WASHINGTON — Without naming him, President Joe Biden took on former President Donald Trump and the GOP in a fiery, forceful State of the Union address that aimed to give lie to concerns he is too old for a second term.
There was plenty of drama in the room, with catcalls and cries of “liar” from the GOP side of the chamber.
Biden seemed to relish the opportunity for a back-and-forth, mocking the Republican lawmakers’ points and challenging them to pass an immigration bill and other legislation and approve more U.S. funding for Ukraine.
The president touted his accomplishments and presented his vision of a strong and optimistic America in one of the most political State of the Union speeches given in the chamber.
But in most ways it was a traditional State of the Union address, with Biden touting a strong American economy and rolling out a laundry list of accomplishments that included lowering prescription prices for seniors, a massive infrastructure bill, an array of clean energy initiatives and a new effort to find a cure for cancer.
To promote his student loan forgiveness programs, which have been rejected as wasteful and unfair by the GOP, Biden gave a shout out to Keenan Jones, an educator from Plymouth, Minnesota, who was a guest of First Lady Jill Biden.
Keenan is a strong advocate for teacher diversity, innovation in education, and literacy. But he was given an honored seat in Jill Biden’s gallery box for another reason.
In April 2023, Jones emailed Biden to thank him for eliminating his remaining student loan debt after 10 years of public service that allowed Keenan to continue his teaching career.
“He’s educated hundreds of students so they can go to college now he can help his own daughter pay for college,” Biden said of Keenan.
Although there were plenty of boos and jeers from Republicans in the room, some Democrats in the chamber were critical of Biden’s handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
Biden said he would order the U.S. military to conduct an “emergency mission” to establish a temporary port in Gaza that would open a new maritime route for humanitarian assistance from Cyprus.
As the president announced that new initiative, Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-5th District, held up a hand sign that said “Stop Sending Bombs,” referring to the objections of some Democratic lawmakers to the continued U.S. arming of Israel with devastating firepower that has claimed the lives of about 30,000 Palestinians.
Omar sat next to Rep. Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., who held up a similar sign that said “Lasting Ceasefire Now.”
Biden’s policy in the Middle East has sparked a growing protest among Democratic voters that has resulted in voters choosing “uncommitted” on Democratic presidential primary ballots. Nearly 20% of Democratic voters chose “uncommitted” in this week’s Super Tuesday primary in Minnesota.
The evening also featured the return to the U.S. House floor of former Rep. George Santos, who was expelled from Congress but seized on the occasion to announce he is once again running for a Long Island, N.Y., congressional seat.
Reaction from fellow Democrats to the return of Rep. Dean Phillips, D-3rd District, who abandoned his campaign challenging Biden for the Democratic presidential nomination the day before the speech, was mixed. Some fellow Democrats in the chamber enthusiastically welcomed Phillips , while others seemed to go out of the way to ignore him.
When asked by reporters how his colleagues reacted to his return, Phillips, ever the optimist, said “it was wonderful.”
“Lots of hugs and high fives and handshakes. No vinegar yet – lots of honey. People have short memories here, it’s funny,” he said.
Phillips said he challenged Biden, 81, because he believed the president was too old and frail to defeat Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, in November.
Biden took the issue of his age, which had concerned many Democrats besides Phillips and was a key talking point for Republicans, head on.
”I know I may not look like it, but I’ve been around a while,” Biden said. ”And when you get to my age certain things become clearer than ever before.”
While Democrats were clearly relieved that Biden gave such a forceful and aggressive speech, Republicans, as expected, panned the address. But some of them appeared a little nervous about its impact.
“Don’t let Biden’s #SOTU2024 rhetoric fool you,” Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, posted on X. “It’s HIS runaway spending that led to double-digit inflation on the backs of hardworking Americans.”
Minnesota’s lawmakers each invited guests to the speech.
Rep. Angie Craig, D-2nd District, invited Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, as her guest.
Rep. Tom Emmer, R-6th District, invited Tom and Cathy Hoernemann of Andover, whose son, Maj. Jeffrey Thomas Hoernemann, 32, was killed last year when his Osprey aircraft crashed over the coast of Yakushima Island, Japan, during a routine training mission.
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-5th District, invited Minnesota state Rep. Cedrick Frazier, DFL-New Hope, the sponsor of legislation that reinstated voting rights to over 55,000 Minnesotans on parole, probation or supervised release after felony convictions.
The guest of Rep. Betty McCollum, D-4th District, was Gillette Children’s Specialty Healthcare President and CEO Barbara Joers.
And Rep. Brad Finstad, R-1st District, took Brown County Sheriff Jason Seidl while Rep. Pete Stauber’s guest was Hibbing Mayor Pete Hyduke.
‘Vote no and take the dough’
With overwhelming Democratic support and the votes of more than half of the Republicans in the U.S. House, the chamber on Wednesday approved a spending package that would avert a partial shutdown of the government by funding several federal agencies whose funding would end this weekend.
The legislation was approved on a 335-85 vote. Reps. Brad Finstad, R-1st District, and Michelle Fischbach, R-7th District, were the only Minnesota lawmakers to vote “no,” even though they had millions of dollars in special projects in the bill — just like their colleagues.
Among Finstad’s earmarks are $1.1 million for construction of a municipal building in Martin County and more than $11 million for water and wastewater treatment programs in Waseca, Alpha, Albert Lea, Fairmont, Red Wing and Rock County.
Finstad also secured $2.5 million for a new runway at the New Ulm Municipal Airport and $4.3 million for construction of an intersection at U.S. Highways 44 and 14. There is also $1.2 million requested by Finstad for construction of a roundabout on a road in his district in the spending package.
Fischbach was more conservative in her requests. Still, the spending bill contains $3.5 million for arsenic mitigation in water systems in Felton and Norman and $1 million for the installation of a water tank in Red Rock. Another Fischbach earmark is $300,000 for an addition to a fire hall in Fulda.
The offices of Finstad and Fischbach did not respond to why they voted against a legislation that would funnel lots of money for projects in their district.
But other lawmakers in the same position have said they are more aware of the district than anyone else and support funding for those needs — though they don’t support overspending on other government projects and programs.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is more cynical, once calling the phenomena “vote no and take the dough.”
Finstad and Fischbach are by no means the only lawmakers who voted against the spending package that contained their earmarks. Most, if not all, of the 85 members of Congress who voted “no” also had local projects in the bill.
The $460 billion package approved by the House on Wednesday contains 6,628 earmarks totaling $12.7 billion, according to a Bloomberg Government analysis.
Questions and comments
The decision by Rep. Dean Phillips, D-3rd District, to drop out of the presidential race after a very poor showing on Super Tuesday provoked a few comments from readers.
Here’s one from a reader who concedes that Phillips may have been correct in raising concerns about Biden’s age and stamina but wasn’t the Democrat who should have challenged the president.
“I fear (without claiming to know) that Phillips is correct, and that Biden will run out of strength and energy (and more importantly, health) should he manage to win a second term … (But) Phillips is not the guy he wanted to be. It still takes (I hope) more than a sizable fortune and a suitably gigantic ego to even consider running for President. I have neither one, and Phillips has both, I think, but at least until January of 2025, voters still matter.”
Another reader reacted to a story that ran earlier this week predicting that some lawmakers who have millions of dollars in a spending package aimed at preventing a government shutdown were likely to vote against the legislation anyway. They did.
“Voting against a bill and then taking credit when it passes over your objections? A head shaker,” the reader wrote.
Please keep your comments, and any questions, coming. I’ll try my best to respond. Please contact me at aradelat@minnpost.com.
Ana Radelat
Ana Radelat is MinnPost’s Washington, D.C. correspondent. You can reach her at aradelat@minnpost.com or follow her on Twitter at @radelat.
