Schatz Latest Dem Senator to Boycott Netanyahu’s Speech

UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 11: Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, arrives for the Senate closed briefing in the Capitol on the White House strategy on ISIL on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) (CQ... UNITED STATES - SEPTEMBER 11: Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, arrives for the Senate closed briefing in the Capitol on the White House strategy on ISIL on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2014. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images) MORE LESS
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Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) is the latest Democrat to say that he won’t attend Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress on Iran next month, according to multiple reports.

According to the Associated Press, Schatz also said that House Speaker John Boehner’s invitation to Netanyahu, extended without consulting the White House, had been made with “the apparent purpose of undermining President Obama’s foreign policy prerogatives.”

Schatz joins Sens. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in skipping the speech. Three House Democrats have also said they will boycott it, and dozens of others are reportedly considering it. Vice President Joe Biden will not attend the speech because, his office says, he will be traveling abroad.

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