Pelosi: Wrong to Invite Netanyahu Before Congress

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Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says she “absolutely” would not have invited Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before Congress if she was still the House Speaker.

Netanyahu is expected to address a joint meeting of Congress on July 24, setting the stage for what is expected to be a contentious speech at a crucial moment for the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

“No. Absolutely not. Absolutely not. I think this is wrong. Frankly, I didn’t approve of his being invited the last time,” Pelosi told CNN’s Dana Bash when asked if she would have invited Netanyahu. Former House Speaker John Boehner called on Netanyahu to address Congress in 2015. “But the speaker, just on his own, invited him without consulting with the rest of the leadership [in 2015]. And he came and he criticized President [Barack] Obama for the masterful work that he had done with the nuclear agreement regarding Iran to stop them from developing a nuclear weapon. And I thought it was completely inappropriate. I feel it’s very sad that he has been invited, but who knows by then will he still be prime minister? What is Benny Gantz going to be saying tomorrow? What’s happening?

“Everything I read is that they’re unhappy about this or unhappy about that.”

Pelosi continued.

“Not just Benny, but other members of his cabinet,” she said. “I wish that he would be a statesman and do what is right for Israel. We all love Israel. We thought October 7 was terrible. Hamas is a terrorist organization. They’re dedicated to the destruction of Israel. The hostages are not free. The people of Gaza are suffering. We need to help them and not have him stand in the way of that for such a long time. He being Netanyahu. So, I think it’s just I think it’s going to invite more of what we have seen in terms of discontent among our own people … . Let’s try to have a two-state solution to make it peace, in the region, rather than coming to the capital to draw protesters.”