Biden to be in Latin America during PM’s Congress speech
VP confirms overseas trip at time of controversial address; White House hopeful Jeb Bush says he's eager to hear Netanyahu
Vice President Joe Biden will head to Latin America the first week of March, putting him out of the country while Israel’s prime minister is to address Congress.
Biden’s office disclosed the destination Wednesday. Biden and his wife, Jill, plan to attend the presidential inauguration in Uruguay and then head to Guatemala for meetings on the violence that forced Central American children to flee for US borders last year.
The White House has said Benjamin Netanyahu’s March 3 speech violates diplomatic protocol since the invitation came from Republican House Speaker John Boehner without notifying the president’s staff.
Some Democratic lawmakers are skipping the address in protest. Biden earlier announced he would be traveling during the speech but did not disclose where.
The House speaker and vice president traditionally sit behind speakers during a congressional address.
Boehner said he chose to bypass the White House in extending the invitation to Netanyahu to avoid “interference,” and accused the Obama administration of “animosity” against the prime minister.
The planned speech, in which Netanyahu is expected to speak about the importance of sanctions on Iran and opposition to a nuclear deal with Iran that leaves Tehran with the ability to enrich urnaium, has been maligned by administration officials, as well as some lawmakers and groups in the US and Israel.
However, presidential hopeful Jeb Bush said Wednesday he was eager to hear Netanyahu’s address to Congress, and said he was surprised by the administrations’s stance, Reuters reported.
Obama, a Democrat, has refused to meet Netanyahu during his Washington trip next month, saying diplomatic protocol forbids him from doing so, since the Israeli leader is up for re-election on March 17.
The two leaders have had a famously frosty relationship, which has grown even more tense as a result of the disagreement over Netanyahu’s upcoming speech.
Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany — known as the P5+1 — have been seeking a comprehensive accord with Iran that would prevent Tehran from developing a nuclear bomb in return for an easing of economic sanctions.
Netanyahu has vowed — despite the presidential snub and pushback from Congressional Democrats — to deliver his speech to Congress as negotiators work toward the political outline of a deal by March 31.