INSIDE THE DEM SPLIT ON NETANYAHU'S SPEECH Congressional leaders are still searching for a time for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress. But no matter what he says about his nation’s ongoing war in Gaza, he’ll get a frosty reaction from a hefty bloc of Democrats. Although Democrats are holding back from directly criticizing their leadership for extending the invite to the Israeli leader, lawmakers across the ideological spectrum are airing concerns about bringing Israel’s lightning-rod conservative leader in to speak. It’s a clear preview of the Netanyahu address’ likely divisive effect on a Democratic Party already split over U.S. support for his military push in Gaza. Even staunch Israel allies like Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) — a former majority leader — called the requested address an “ill-timed visit.” Hoyer said he would be in on June 15 and planned to tell Netanyahu his feelings directly. “There will be a lot of disruption, and it will not be helpful for Israel or its supporters,” he said. Progressives like Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) have been even more outspoken in their criticism of the bipartisan invitation since Hill leaders extended it last week. Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) went so far as to break with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday and said he wouldn’t have offered the invite either. “Benjamin Netanyahu has created a humanitarian crisis, and we should not give him a platform in front of the United States Congress,” Warren said in an interview. House progressives were even more pointed: “We should not platform more war criminals period,” said Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.). “He should not come to this house.” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) took a more nuanced view. “I'm generally not supportive of closing our doors to foreign leaders,” he said. “I just really worry that if this visit happens in the absence of any progress on a peace deal and a hostage release, it's just going to be about benefiting Netanyahu’s personal politics back home.” Senate Foreign Relations Chair Ben Cardin (D-Md.) said he’d withhold judgment on the Netanyahu speech but offered a hope that it would “advance peace in the Middle East and Israel security.” Many House Democrats are still grumbling about the invitation being extended to Netanyahu when Speaker Mike Johnson did not invite remarks from Kenyan President William Ruto — a particularly sore point among the Congressional Black Caucus. Asked Tuesday about the invitation to Netanyahu, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters that invitations to foreign leaders came from agreements between the House and Senate majority parties. “That process took place in the context of the invitation to the head of state of the state of Israel, a democratic ally,” he said. He added that he plans to attend the speech “like every single joint address to Congress,” and that members of his caucus would make their own decisions on whether to attend. Important context there: Johnson also teed up legislation on Tuesday that would punish the International Criminal Court for issuing warrants for Netanyahu and other players in his government. That measure, largely geared toward political messaging, passed the House with 42 Democratic votes but is set to hit a wall in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Cardin, the Senate Foreign Relations chair, said the “partisan” nature of Tuesday’s House-passed legislation would make it harder to reach bipartisan compromise to push back on the ICC. “We're all in agreement the ICC prosecutor was wrong. We all want to see him change course,” the Maryland Democrat told Inside Congress. “But now the House is prepared to act in a very partisan way, it makes it more difficult for us.” Back to Netanyahu: Still other Democrats, even some well-known progressives, offered a more full-throated endorsement of the Israeli leader’s planned speech, the date of which remains unfixed. “Congress and the American people could benefit from hearing Prime Minister Netanyahu’s thoughts about the current situation,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said that “I don’t second guess Chuck’s decision-making,” even as she criticized Netanyahu’s handling of the war and noted “obviously there's some political games being played by the House Republicans here.” Among the most vocal critics of both parties for extending the invite is Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who called it “a very sad day for our country” that Democrats and Republicans agreed to hear from the prime minister amid international frustration over the civilian toll that operations in Gaza have taken on Palestinians. — Nicholas Wu and Anthony Adragna
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