BREAKING NEWS

Boehner says Netanyahu invite to address Congress discussed before Israel election called

The office of the speaker of the US House of Representatives, John Boehner (R – Ohio), told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s invitation to address a joint session of Congress was discussed “on the staff level” before the Israeli government was dissolved and an election was called for March.
Boehner's spokesman said that work began on the invitation even before the midterm elections in the United States, which took place this past November.
The speaker released a timeline earlier on Thursday of his office's original plans to invite Netanyahu. He, the Israeli prime minister and his ambassador to Washington, Ron Dermer, have come under criticism for the timing of the address, which was not cleared by the White House before it was announced to the public.