Senator Katie Britt of Alabama, the youngest female Republican in the US Senate, is poised to deliver the GOP’s counterpoint to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address late Thursday night. The party aims to challenge the president’s legislative achievements and his bid for a second term.
According to advance excerpts from her speech, Britt will critique the president and his administration on issues such as immigration and border control, the economy, and crime and safety. “The true, unvarnished State of our Union begins and ends with this: Our families are hurting,” the senator is anticipated to say. “Our country can do better.”
President Biden will present his annual presidential remarks to a joint session of Congress Thursday evening, with Britt’s rebuttal following shortly after. This has been a yearly tradition for the opposition party to respond to the president’s address since the Reagan era, as per the Senate’s website.
Biden is expected to urge both Republicans and Democrats to take action on issues he believes they should agree on, such as the fentanyl crisis, increasing aid for veterans, addressing mental health, expanding data privacy protections, and finding a cure for cancer. He may also emphasize that a return to a Donald Trump presidency poses a threat to democracy, having recently intensified his criticism of his predecessor on the campaign trail.
At 42, Britt is being promoted by GOP leaders as a prominent voice in a new generation of Republican lawmakers, in an effort to contrast the Alabama senator with Biden, the oldest president at 81. Republicans frequently use the president’s age to argue against his serving a second term, despite Trump being only slightly younger at 77.
Excerpts from Britt’s speech suggest she will state, “Right now, our Commander in Chief is not in command. The free world deserves better than a dithering and diminished leader. America deserves leaders who recognize that secure borders, stable prices, safe streets, and a strong defense are the cornerstones of a great nation.”
Last week, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement that Britt will provide a “different perspective” to Biden’s attempt “to convince the American people to accept historic inflation, rampant crime, retreat on the world stage, and functionally open borders as the new normal.” McConnell further praised Britt as an “unapologetic optimist” and a leading voice in the fight for a stronger American future.
Britt was first elected in 2022, becoming the first woman elected to the Senate from Alabama. She succeeded retiring Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, whom she previously served as chief of staff, with Trump’s endorsement.
Recently, Britt’s state has been in the national spotlight following the Alabama Supreme Court’s ruling that frozen embryos are children and those who destroy them can be held liable for wrongful death. This decision, seen as infringing on IVF, has led several GOP lawmakers to distance themselves from it. CNN reported that some providers in the state resumed some in vitro fertilization services Thursday, following the governor’s signing of a new bill aimed at protecting IVF patients and providers from the legal liability imposed by the state Supreme Court ruling.
This story has been updated with additional developments. CNN’s Lauren Mascarenhas and Isabel Rosales contributed to this report.