Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., is set to deliver a formal response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address next week, Politico reports.
A member of the "Squad" of progressive Democrats in Congress, Tlaib will give her speech on behalf of the left-wing Working Families Party, or WFP, the group said Wednesday.
While the party out of power usually gives a rebuttal to the president's speech, an official response from a member of the president's own party is unusual, but not unheard of. Last year, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., gave such a speech on behalf of the WFP after Biden's first address last year.
"Obstructionist Republicans and corporate Democrats have forced D.C. to a standstill while millions of kids are pushed into poverty and rising costs are making housing, healthcare, and childcare even more unaffordable," the WFP tweeted in revealing Tlaib as its speaker.
"The WFP State of the Union responses have YET to disappoint," the group tweeted. "We know this year won't be the first it does!"
In the speech, Tlaib is expected to praise Biden's stimulus bill and come out swinging against Republicans and moderate Democrats who have frustrated Biden's social spending and climate change package.
"No one fought harder for Build Back Better and a pro-democracy agenda than progressives," Tlaib told Politico in a statement. "The work is unfinished and we're not giving up on what our communities deserve. We need to get as much done for the people as we can this year and elect a majority that can deliver for working families in 2023."
Tlaib is a two-term lawmaker who represents a congressional district that includes parts of Detroit and its inner suburbs. She made history as the first woman of Palestinian descent to serve in Congress.
Iowa GOP Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the official Republican response to the president's address, Republican leaders in Congress said Tuesday.
Biden is expected to deliver the State of the Union address Tuesday, March 1, at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.