State of the Union 2023: Biden urges Congress to finish economic fight-backon February 8, 2023 at 4:13 am

US President Joe Biden called on Republicans to help “finish the job” of delivering for hardworking families, in his State of the Union address.

The Democrat stressed the importance of bipartisanship to a divided Congress where the lower chamber now has a Republican majority.

He also vowed to defend US sovereignty in the wake of an incursion by an alleged Chinese spy balloon.

The speech was seen as a blueprint for a widely expected 2024 re-election bid.

Mr Biden’s 72-minute address on Tuesday night came as his public approval rating hovers near the lowest level of his presidency.

In a rebuttal, Republicans accused Mr Biden’s government of being more preoccupied with “woke fantasies” than “the hard realities Americans face every day”.

Over the president’s shoulder at the rostrum in the House of Representatives during the speech was one of his most vocal critics, the Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Adopting the mantle of uniter-in-chief, Mr Biden extended an olive branch to the opposition party, which took over the lower chamber of Congress last month with vows to investigate the president’s family and Cabinet.

“To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress,” said the president, who has previously been accused by his opponents of divisive rhetoric.

He added: “We’ve been sent here to finish the job!”

Mr Biden also said that two years after supporters of his predecessor Donald Trump rioted at the US Capitol, America’s democracy was “unbowed and unbroken”.

He devoted one line of the 7,200-word speech in reference to the foreign policy imbroglio that has gripped the nation in recent days: a suspected Chinese spy balloon that crossed US territory before the American military shot it down off the coast of South Carolina at the weekend.

The president said he was committed to working with America’s main competitor, adding: “But make no mistake: as we made clear last week, if China’s threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did.”

Republicans have been demanding to know why Mr Biden waited a week to act.

The speech was light on foreign policy in general, with Ukraine – the main topic of his State of the Union last year in the wake of Russia’s invasion – getting a brief mention towards the end of this year’s remarks.

The president focused on domestic issues, hailing the resilience and strength of the US economy, with unemployment having dropped to a half-century low in January and promising signs that the worst inflation in four decades is cooling. But he said American families needed more “breathing room”.

Mr Biden ticked through a political wish-list – including an assault weapons ban, a minimum tax for billionaires and access to pre-school for three and four-year-olds – though many of the proposals are likely to go nowhere in Congress.

He also condemned “outrageous” profits by oil companies, but drew scorn from Republicans in the chamber when he said: “We’re going to need oil for at least another decade.”

Mr Biden delivered the address to a full House featuring high-profile guests – including U2’s Bono – and nearly every senior member of government.

He covered a range of other issues, including police reform following the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis last month.

The 80-year-old president is also facing questions over his ability to serve a second presidential term, which would end when he is 86.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders – the country’s youngest governor, best known for her tenure as press secretary to former President Trump – delivered the Republican response to the address.

The rebuttal is often delivered by young rising stars in the opposition party and frequently from outside Washington.

Mrs Sanders said: “Most Americans simply want to live their lives in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didn’t start and never wanted to fight.”