According to The Hill, as of right now 47 Democrats including Vice President Joe Biden will not be attending, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyah speech to a joint session of Congress set for 10:45 a.m. Tuesday morning.
Netanyahu is expected to disagree the White House’s negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program in his March 3 speech. While Biden has cited a scheduling conflict, other Democrats are staying away from the speech to protest what they see as an attack on President Obama.
Congressional Democrats are angry that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) invited Netanyahu to speak to Congress without first telling the White House. President Barack Obama has said he will not meet with Netanyahu during the visit because it will occur two weeks before Israeli elections are set to take place.
At the moment the only Florida member of Congress not attending the PM’s speech is Congresswoman Rep. Corrine Brown of Florida’s 5th district. As of 4:30 p.m. on Monday afternoon she does not plan on being in the House for the speech.
Her district includes Jacksonville and covers parts of north central Florida, Rep. Brown is a well respected member of the House and serves as the Ranking Member of House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. She is also a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.
Democrats face a difficult decision on whether to attend the address. Many will want to show support for the White House but will be wary of snubbing the leader of an important U.S. ally.
