House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday criticized Speaker John Boehner’s decision to invite Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address a joint session of Congress.
Pelosi said Boehner, R-Ohio, should have first consulted with the rest of the bipartisan leadership in the House and Senate, as has been the case in the past.
“It’s out of the ordinary that the speaker would decide that he would be inviting people to a joint session without any bipartisan consultation,” Pelosi said.
She also questioned the timing of the address, saying Netanyahu’s scheduled March 3 address would occur within two weeks of the elections in Israel.
“I don’t think that’s appropriate for any country, that the head of state would come here within two weeks of his own election in his own country,” Pelosi said.
Boehner’s invite also left the White House perturbed. They called it a breach of protocol for Boehner to unilaterally invite Netanyahu.
Boehner on Wednesday said he extended the invitation to give Netanyahu an opportunity to discuss the threat of terrorism in the Middle East from both Islamic State terrorists and Iranian-sponsored groups. Netanyahu’s visit is also meant to underscore GOP criticism of Obama’s nuclear negotiations with Iran, which they say is not producing enough concessions.
Boehner’s office has not yet answered a request for a response to the criticism.
