About 80 Congressmembers and 6 Senators expected to skip Netanyahu's speech

Around 86 federal legislators - at least 80 Congressmembers and 6 Senators - are expected not to attend Prime Minister Netanyahu's speech to a Joint Session of Congress today (Wednesday), according to Ynet.

Israeli Spokesperson David Mencer said that the relationship between Israel and the United States is "bigger than any one person" in response to a JFeed question as to how Prime Minister Netanyahu feels about Vice President Kamala Harris' planned absence from his speech to Congress today.

While Vice Presidents traditionally preside over speeches by foreign leaders in Congress, including Harris, the Vice President claimed a scheduling conflict requiring her to be absent. Other Democrats are openly boycotting the speech on various grounds, including Congressman Jerry Nadler and Senator Chris Van Hollen.

Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi has also said she would not attend, spending time with families of the hostages, instead.