With Obama being a lame duck President, Durbin and Feinstein are looking ahead to their reelection.
Via Times of Israel
Senators Richard Durbin (D-Illinois) and Dianne Feinstein (D-California) wrote in a letter to Netanyahu that their intention in calling for the meeting was to “maintain Israel’s dialogue with both political parties in Congress,” Reuters reported.
The prime minister accepted an invitation last month from Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio), the speaker of the US House of Representatives, to address Congress, but the White House complained that Boehner had not cleared the invitation with Obama or Democrats in Congress.[…]
Netanyahu insisted last week that the political furor over his upcoming speech should not cloud the issue of the looming nuclear deal between world powers and Iran that, in his opinion, will fail to prevent Iran from producing nuclear weapons.
A number of Jewish groups have said the visit is unwise and have called on Netanyahu and Boehner to postpone it at least until after Israel’s March 17 elections. Some Democratic lawmakers have said they will not attend the speech.[..]
Earlier this month Durbin told CBS’s Face The Nation that he opposes the speech.
“I don’t think this political grandstanding by the speaker and Mr. Netanyahu is in the best interest of Israel,” he said, calling the event a “mistake.”
Netanyahu intends to argue before Congress on March 3 that the international community should increase its pressure on Iran, rather than ease sanctions against it under the terms of an emerging nuclear deal.
HT GetaClue