US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson invites Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to address Congress.
“We're trying to adjust the schedule,” Johnson, who leads the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, told CNBC.
The news comes amid growing tensions between Israeli leaders and key US Democrats.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called on Israeli voters to replace Netanyahu, whom he viewed as an obstacle to Gaza peace talks.
“I would love to have him come to Parliament and address a joint session of Congress,” Mr Johnson told the network on Thursday. “We will definitely extend that invitation.”
He added that he had been personally invited to address Israeli lawmakers in parliament, calling it a “huge honor.”
Mr. Schumer, who is Jewish and a supporter of Israel, gave a 40-minute speech on the Senate floor last week, calling for Israel to hold new elections to replace Mr. Netanyahu.
He criticized Prime Minister Netanyahu and his conservative government as having “lost their way” over their response to the Gaza war, and claimed that Netanyahu was standing in the way of peace between Israel and the Palestinians.
Mr Johnson criticized those comments on Thursday.
“It is clearly unreasonable to suggest to our most powerful ally in the Middle East, the only stable democracy, that we know better how to run a democracy,” he said. .
In response to Mr. Johnson, Mr. Schumer's office issued a statement saying he did not object to Mr. Netanyahu's speech.
“Israel has no stronger ally than the United States, and our relationship goes beyond one president and one prime minister,” Schumer said.
“I always welcome the opportunity for an Israeli prime minister to speak in parliament on a bipartisan basis.”
Johnson's comments about the invitation came a day after Netanyahu addressed Republicans in the Senate behind closed doors. Mr. Schumer declined Mr. Netanyahu's request to meet with Senate Democrats, saying the speech should be bipartisan.
Mr. Netanyahu last spoke in the U.S. Congress in 2015, when both chambers were controlled by Republicans. He used the opportunity to criticize then-Democratic President Barack Obama's pursuit of agreements with U.S. allies and Iran to reduce their nuclear programs.
Netanyahu's possible speech comes as an aid bill to Israel appears to be stalled in Congress and as Israel prepares for an operation in Rafah, a city in southern Gaza where Palestinian refugees have fled.
An Israeli delegation is scheduled to visit Washington next week to discuss the planned attack, U.S. officials said. They were invited by President Joe Biden, who sought to dissuade Israel from carrying out the operation in a recent phone call with Prime Minister Netanyahu.
Biden, who is running for re-election in November, has sought to persuade Israel to limit the war in Gaza, which began after Hamas militants attacked southern Israel on October 7, resulting in deaths. They are under political pressure from the party's left to do more to achieve this. Approximately 1,200 people participated, and more than 250 were taken hostage.
More than 31,000 Palestinian civilians have been killed since the war began, according to the Hamas-led Gaza Health Ministry. This death toll has sparked international concern and condemnation.