TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — No matter who the next house speaker is, the Biden administration will continue to support congresspeople making official visits overseas, including Taiwan, White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Tuesday (Nov. 23).

“We want to make it clear once again that we will continue to support travel by members of Congress regardless of who is the next speaker or whether the next speaker will travel,” Kirby said during a news briefing. He said the house speaker has the right to travel anywhere they want, including Taiwan.

U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy, who is likely to be the next house speaker, previously said he would like to lead a congressional delegation to Taiwan, according to The Wall Street Journal. Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Nov. 21 that the ministry has not yet received any notification from McCarthy about a trip to Taiwan.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi embarked on a whirlwind trip to Taiwan from Aug. 2-3. She met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and business representatives, and visited the National Human Rights Museum.