The address followed a much more limited joint address Biden delivered last year, shortly after his inauguration amid the fast-spreading Delta variant of the coronavirus and his predecessor Donald Trump’s second impeachment over the Capitol insurrection.
The first lady’s other guest was Frances Haugen, the former Facebook employee who exposed what the company may have known about damage caused by its social media platforms.
The audience inside the House chamber was much larger than the 200 allowed last year due to pandemic restrictions but much smaller than the usual 1,600 that typically includes special guests of lawmakers who this year were not granted extra tickets. “President Biden is not rising to the moment.” “Unfortunately, the state of our union is not good,” said Sen. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, stood with her party and yelled, “Yes!”īiden thanked retiring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer - he put his hand on his heart and acknowledged the applause - and urged confirmation of his nominee, federal judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.īut as he charted the year ahead, even Biden’s suggestion they could come together on his “unity agenda” fighting opioid addiction, boosting mental health, helping veterans and ending cancer may face difficulty in the harshly divided Congress.
YELLOW FLAG WITH RED STRIPES TRUMP SUPPORTERS FREE
Several Democrats tested positive and had to stay home.īiden began his speech focusing on the crisis in Ukraine, a moment of common ground that drew a number of standing ovations from Republicans.Īs the evening moved from foreign to domestic policy, the partisan divide deepened - Democrats cheering Biden’s long list of legislative priorities, from voting rights to free community college, while Republicans sat silently, some mouthing their displeasure.Īnd no applause was as loud or in unison as when the president said: “The answer is not to defund the police,” when talking about his plans to address gun violence and police brutality. Marco Rubio of Florida said he didn’t want to engage in the “theater” of coronavirus protocols when all attendees were required to have a COVID-19 test. Several Republican lawmakers skipped the speech altogether. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, who almost singularly tanked Biden’s “Build Back Better” domestic agenda of social spending and climate change programs, sat on the Republican side of the aisle. While his administration’s response to Russian aggression in Europe has been met with rare and remarkable bipartisan support - House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy tucked one of the flags in his suit jacket - the division between the two parties in Congress is palpable, even among factions of Democrats. Beau Biden, and legislation to support veterans exposed to toxic fumes from military burn pits used to get rid of waste and equipment. At the time, Biden was talking about the death of his son, Army Maj. “You put them in - 13 of them,” Boebert yelled. Lauren Boebert of Colorado blamed Biden for the deaths of 13 service members killed in the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. In one of the most dramatic outbursts of the evening, Republican Rep. “It worked,” Biden said loudly, as Republicans murmured boos and Democrats jumped to their feet to applaud - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer eagerly jumping twice to clap approval. Signs of partisan tensions flared as soon as Biden touted his $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, which not a single Republican supported as Democrats passed it through Congress last year. Indeed, the Constitution requires the president “from time to time” to give Congress information on the state of the Union.įor Biden, this first State of the Union speech arrived amid the backdrop of a war, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and a number of legislative defeats for the Democratic president and his allies on Capitol Hill. The event, usually held in January, provides the president an opportunity to outline his agenda for the year ahead.
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