A formal request has been issued to the United States Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mike Johnson, for President William Ruto to address them during his official visit.
US President Joe Biden extended an invitation to Ruto for a state visit, with the meeting between the two leaders set for Thursday, May 23.
In a letter dated Tuesday, April 30, House Foreign Affairs Committee Member Gregory Meeks and Committee Chairman Michael McCaul asked Johnson to have Ruto address a joint session of Congress.
“We are writing to respectfully request that you extend a formal invitation to the President of the Republic of Kenya, His Excellency William Samoei Ruto, to address a joint session of Congress on his official visit to the United States.
If invited, President Ruto would be the first Kenyan head of state to address a joint session of Congress and the first African head of state to address Congress since former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf eighteen years ago. Such an invitation would underscore the importance of the U.S.-Kenya relationship and send a valuable signal to the people of Africa,” read the letter in part.
