Katie Britt to call Biden a ‘diminished leader’ in GOP response to the State of the Union
WASHINGTON — Sen. Katie Britt will call President Joe Biden a “hesitant and diminished leader” in the Republican rebuttal to his State of the Union address Thursday evening, according to excerpts of her prepared remarks.
The first-term Alabama Republican, the youngest woman in the Senate, will deliver a sharp criticism of the president during the election year, arguing that “the country we know and love appears to be slipping away.”
Britt, a 42-year-old former congressional staffer and mother of two, was elected to the Senate in 2022 with the support of former President Donald Trump. She vowed to come to Washington as a “mom on a mission” and has played a unique role in the GOP conference as an adviser to Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and as a veteran former aide on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
It’s the third year in a row that Republicans have picked a woman to address the nation after Biden leaves the stage — and Britt’s comments reflect the same dark vision for the future under Biden and Democrats laid out by the governor of Arkansas, Sarah Huckabee Sanders in 2023. and Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds in 2022.
“For years, the left has coddled criminals and defunded the police – while letting repeat offenders walk free,” Britt will say in her response. “The result is tragic but predictable: From our small towns to America’s most iconic city streets, life is becoming increasingly dangerous.”
She criticizes Biden’s foreign policy, including his chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021 and rumors of a renewed nuclear deal with Iran. The excerpts of her prepared remarks make no mention of Ukraine’s war with Russia, as Biden has aggressively pressured the Republican-led House to pass a Senate-approved aid package.
Britt, who has made immigration a top issue, also blasts the president on the border, calling his policies a “disgrace” that has led to an increase in border crossings during his presidency.
“Right now, our commander-in-chief is not in command,” Britt will say. “The free world deserves better than a hesitant and diminished leader. America deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets and strong defenses are the cornerstones of a great country.”
The excerpts also make no mention of Trump, the frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination, who supported Britt in December. But she will say the country is at a crossroads, and “I know the choice our children deserve — and the choice the Republican Party is fighting for.”