House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Thursday she plans to attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s March 3 speech on Iran to a joint meeting of Congress, but decried the “politicization” of the U.S.-Israeli relationship that she said has resulted from the invitation by House Republican leaders.
Pelosi stopped short of suggesting Democrats boycott the speech, as many have suggested they might do, but noted: “You never know. Things happen in people’s scheduling. They do. You just never know.
“It’s still my hope that it will not take place.”
Democrats are upset that House Speaker John Boehner invited Netanyahu without consulting the White House as protocol would usually demand. President Obama has said he will not meet the Israeli leader while he is in Washington.
Boehner on Thursday continued to defend the invitation. “There’s a message that the American people need to hear, and I think he’s the perfect person to deliver it,” he said.
The furor over Netanyahu’s speech has colored the debate over new sanctions against Iran, which the White House strongly opposes and most Republicans — and some Democrats — favor.
Sanctions legislation was approved Jan. 29 by the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee in a bipartisan vote, but has been put on hold to give international negotiators time to see if they can work out a framework for limiting Iran’s nuclear program by a self-imposed March 24 deadline.
Some observers have noted that Democratic anger over Netanyahu’s upcoming appearance played a role in the delay of legislation, but lawmakers who support sanctions also remain deeply skeptical of both Iran’s intentions and the Obama administration’s negotiating strategy.
