Kevin McCarthy to become second House Speaker to address Israel’s Knesset

Kevin McCarthy will spend his first international trip as House Speaker visiting Israel, where he will give an address before the country’s legislative body, he announced Tuesday.

“My first trip abroad as Speaker will be a return to Israel to commemorate their 75th year of statehood,” said McCarthy, confirming he accepted an invitation from New Knesset Speaker Amir Ohana.

The speech will make McCarthy, R-Calif., the second House speaker to address the Knesset. Newt Gingrich was the only speaker to give an address before the parliament when he did so in 1998.

McCarthy added: “The US-Israel relationship is as important as ever, and I’m proud to accept Amir Ohana’s invitation as the 2nd Speaker of the House in history to address the Knesset.”

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McCarthy will lead a bipartisan delegation of 20 Republican and Democratic members of Congress to Israel on April 30, Axios reported.

The congressional delegation will celebrate Israel’s 75th anniversary of statehood.

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Ohana, a member of Israel’s Likud party, was sworn into power on Thursday, December 29, 2022, the same day Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also regained power.

“Mr. Speaker, we are very excited to host you in your second home – the Knesset. Thank you for your longstanding support for Israel!” Omar said Tuesday.

Just over a week later, and thousands of miles away, McCarthy was sworn in as U.S. Speaker, after a series of turbulent votes on Saturday, January 7, 2023.

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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-NY, will make a separate trip to Israel several days earlier.

The visit also comes amid turmoil and violent clashes between the country and residents of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

Earlier in the month, McCarthy hosted Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in Los Angeles, where the two leaders discussed China’s increasingly aggressive behavior in the Indo-Pacific region.

At the time, McCarthy emphasized a peace-through-strength approach to foreign relations. He also emphasized the meeting was a “bipartisan meeting of members of Congress” and not just a meeting of one political party.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.