Sweeping bipartisan Netanyahu boycott grows to include Pelosi

• "The purpose of having Netanyahu address Congress is to bolster his political standing in Israel," Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), a libertarian isolationist, said in a post on X.
• "I don't feel like being a prop so I won't be attending," he said.

What they're saying: "Speaker Pelosi will not be attending today's Joint Meeting of Congress," a Pelosi spokesperson said.

• "This morning, she will join a Members meeting with Israeli citizens whose families have suffered in the wake of the October 7th Hamas terror attack and kidnappings."
• Pelosi joins a number of leading Democrats skipping the event, including former House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.) and former Jan. 6 committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

Zoom in: Some Jewish progressives also said they plan to sit out the speech.

• Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), who had been on the fence, told Axios he won't attend over Netanyahu's plan to meet with former President Trump. "When I saw he was going to Mar-a-Lago, I just thought that was too much," he said.
• Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) said in a speech she is boycotting because the speech will "serve as a distraction from the prime minister's failure of leadership."

Go deeper: Democrats' chaos makes Netanyahu speech an "afterthought"