A group of House Republicans is calling on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to reschedule President Joe Biden’s joint address to Congress.
In a letter to Pelosi, the lawmakers note Biden’s address is scheduled during the week when only the Senate is in session and when the House is scheduled to stand in recess.
They acknowledged it has been reported only a small number of members of Congress will be invited to attend.
“In our nation’s history, it is unprecedented to convene a joint session of Congress such as this without extending an invitation to all members of Congress. As you know, the House Chamber and House Gallery can accommodate about 950 individuals,” they wrote.
The lawmakers continued, “We understand the need to prioritize the safety of members and believe strongly that with the right precautions and social distancing measures a space designed to accommodate almost 1,000 individuals can operate at about 50 percent capacity to safely accommodate all members of the House and Senate who attend.”
The letter was signed by Reps. Claudia Tenney (N.Y.), Tom McClintock (Calif.), Randy Weber (Texas), Russ Fulcher (Idaho), Lauren Boebert (Colo.), Louie Gohmert (Texas), Dan Bishop (N.C.), Madison Cawthorn (N.C.), Greg Steube (Fla.) and Van Taylor (Texas).
They pointed out hundreds of members were on the House floor on Jan. 3 for their swearing in and hundreds of guests were in the gallery.
“If it could be safely done then, it can be safely done now, especially with more members vaccinated than ever before,” the letter reads.
The House Republicans argue, “Scheduling this address for a day when the House is not in session and prohibiting Members of Congress from attending would be unprecedented and undermine the very spirit of our representative, constitutional Republic.”
Last week, Biden accepted Pelosi’s invitation to address Congress, as IJR reported.
“The President has accepted the invitation of the Speaker of the House to address a Joint Session of Congress on April 28, the night before his 100th day in office,” a White House official said in a statement per the White House pool report.