Biden delivers State of the Union as Russia-Ukraine conflict intensifies

Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell tore into GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Twitter after she and fellow Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert heckled Biden while he was speaking about his late son, Beau, and the U.S. service members who have been exposed to toxic burn pits in places like Iraq and Afghanistan.

“No one on her side will condemn her indecency,” Swalwell said of Greene, who faced tepid backlash from Republican leaders for speaking at a white nationalist conference on Friday.

Boebert yelled out as Biden mentioned Beau, an Army veteran who died from brain cancer in 2015. Despite their breach of etiquette, history suggests they are unlikely to face much condemnation from their own party. On the other hand, Greene and Boebert have both staked their careers on brazen provocation, not policy. 

When Biden took office, there was wide speculation that the expansion of the left-leaning congressional bloc, commonly called The Squad, could be a thorn in the president’s side.

But Rep. Rashida Tlaib’s State of the Union response, on behalf of the progressive Working Families Party, highlighted how much Biden has managed to satisfy and disarm that contingent of lawmakers with his policy agenda and engagement. 

“No one fought harder for President Biden’s agenda than progressives,” Tlaib said. “We rallied with our supporters, held town halls in our communities, engaged new people and we even played hardball in Congress.”

Much of Tlaib’s remarks were spent praising Biden’s agenda as effective, boosting his stalled Build Back Better bill, and criticizing the GOP for obstructing further progress. And when she proposed ideas to deal with “unfinished” work of progress, the policies she proposed like new anti-poverty legislation were not strikingly more progressive than the plans one could imagine Biden proposing if there were more Democrats in the Senate. Some of the progressive ideas she proposed were simply policies Biden has already lobbied for, like bringing down the price of life-saving drugs.

All in all, Tlaib’s speech was a reminder that Biden seems to have won over many progressive lawmakers. Some critics on the left would argue that along the way he has successfully defanged them and their power as a bloc to demand bolder policies.

​​As the Supreme Court seems poised to roll back 50 years of abortion rights in America, President Joe Biden acknowledged — somewhat demurely — the ongoing attacks on the constitutional right affirmed in Roe v. Wade. 

Although Biden did not use the word “abortion,” he did reference the need to protect a woman's right to choose if we are going to continue moving forward as a society, and not backwards. American leaders in the executive, congressional and judicial branches must all defend our access to health care and bodily autonomy. We’ll see if the men and women in robes were listening.

Biden didn’t frame his pitch to Congress on combating climate change about saving the planet or the existential threat to humanity it presents. Instead, he talked about it in terms of things he hoped more Americans would vibe with: more jobs and reducing inflation.

“We’ll create good jobs for millions of Americans, modernizing roads, airports, ports, and waterways all across America,” Biden said of the infrastructure funding Congress passed last year. That includes a pledge to build 500,000 electric vehicle charging stations. “And we’ll do it all to withstand the devastating effects of the climate crisis and promote environmental justice,” he added.

And investing in more resilience against climate change will save Americans money even in the short run, Biden argued, cutting energy costs for families an average of $500 a year.

“Let’s provide investments and tax credits to weatherize your homes and businesses to be energy efficient and you get a tax credit,” he said. “Double America’s clean energy production in solar, wind and so much more. Lower the price of electric vehicles, saving you another $80 a month because you’ll never have to pay at the gas pump again.”

Look, $1,460 in savings a year is pretty impressive for most American families. Arguing that Republicans want to keep people from having that cash in their wallets might be more effective than giving them the latest grim news from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

It may not have been an earth-shattering part of SOTU, but Biden’s announcement that the Department of Justice will appoint a chief prosecutor for pandemic fraud signifies that DOJ, the 94 U.S. Attorneys’ offices nationwide and the investigators they work with will be prioritizing prosecutions in this area. “We’re going after the criminals who stole billions in relief money meant for small businesses and millions of Americans,” the president said.

Fraud in national programs is an epidemic all its own. Following Hurricane Katrina, the GAO estimated $1.4 billion in fraud occurred. Fraud in these situations takes aid away from people who desperately need it. And the criminals who commit it deserve to be prosecuted.

And yet, it’s one thing to say these cases will be prosecuted; it’s quite another when a president so prominently calls it out. With this kind of focus, and a designated point person, we can expect the results to be robust.

Following Katrina, I prosecuted people who fraudulently obtained aid even though they were not impacted by the storm, including one woman who used the money she got to purchase a Mercedes-Benz. Setting a strong example here can simultaneously punish fraudsters, deter future crime and return stolen funds to the treasury.

Ultimately, President Biden’s speech did acknowledge the voting rights we’ve seen over the past year — but he didn’t mention the fact that conservatives are the ones waging the attack. 

“The most fundamental right in America is the right to vote — and to have it counted,” he said. “And it’s under assault.” He noted that in several states, “new laws have been passed, not only to suppress the vote, but to subvert entire elections,” adding, “we cannot let this happen.” 

These are important points to make, but they would have resonated more deeply if they’d been more prominent in the speech. None of the policies he promoted today will survive America’s anti-democratic downturn.

After being mocked heavily for how few at-home Covid tests were being made available for households, Biden said that starting next week Americans can order a second round. (A bit late, but at least they’re being made available.)

He also announced a “Test to Treat” initiative, making it “so people can get tested at a pharmacy and if they’re positive receive antiviral pills on the spot at no cost.” Pfizer is providing 1 million antiviral treatment pills this month to make that possible and “more than double that next month,” Biden said. That would be a major shift given how difficult it's been to get antiviral medicines thus far, a common attack from Republicans who have opposed vaccination mandates.

President Joe Biden has informed Americans that the state of our union is, in fact, “strong — because you, the American people, are strong.”

Every president since Bill Clinton has said as much in every State of the Union address delivered to Congress. President Ronald Reagan first used the phrase in 1983.

Not sure I agree with Biden’s analysis, but…sometimes you gotta play the classics.

President Biden touted his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, listing her accomplishments and her broad range of support. He noted she previously served as a federal public defender (she’d become the first to ever sit on the Supreme Court if confirmed by the Senate). Biden also noted that she received support from the Fraternal Order of Police. 

“She’s a consensus-builder,” Biden said, after guaranteeing she’d continue Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer’s “legacy of excellence” if and when she’s appointed.