting the 2024 target of 2 percent of GDP contributions toward defense spending.
The invite offers the opportunity for a bipartisan welcome of NATO’s leader and gives Stoltenberg a rare chance to address legislators regarding many of the concerns Trump and others have raised.
Stoltenberg has led the organization since 2014.
