I’m still waiting for all Congressional Democrats to stand up and join Vice President Joe Biden and members of the Black Caucus in denouncing this Netanyahu mockery of American politics.
Vice President Joe Biden is expected to miss Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s controversial address to a joint meeting of Congress because of foreign travel, Biden’s office said Friday.
The announcement comes amid deep White House irritation over Netanyahu’s decision to accept an invitation from House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, without either party consulting the administration. The White House blasted the move as a breach of diplomatic protocol and said President Barack Obama would not meet with Netanyahu during next month’s visit.
But Biden, as president of the Senate, would typically have attended a joint meeting of Congress, taking his familiar seat just behind the speaker’s podium. Whether Biden would still carry out his ceremonial duties became the focus of increased speculation this week as some Democratic lawmakers said they planned to skip the March 3 speech.
On Friday, Biden’s office confirmed that the vice president was expected to be abroad during Netanyahu’s visit. Biden’s office did not announce any details of where the vice president would be traveling, but insisted the unspecified trip had been in the works before the prime minister’s speech was announced.
