What next after request to have President Ruto address US joint Congress

This after a request has been issued to the United States Speaker of the House of Representatives and Republican member of Congress, Mike Johnson, to have Ruto address a joint session.

If approval is granted, President Ruto would be the first Kenyan Head of State to address a joint session of Congress.

"It is crucial for members of Congress to understand how Kenya’s active participation in Africa’s future and beyond is vital for peace and stability in the region and aligns with the broader economic and strategic interests of the United States," reads the invitation letter in part.

What follows now awaiting the approval is a formal extension by the Speaker of the House on behalf of the House and Senate leadership.

The approval would be similar to the one made to His Holiness Pope Francis Holy See of Rome in 2015.

“It is my honor as Speaker, and on behalf of the bipartisan leadership of the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, to extend to you as head of state of the Holy See an open invitation to appear before and address a Joint Meeting of the two houses of Congress assembled in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives.”

'Invitation only'

According to the Congressional Research Service, a joint meeting of Congress is generally held when a prominent individual, often a foreign leader, is invited to address the House and Senate simultaneously. 

Because addressing a joint meeting of Congress is available by invitation only, agreement on whom to invite and when they will speak is generally reached between the House and the Senate

These meetings are formally called House or Senate receptions.  

Originally, the standard practice was for the House and Senate to receive the visitors separately. 

The first House reception was held on December 10, 1824, when the Marquis de Lafayette, a French General who served in the Revolutionary War, addressed the chamber. 

The last leader received by the House alone was Mexican President José Lopez Portillo on February 17, 1977.

In the Senate, the first reception was held on January 5, 1852, when Louis Kossuth, the exiled Governor of Hungary, made his address.

The last Senate reception was held on August 16, 1967, with Kurt George Kiesinger, Chancellor of West Germany.

Following World War II, the Congressional Insitute dictated, the United States became more prominent in global affairs and politics and Congress began using joint meetings more frequently to host visiting dignitaries. 

After the new regulation, King Kalakaua of Hawaii (then a kingdom) was the first to address a joint meeting and since then there have been more than 120 foreign leaders who have addressed a joint meeting of Congress.

Some of the notable top leaders who have addressed the Congress include former South African president Nelson Mandela on Oct. 6, 1994, ex-German Chancellor Angela Merkel on November 3, 2009 and French President Emmanuel Macron (April 25, 2018).

Others are Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (December 21, 2022), India Prime Minister Narendra Modi (June 22, 2023) and recently Japan Prime Minster Kishida Fumio on April 11, 2024.