King Abdullah of Jordan was never confirmed. | Getty King Abdullah will reject GOP invitation to speak

King Abdullah of Jordan will spurn the GOP’s invitation to address House and Senate Republicans at their retreat in Baltimore on Wednesday night, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.

Though Abdullah was never confirmed, the optics of meeting with Republicans and not having a face-to-face with President Barack Obama may have proven to be too much. Abdullah met with Vice President Biden today but in the words of a senior administration official, Obama had “scheduling conflicts, including the State of the Union address” that made a meeting between the two leaders impossible this week.


This week Abdullah met with a variety of congressional leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and members of both the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In remarks to reporters on Tuesday, McConnell indicated those meetings centered on how to work with Jordan, a key U.S. ally in the war of the Islamic State, or ISIL.

“Some of us had a chance to meet with King Abdullah earlier today, and I think there’s a good deal of confusion about whether there is a plan to get rid of ISIL and whether or not the United States is going to step up and play the kind of leadership role that is necessary,” McConnell said on Tuesday.

According to draft guidance obtained by POLITICO last week, Abdullah was invited to address House and Senate Republicans on Wednesday night but had not yet confirmed his appearance. Author Jon Meacham is expected to replace Abdullah as the keynote speaker.