Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to a joint session of Congress next week has further strained an already tense relationship with President Barack Obama.
And a number of top Democrats — including Vice President Joe Biden, whose job description includes the title President of the Senate — won’t be attending.
Netanyahu is expected to use the speech to sharply criticize the White House’s efforts to negotiate a deal on Iran’s nuclear program and to urge Congress to pass new sanctions on the nation, a position that puts him sharply at odds with the president. On Tuesday, National Security Adviser Susan Rice said Netanyahu’s decision to speak was “destructive to the fabric of the relationship” between Israel and the U.S.
The expected substance of the speech, coupled with the fact that the White House was not alerted to the invite ahead of time, has Democrats crying foul.
Twenty-seven Democratic House members and four Democratic senators have said in recent weeks they’re not going to the speech, many in protest to a move that they say is an affront to the president.
Many more have said they’re undecided on whether to attend, and more defections could emerge in the coming days. A full list of the Democrats who have confirmed they’re missing the speech follows:
SENATE – 6 members
Sen. Al Franken (Minn.)
Sen. Martin Heinrich (N.M.)
Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.)
Sen. Patrick Leahy (Vt.)
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)
Sen. Brian Schatz (Hawaii)
HOUSE – 29 members
Rep. Earl Blumenauer (Ore.)
Rep. G.K. Butterfield (N.C.)
Rep. Andre Carson (Ind.)
Rep. Kathleen Clark (Mass.)
Rep. William Lacy Clay (Mo.)
Rep. James Clyburn (S.C.)
Rep. Steve Cohen (Tenn.)
Rep. Elijah Cummings (Md.)
Rep. Danny Davis (Ill.)
Rep. Peter DeFazio (Ore.)
Rep. Diana DeGette (Colo.)
Rep. Donna Edwards (Md.)
Rep. Keith Ellison (Minn.)
Rep. Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.)
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (Ill.)
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D.C.)
Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Texas)
Rep. Barbara Lee (Calif.)
Rep. John Lewis (Ga.)
Rep. Betty McCollum (Minn.)
Rep. Jim McDermott (Wash.)
Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.)
Rep. Gregory Meeks (N.Y.)
Rep. Beto O’Rourke (Texas)
Rep. Chellie Pingree (Maine)
Rep. Charles Rangel (N.Y.)
Rep. Cedric Richmond (La.)
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (Ill.)
Rep. Bennie Thompson (Miss.)
Rep. John Yarmuth (Ky.)