Report: Netanyahu to address Congress next Thursday

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will address Congress next Thursday, June 13, according to a report on Monday by Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News.

President Joe Biden is not scheduled to be in Washington that day, as he will be attending the G7 summit in Italy.

The Prime Minister's office clarified in the wake of the reports that a date has not yet been set for the speech, but it would not take place on June 13 due to the fact that this date coincides with the second day of the holiday of Shavuot.

Netanyahu was officially invited this past Friday to deliver the address to Congress.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) sent Netanyahu a formal invitation to speak during a joint meeting of Congress, and the invitation featured the signatures of all four Congressional leaders: Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY).

“We join the State of Israel in your struggle against terror, especially as Hamas continues to hold American and Israeli citizens captive and its leaders jeopardize regional stability,” the letter reads. “For this reason, on behalf of the bipartisan leadership of the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate, we would like to invite you to address a Joint Meeting of Congress.”

Prime Minister Netanyahu said, "I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world."

The formal invitation to Netanyahu came a week after Johnson said at an event in Washington that Schumer had agreed to invite Netanyahu to address congress.

Netanyahu previously spoke before Congress in March of 2015.