Vice President Kamala Harris has announced that she will no longer co-host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s address to a joint session of Congress and will instead attend a previously scheduled event in Indiana, Zeta Indianapolis Phi Beta Sorority Grand Boule.
Since this is a “joint” session of the House and Senate, it is usually presided over by the Speaker of the House and the President of the Senate (i.e., the Vice President). House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said today that not having the vice president preside could be “unprecedented.”
However, there have been several instances over the years where an interim president presided.
Kamala Harris will skip Netanyahu’s speech in Congress, while top Democratic senators boycott en masse
One such example occurred when Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress in 2015 – his last address to Congress.
In a speech to the Knesset, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called the fire in Rafah, which killed 45 Palestinians, a “tragic mistake.” (Knesset Channel/Reuters)
Then-Vice President Biden did not co-chair the meeting with then-House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio). Instead, then-Senate President Pro Tempore Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) presided.
In 2011, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard delivered a speech to a joint session of Parliament. However, then-Vice President Biden did not chair that meeting either. That was Boehner and then-President Pro Tem Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii).
Anti-Israel agitators invade Capitol building on eve of Netanyahu’s speech
There are other examples. However, it is extremely rare for someone like Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., acting chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to preside over a joint session of Congress. Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.) is currently President Pro Tempore of the Senate. She also will not co-chair the joint meeting with Johnson.
Anti-Israel protesters gather in Washington Square Park on Friday, May 3, 2024, in New York City. (Rashid Omar Abbasi, Fox News Digital)
The dispute unfolded amid chaotic scenes on Capitol Hill, where a large number of pro-Palestinian protesters have now occupied the rotunda of the Cannon Tower office building. Police have made some arrests.
The threat environment has intensified, especially after the shooting of former President Trump. Currently, the Capitol is surrounded by a massive fence. The fences are the same type that police put up after the Capitol riots. The campus will be on lockdown for most of tomorrow.
Many Democrats will not attend Netanyahu’s speech to protest the Israeli leader’s indictment of the Gaza war.
WASHINGTON – MAY 21: Chairman Senator Ben Cardin, D-Md., arrives before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, for a hearing on the Department of State’s fiscal year 2025 budget request. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Click here to get the Fox News app
When Ben Cardin, acting chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, co-chairs a joint session of Congress, he wouldn’t be the first person who isn’t the vice president or president pro tempore to do so.
In fact, the late Sen. David Pryor (D-Ark.) was the last non-vice president or Senate president pro tempore to preside over such a meeting, which occurred after South Korean President Roh Tae-woo addressed a joint session of Congress When giving a speech.
Fox News’ David Unsworth contributed to this report.
