Hispanic Lawmakers Want Peña Nieto to Address Congress
Sen.Bob Menendez, D-N.J. rushes to the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington,
By Kyle Cheney
Hispanic members of Congress are urging House and Senate leaders to invite Mexico President Enrique Peña Nieto to address a joint session of Congress, a move they say is needed to strengthen ties that have been frayed by the Trump administration.
“Recent statements and actions by the Trump Administration have damaged our nations’ ties,” the leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus wrote in a letter to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. “It is absolutely critical that Congress reiterate the United States’ commitment to our important ally Mexico.”
The letter is signed by caucus Chairwoman Michelle Lujan-Grisham, Sen. Bob Menendez, and Reps. Joaquin Castro, Ruben Gallego, Pete Aguilar and Norma Torres, all Democrats.
The Trump administration is already moving to smooth over a turbulent beginning to its relationship with Mexico, rooted in President Donald Trump’s campaign pledge to build a border wall and force America’s southern neighbor to pay for it. On Thursday morning, the State Department announced that Secretary Rex Tillerson will be traveling to Mexico City.
A previously planned visit by Peña Nieto to the White House was canceled last month over Trump’s insistence that Mexico fund the border wall, and conflicting reports about a rocky phone call between the two leaders.
In their letter to congressional leaders, the Hispanic Caucus members argued that members of Congress “would benefit from engaging directly” with Peña Nieto. They also urged leadership to consult with Trump before inviting the president of Mexico.
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