Vice President Kamala Harris has announced that in lieu of co-presiding over the speech to a joint meeting of Congress by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, she will attend a previously scheduled event in Indiana, the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority Grand Boule in Indianapolis.
Since it is a Joint Meeting of the House and Senate, the Speaker of the House and President of the Senate, who is the Vice President, usually preside. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said today that it may be “unprecedented” not to have the Vice President preside.
However, there have been multiple instances over the years in which the President Pro Tempore has presided.
The controversy unfolds amid a chaotic scene on Capitol Hill, as massive swarms of pro-Palestinian protesters are occupying the rotunda of the Cannon House Office Building right now. Police have made some arrests.
There’s an elevated threat environment, especially following the shooting of former President Trump. Right now, massive fences are encircling the Capitol. These are the same types of fences which police put up after the Capitol riots. The campus will be locked down for much of tomorrow.
Many Democrats will not be attending the Netanyahu speech, in protest of the Israeli leader’s prosecution of the war in the Gaza Strip.