US House Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday that he is considering inviting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress after House members raised the idea in a closed-door conference meeting.
“It’s one of the things that we have in mind, and we may try to arrange for that,” Johnson told reporters when asked about inviting Netanyahu to address Congress, according to CNN.
“I think it’s very important for us to show solidarity and support for Israel right now in their time of great struggle, and we certainly stand for that position, and we’ll try to advance that in every way that we can,” added Johnson, who said he spoke with Netanyahu on Wednesday morning.
“I had a lengthy conversation this morning with Prime Minister Netanyahu and reiterated to him the House Republicans’ strong support for Israel,” he told reporters.
Netanyahu previously spoke before Congress in March of 2015.
An invitation to address a joint session of Congress would require buy-in from Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, who sharply criticized Netanyahu in a floor speech last week, when he also called for Israel to hold new elections.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Netanyahu spoke virtually to US Republican senators, who later said that Netanyahu told them that Israel will continue its efforts to defeat Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Reports said that Netanyahu had also requested to address Senate Democrats at their caucus lunch, but the request was denied by Schumer.