{"id":2250598,"date":"2024-05-22T16:56:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-22T20:56:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-frustrated-kenyan-president-denied-speech-invite-to-congress\/"},"modified":"2024-05-22T16:58:48","modified_gmt":"2024-05-22T20:58:48","slug":"democrats-frustrated-kenyan-president-denied-speech-invite-to-congress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrats-frustrated-kenyan-president-denied-speech-invite-to-congress\/","title":{"rendered":"Kenyan President&#8217;s Speech Invitation to Congress Denied, Democrats Frustrated"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdemocrats-frustrated-kenyan-president-denied-speech-invite-to-congress%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2250598&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>House Democrats express frustration towards Speaker\u200b Mike Johnson&#8217;s\u2062 decision to not invite Kenyan President William \u2062Ruto to address Congress,\u200c calling it\u2064 a missed \u2062opportunity and a \u200bsnub\u2062 to the significance of\u2062 the state visit.\u2064 Despite requests by lawmakers, Ruto will not speak at a \u2063joint session, unlike\u2063 previous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/kamala-harris-taking-calls-with-foreign-leaders-on-behalf-of-biden-report\/\" title=\"Kamala Harris Taking Calls With Foreign Leaders On Behalf Of Biden: Report\">foreign leaders<\/a>.\u200c The invitation was declined \u200cdue to scheduling conflicts. House Democrats \u2064are frustrated with Speaker Mike Johnson&#8217;s choice\u200b not to extend \u200ban\u2063 invitation to Kenyan President William Ruto to \u2064speak before Congress. This decision is viewed as a missed \u2062opportunity and a disregard for the importance of the state visit. Despite pleas from legislators, Ruto\u2064 will \u2064not address a joint session, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/liberal-wisconsin-supreme-court-nominee-a-no-show-at-debate\/\" title=\"Liberal Wisconsin Supreme Court Nominee A No-Show At Debate\">citing scheduling conflicts<\/a> for the declined invitation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/house-democrats\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>House Democrats<\/a> are frustrated with Speaker <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-johnson\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Mike Johnson<\/a>\u2018s (R-LA) decision not to invite <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/kenya\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Kenyan<\/a> President William Ruto to address a joint session of <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Congress<\/a>, with some calling it a \u201cslap in the face\u201d to what the historic state visit symbolizes.<\/p>\n<p>Ruto will be the first <a href=\"http:\/\/washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/africa\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>African<\/a> leader to receive a state visit this week since 2008, when then-President George W. Bush invited Ghanaian President John Kufuor to the United States. However, unlike several other foreign leaders like Indian Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/narendra-modi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Narendra Modi<\/a> and Japanese Prime Minister <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/fumio-kishida\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>Fumio Kishida<\/a>, Ruto will not deliver a speech on the House floor.<\/p>\n<p>House Foreign Affairs ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-NY) expressed disappointment with Johnson on Wednesday, saying after he had conversations with the speaker, he was told by Johnson that \u201cit was a matter of time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut when I see that we don\u2019t have votes on a Friday, and we\u2019re going to have first votes at 2:30 tomorrow, it\u2019s clear it was time for President Ruto to joint session,\u201d Meeks told reporters, adding that the U.S. needs to be \u201cmore involved in Africa than ever.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere hasn\u2019t been an African head of state joint session in 20 years,\u201d the New York Democrat added. \u201cSo I want to know why we couldn\u2019t get that done.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure><figcaption>Kenya\u2019s President William Ruto, right, and first lady Rachel Ruto arrive at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, Wednesday, May 22, 2024, for a state visit to the United States. (AP Photo\/Luis M. Alvarez)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Ruto\u2019s state visit began on Monday with a trip to Atlanta, and he arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland on Wednesday. The Kenyan president\u2019s state visit is the sixth hosted by the Biden administration and Kenya\u2019s third state visit to the U.S. since its independence.<\/p>\n<p>The Kenyan president has been internationally known as the subject of a 13-year International Criminal Court investigation into the violence that broke out in Kenya after the 2007 presidential election, during which he was serving as then-deputy president. He and then-President Uhuru Kenyatta were charged but never convicted, and the ICC announced late last year it would <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/kenya-international-court-ruto-kenyatta-3554b42f48f0b2ad8327e5a3da9fad42\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>halt its long-running inquiry<\/a> into the incident as it investigates the Ukraine-Russia and Israel-Hamas conflicts.<\/p>\n<p>Like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/3010916\/us-condolences-iran-raisi-prompts-outrage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>others who offered<\/a> condolences, Ruto drew some scrutiny recently after he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/WilliamsRuto\/status\/1792479579539374467?t=8c-MrwCgrIPR2kj6DsvJFQ&#038;s=19\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>posted on X<\/a> commemorating the death of Iranian President <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/ebrahim-raisi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ebrahim Raisi<\/a>, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday. Ruto called Raisi a \u201cfearless leader and a dedicated public servant\u201d who sought to \u201celevate Iran\u2019s standing on the global stage.\u201d He noted Kenya and Iran shared \u201ccordial relations,\u201d particularly after Raisi selected Kenya for his first-ever trip to Africa.<\/p>\n<p>Meeks joined House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) in <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignaffairs.house.gov\/press-release\/mccaul-meeks-request-invitation-to-kenyan-president-william-samoei-ruto-to-address-congress-on-official-u-s-visit\/#:~:text=We%20therefore%20respectfully%20request%20that,or%20about%20May%2023%2C%202024.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>writing a letter<\/a> to Johnson on May 1 asking him to send a formal invitation to Ruto to address Congress in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Kenyan-U.S. diplomatic relationship.<\/p>\n<p>According to Meeks, Johnson told him he declined to invite Ruto to speak before Congress due to a \u201cscheduling issue\u201d and that instead, the speaker wants to get appropriations bills done.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that does not seem to be the case,\u201d Meeks said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve got so many things that we\u2019ve been working with Kenya, you know, we\u2019re doing that is tremendously important, like trying to help even in Haiti, for example,\u201d Meeks said. \u201cSo it\u2019s just a, you know, it\u2019s just a missed opportunity and a slap in the face.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In a statement to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>, Taylor Haulsee, communications director for Johnson, confirmed that scheduling conflicts were the cause of a lack of invitation.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSpeaker Johnson welcomes President Ruto to the Capitol,\u201d Haulsee said in a statement. \u201cWe have offered the Kenyan embassy over 90 minutes of engagement including a one-on-one visit with Speaker Johnson, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israeli-foreign-minister-comes-to-u-s\/\" title=\"Israeli foreign minister comes to U.S.\">bipartisan leadership meeting<\/a> with Speaker Johnson, Leader Jeffries, and Committee Chairmen and Ranking members, and a bicameral meeting. Unfortunately, due to scheduling restraints, we could not accommodate a request for remarks before a Joint Session.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ruto\u2019s lack of a joint session of Congress invite also comes as Johnson said on Wednesday that he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3013015\/speaker-johnson-expects-schumer-join-invitation-netanyahu-address-congress\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>expects<\/a> Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to sign on to a letter <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/3012032\/johnson-gives-schumer-ultimatum-netanyahu-congress-invite\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress<\/a>, with an agreement possibly arriving this week.<\/p>\n<p>Meeks said he is not focusing on a possible speech from Netanyahu and is instead concerned with the absence of one from Ruto. However, he said, \u201cWe should not make Israel a political issue.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that\u2019s what my concern is,\u201d Meeks said.<\/p>\n<p>Other Democrats have expressed frustration with Johnson\u2019s decision not to invite Ruto to speak. Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (D-CA) echoed Meeks\u2019s comments on Tuesday, saying they are a reflection of where he believes the Foreign Affairs Committee and the House Democratic caucus stand on the issue, as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s unfortunate that Speaker Johnson didn\u2019t allow the president of Kenya to address us,\u201d Aguilar said to the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. \u201cAn African leader hasn\u2019t addressed Congress in nearly 20 years. It\u2019s time.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Ways and Means Committee ranking member Richard E. Neal (D-MA) <a href=\"https:\/\/democrats-waysandmeans.house.gov\/media-center\/press-releases\/neal-statement-calling-joint-session-kenyan-president-william-ruto\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title>said<\/a> in early May that he was disappointed with the speaker\u2019s \u201cfailure\u201d to offer Ruto an invitation to address Congress, arguing that he does not see why the Kenyan leader\u2019s state visit should be treated \u201cany different\u201d than the visits from India and Japan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAfrica and its people helped shape our great nation, allowing it to become the superpower that it is today,\u201d Neal said. \u201cStrengthening ties across the continent, including with a key strategic partner, Kenya, is of great importance to our shared economic aspirations and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/yemen-lgbt-refugees-and-white-supremacy-everything-you-need-to-know-about-bidens-first-foreign-policy-speech\/\" title=\"Yemen, LGBT Refugees, And White Supremacy: Everything You Need To Know About Biden\u2019s First Foreign Policy Speech\">democratic values<\/a>. The continent deserves the same level of respect given to our partners in other parts of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Democrats express frustration as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) declines to invite Kenyan President William Ruto for a Congress address, deeming it a &#8220;slap in the face&#8221; to the significant state visit. Ruto is set to become the first African leader to have a state visit this week<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2648,"featured_media":2250599,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MixCollage-22-May-2024-01-17-PM-4020.jpg.optimal.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2250598","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/MixCollage-22-May-2024-01-17-PM-4020.jpg.optimal.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250598","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2648"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2250598"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2250598\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2250599"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2250598"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2250598"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2250598"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}