USA House Speaker declines invite to have Ruto address joint session
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Speaker Mike Johnson declines an invite by the Foreign Affairs Committee to have President Ruto address a joint house session during his USA state visit
Speaker Mike Johnson declines an invite by the Foreign Affairs Committee to have President Ruto address a joint house session during his USA state visit
Speaker Mike Johnson has decided not to invite Kenyan President William Ruto to address a joint session of Congress when he visits Washington for a state visit later this month, rebuffing a request from the leaders of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
Johnson’s staff blamed “scheduling restraints.”
President Ruto would have be the first Kenyan leader to address a joint meeting of Congress and the first African leader to do so since Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf spoke in the House chamber in 2006.
Ruto will be in Washington on May 23 to mark the 60th anniversary of U.S.-Kenyan diplomatic relations.
Speaker Johnson’s decision also is a direct rebuke of the top two lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee.
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Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul (R-Texas) and ranking Democrat Gregory Meeks (N.Y.) urged Johnson on April 30 to extend an invitation for Ruto to address a joint meeting.
“Such an invitation would underscore the importance of the U.S.-Kenya relationship and send a valuable signal to the people of Africa,” McCaul and Meeks wrote.
Raj Shah, Johnson’s deputy chief of staff, said this about Johnson’s decision not to invite Ruto to address lawmakers:
“Speaker Johnson welcomes President Ruto to the Capitol. We have offered the Kenyan embassy over 90 minutes of engagement including a one-on-one visit with Speaker Johnson, a bipartisan leadership meeting 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.”
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