WASHINGTON, Jan 7 (Reuters) – U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson said on Wednesday he will address Britain’s parliament on January 20, as the United States marks the 250th anniversary of independence from rule by London.
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, will be the first sitting U.S. House speaker to address parliament.
“As America begins its Semiquincentennial celebration, I will be happy to visit one of the great shrines of democracy itself, where the principles that launched the long struggle for American liberty were debated and refined,” Johnson said in a statement announcing the trip.
The United States has planned a series of ceremonial events to mark the 250th anniversary of its independence in 1776.
“I am pleased to continue to mark this important occasion and acknowledge the enduring close relationship between our parliaments and people,” Sir Lindsay Hoyle, speaker of the House of Commons, said in a statement.
(Reporting by Patricia ZengerleEditing by Rod Nickel)
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