Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accepted an invitation from congressional leaders to address a joint session, a decision that has sparked tension within the Democratic Party over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu wrote that he was looking forward to the opportunity to “present the truth” to Congress about the “just war” that Israel has been waging in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, when 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 others were taken hostage. In the months following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities, while millions of others have fled from their homes.

“I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world,” Netanyahu wrote.

Tensions have been mounting in recent weeks after Speaker Mike Johnson announced his plan to invite Netanyahu to address Congress. The Democratic Party has splintered over U.S. support for Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza, particularly after recent strikes in a designated safe zone for Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah that reportedly killed at least 45 people.

Progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has been outspoken in his disapproval of U.S. military support for Israel’s war, denounced the invitation.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend,” Sanders wrote in a post to X.

Sanders also referenced the International Criminal Court’s seeking arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes committed on both sides.

“The ICC is seeking warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas,” Sanders wrote. “The ICC is right. Both of these people are engaged in clear and outrageous violations of international law.”

Other lawmakers, including Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) have signaled that they would likely skip Netanyahu’s address.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has called for Netanyahu’s resignation, responded with a decisive “no” last month when asked if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should sign onto Speaker Mike Johnson’s invitation letter to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s upcoming address marks the fourth time the leader will address a joint session of Congress, making him the first head of state to do so.

Nearly 60 Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s last address in 2015, orchestrated by Republicans behind then-President Barack Obama’s back in an attempt to lobby against his signing onto the Iran nuclear deal.

Yes, there’s a big hearing involving a senior Biden administration official Tuesday at the House Judiciary Committee. (Playbook has you covered pre-hearing.) But Merrick Garland’s not the only big name headed to the Hill. The lineup for your scheduling needs:

Senate Foreign Relations will have a 10:30 a.m. closed briefing on China with U.S. Ambassador to China Nicholas Burns.
VA Secretary Denis McDonough and VA Inspector General Michael Missal testify at the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee at 10:15 a.m.
Senate Appropriations subcommittees hold hearings Tuesday with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and FBI Director Christopher Wray.
CBO Director Phillip Swagel and Social Security Administration Chief Actuary Stephen Goss testify at House Ways and Means at 11 a.m.

Spending cycle: House Republicans hope to approve their MilCon-VA bill on the floor by Wednesday afternoon, when the House is set to leave town. It’s the first of a group that appropriators are trying to clear the floor by the end of the month, with State-Foreign Operations and Homeland Security, getting subcommittee markups Tuesday. Text of House Republicans’ Defense and Financial Services measures are expected Tuesday as well ahead of Wednesday subcommittee action.

Border rebuttal: Senate Republicans are preparing their rebuttal to Biden’s anticipated executive order action on the southern border, with a press conference scheduled for 10 a.m. Led by Texas Republicans John Cornyn and Ted Cruz they’ll declare Biden’s action “too little too late.”

Primary picture: We’re also watching primaries in Montana, Iowa, New Mexico, New Jersey and South Dakota.

Two Iowa Republicans are facing challenges from the right: David Pautch is making a longshot challenge to oust Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and Rep. Randy Feenstra is facing Kevin Virgil, who has the backing of former Rep. Steve King and Vivek Ramaswamy

Keep an eye on Montana, too, where a whole slate of contenders is vying for the GOP nomination to replace Rep. Matt Rosendale. And in New Jersey, Herb Conaway Jr. and Carol Murphy are the leading contenders for Rep. Andy Kim’s (D-N.J.) 3rd District seat as he runs for Senate.

On both sides of the Capitol, most Republicans say former President Donald Trump’s criminal conviction in New York is politically motivated rather than a substantive case. And the GOP racked in fundraising after Trump was found guilty.

Yet just as Democrats weigh how much to talk about Trump on the trail this fall, Republicans are deep in their own open debate about just how much the verdict will matter on Election Day. Many GOP senators want to talk about the economy and President Joe Biden’s record — not litigate the first felony conviction of a former president.

The GOP has spent months upon months laying the groundwork to make this fall’s election a referendum on Biden, talking relentlessly about stubborn inflation and spiking migration. Quite a few Republicans see those issues as more advantageous ground than defending the party’s nominee after a conviction on 34 counts of falsifying records related to hush money payments to a porn star.

In Sen. Jerry Moran’s (R-Kan.) view: “The best campaign in 2024 is to point out the economic circumstances that we’re in. And the policies of the Biden administration.”

And Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) put it this way: “The big mistake that we make is to shift our attention away from a failing economy of failing global stature all the way back to retrograde in Afghanistan,” adding that “Trump wins if we focus on those issues.”

They’re not necessarily going to win the day in the party, though. Some Republicans want Trump’s conviction to be a central element of the party’s message over the next five months, seeing the potential for more fundraising bumps and base-motivating political gold.

“If anything, it’s going to have a positive impact,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said. “You don’t have to look further than the fundraising. Set that aside: This is firing people up.”

Several GOP senators went up to New York to show solidarity with the former president during the trial, and many issued rancorous statements last week backing up Trump. Yet in the end, Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) predicted the trial verdict will be a “blip” on the national conscience come November, with the election being fought over the border and the economy, among other issues.

Marshall suggested Trump’s vice presidential pick would have a greater impact on the election than the felony convictions.

“That’s a bigger deal than at this point than what this verdict is. There’s this 15 to 20 percent of people in primaries who are still voting for Nikki Haley. How do we reach out to that group?” Marshall said. “That’s a bigger issue than this verdict.”

Of course, even if GOP senators who want to focus elsewhere win the messaging battle here, they can’t escape the trial entirely — congressional Republicans and Trump still have to share a ticket in November. It’s clear where Trump’s head is at, as he decries his treatment by the court and his party fundraises off the issue.

If Trump keeps that up, it’s going to be hard for Republicans to talk only about the economy, immigration and Biden’s record.

“Absolutely, we should talk about it,” said Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) of Trump’s guilty verdict.

Red-state campaign watch: In two key Senate races, Republican candidates are moving to make the guilty verdict a central issue on the trail. Tim Sheehy in Montana and Bernie Moreno in Ohio both launched ads Monday hitting Democratic Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio, asserting they support the “witch hunt” against Trump.

The Moreno spend is a five-figure digital ad, part of a larger seven-figure buy.

Tester responded to the Montana ad by saying that Sheehy has a “problem with the truth” and said that he “paid no attention” to the trial while it was happening.

“Like everybody else, President Trump has the ability to appeal it and in the end the final arbitrator will be the voters in November. It doesn’t matter what I believe,” Tester said.

Congressional leaders are still working to finalize a date for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to deliver a joint address to Congress, according to Speaker Mike Johnson‘s office.

That comes after a person familiar with the planning initially indicated Netanyahu would speak to Congress on June 13, as President Joe Biden pushes both the allied country and Hamas to agree to the terms of a permanent ceasefire. That date, however, would fall on the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.

“The Speaker’s office is still coordinating with all relevant parties to establish a date for Prime Minister Netanyahu to deliver a joint address to Congress,” a spokesperson for Johnson said on Monday. “We will announce a date once it is finalized.”

The prime minister’s office confirmed in an email to POLITICO that no date has yet been set for the address.

The four leaders of Congress issued the joint invitation on Friday and Netanyahu accepted over the weekend.

Democrats have been split over support for Israel since the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, with many liberals lambasting Netanyahu’s harsh tactics in a war that has led to tens of thousands of deaths in Palestine. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), an outspoken progressive, said he wouldn’t attend the prime minister’s address.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal,” Sanders said in a statement over the weekend. “He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend.”

Meanwhile, Biden is pushing a permanent cease-fire agreement that Israel’s war cabinet proposed against Netanyahu’s wishes. White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Sunday that if Hamas accepts the deal to end the Gaza war, he expects Israel to accept the plan, too.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accepted an invitation from congressional leaders to address a joint session, a decision that has sparked tension within the Democratic Party over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu wrote that he was looking forward to the opportunity to “present the truth” to Congress about the “just war” that Israel has been waging in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, when 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 others were taken hostage. In the months following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities, while millions of others have fled from their homes.

“I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world,” Netanyahu wrote.

Tensions have been mounting in recent weeks after Speaker Mike Johnson announced his plan to invite Netanyahu to address Congress. The Democratic Party has splintered over U.S. support for Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza, particularly after recent strikes in a designated safe zone for Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah that reportedly killed at least 45 people.

Progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has been outspoken in his disapproval of U.S. military support for Israel’s war, denounced the invitation.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend,” Sanders wrote in a post to X.

Sanders also referenced the International Criminal Court’s seeking arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes committed on both sides.

“The ICC is seeking warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas,” Sanders wrote. “The ICC is right. Both of these people are engaged in clear and outrageous violations of international law.”

Other lawmakers, including Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) have signaled that they would likely skip Netanyahu’s address.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has called for Netanyahu’s resignation, responded with a decisive “no” last month when asked if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should sign onto Speaker Mike Johnson’s invitation letter to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s upcoming address marks the fourth time the leader will address a joint session of Congress, making him the first head of state to do so.

Nearly 60 Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s last address in 2015, orchestrated by Republicans behind then-President Barack Obama’s back in an attempt to lobby against his signing onto the Iran nuclear deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accepted an invitation from congressional leaders to address a joint session, a decision that has sparked tension within the Democratic Party over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu wrote that he was looking forward to the opportunity to “present the truth” to Congress about the “just war” that Israel has been waging in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, when 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 others were taken hostage. In the months following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities, while millions of others have fled from their homes.

“I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world,” Netanyahu wrote.

Tensions have been mounting in recent weeks after Speaker Mike Johnson announced his plan to invite Netanyahu to address Congress. The Democratic Party has splintered over U.S. support for Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza, particularly after recent strikes in a designated safe zone for Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah that reportedly killed at least 45 people.

Progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has been outspoken in his disapproval of U.S. military support for Israel’s war, denounced the invitation.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend,” Sanders wrote in a post to X.

Sanders also referenced the International Criminal Court’s seeking arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes committed on both sides.

“The ICC is seeking warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas,” Sanders wrote. “The ICC is right. Both of these people are engaged in clear and outrageous violations of international law.”

Other lawmakers, including Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) have signaled that they would likely skip Netanyahu’s address.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has called for Netanyahu’s resignation, responded with a decisive “no” last month when asked if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should sign onto Speaker Mike Johnson’s invitation letter to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s upcoming address marks the fourth time the leader will address a joint session of Congress, making him the first head of state to do so.

Nearly 60 Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s last address in 2015, orchestrated by Republicans behind then-President Barack Obama’s back in an attempt to lobby against his signing onto the Iran nuclear deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accepted an invitation from congressional leaders to address a joint session, a decision that has sparked tension within the Democratic Party over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu wrote that he was looking forward to the opportunity to “present the truth” to Congress about the “just war” that Israel has been waging in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, when 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 others were taken hostage. In the months following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities, while millions of others have fled from their homes.

“I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world,” Netanyahu wrote.

Tensions have been mounting in recent weeks after Speaker Mike Johnson announced his plan to invite Netanyahu to address Congress. The Democratic Party has splintered over U.S. support for Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza, particularly after recent strikes in a designated safe zone for Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah that reportedly killed at least 45 people.

Progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has been outspoken in his disapproval of U.S. military support for Israel’s war, denounced the invitation.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend,” Sanders wrote in a post to X.

Sanders also referenced the International Criminal Court’s seeking arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes committed on both sides.

“The ICC is seeking warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas,” Sanders wrote. “The ICC is right. Both of these people are engaged in clear and outrageous violations of international law.”

Other lawmakers, including Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) have signaled that they would likely skip Netanyahu’s address.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has called for Netanyahu’s resignation, responded with a decisive “no” last month when asked if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should sign onto Speaker Mike Johnson’s invitation letter to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s upcoming address marks the fourth time the leader will address a joint session of Congress, making him the first head of state to do so.

Nearly 60 Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s last address in 2015, orchestrated by Republicans behind then-President Barack Obama’s back in an attempt to lobby against his signing onto the Iran nuclear deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accepted an invitation from congressional leaders to address a joint session, a decision that has sparked tension within the Democratic Party over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu wrote that he was looking forward to the opportunity to “present the truth” to Congress about the “just war” that Israel has been waging in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, when 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 others were taken hostage. In the months following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities, while millions of others have fled from their homes.

“I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world,” Netanyahu wrote.

Tensions have been mounting in recent weeks after Speaker Mike Johnson announced his plan to invite Netanyahu to address Congress. The Democratic Party has splintered over U.S. support for Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza, particularly after recent strikes in a designated safe zone for Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah that reportedly killed at least 45 people.

Progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has been outspoken in his disapproval of U.S. military support for Israel’s war, denounced the invitation.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend,” Sanders wrote in a post to X.

Sanders also referenced the International Criminal Court’s seeking arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes committed on both sides.

“The ICC is seeking warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas,” Sanders wrote. “The ICC is right. Both of these people are engaged in clear and outrageous violations of international law.”

Other lawmakers, including Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) have signaled that they would likely skip Netanyahu’s address.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has called for Netanyahu’s resignation, responded with a decisive “no” last month when asked if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should sign onto Speaker Mike Johnson’s invitation letter to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s upcoming address marks the fourth time the leader will address a joint session of Congress, making him the first head of state to do so.

Nearly 60 Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s last address in 2015, orchestrated by Republicans behind then-President Barack Obama’s back in an attempt to lobby against his signing onto the Iran nuclear deal.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday accepted an invitation from congressional leaders to address a joint session, a decision that has sparked tension within the Democratic Party over Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza.

In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, Netanyahu wrote that he was looking forward to the opportunity to “present the truth” to Congress about the “just war” that Israel has been waging in Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, when 1,200 Israelis were killed and 240 others were taken hostage. In the months following Israel’s invasion of the Gaza Strip, at least 35,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Palestinian health authorities, while millions of others have fled from their homes.

“I am very moved to have the privilege of representing Israel before both Houses of Congress and to present the truth about our just war against those who seek to destroy us to the representatives of the American people and the entire world,” Netanyahu wrote.

Tensions have been mounting in recent weeks after Speaker Mike Johnson announced his plan to invite Netanyahu to address Congress. The Democratic Party has splintered over U.S. support for Israel in its ongoing war in Gaza, particularly after recent strikes in a designated safe zone for Palestinians in the southern city of Rafah that reportedly killed at least 45 people.

Progressives, including Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who has been outspoken in his disapproval of U.S. military support for Israel’s war, denounced the invitation.

“Benjamin Netanyahu is a war criminal. He should not be invited to address a joint meeting of Congress. I certainly will not attend,” Sanders wrote in a post to X.

Sanders also referenced the International Criminal Court’s seeking arrest warrants for both Netanyahu and Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar for alleged war crimes committed on both sides.

“The ICC is seeking warrants for the arrest of Netanyahu and Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas,” Sanders wrote. “The ICC is right. Both of these people are engaged in clear and outrageous violations of international law.”

Other lawmakers, including Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.), Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) and Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) have signaled that they would likely skip Netanyahu’s address.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has called for Netanyahu’s resignation, responded with a decisive “no” last month when asked if Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should sign onto Speaker Mike Johnson’s invitation letter to Netanyahu.

Netanyahu’s upcoming address marks the fourth time the leader will address a joint session of Congress, making him the first head of state to do so.

Nearly 60 Democrats boycotted Netanyahu’s last address in 2015, orchestrated by Republicans behind then-President Barack Obama’s back in an attempt to lobby against his signing onto the Iran nuclear deal.