Sitting at her kitchen table in Alabama, Sen. Katie Britt called President Biden a "dithering and diminished leader" and warned of a bleak American future under his presidency in the Republican rebuttal to his State of the Union address Thursday evening, the AP reports. The first-term Alabama Republican, the youngest woman in the Senate at 42, delivered a stinging election-year critique of the president. She argued that "the country we know and love seems to be slipping away" and appealed directly to her fellow mothers, who she said are probably "disgusted" with Washington. More from her rebuttal, which did not mention Donald Trump by name:
- "For years, the left has coddled criminals and defunded the police—all while letting repeat offenders walk free," Britt said in her response. "The result is tragic but foreseeable—from our small towns to America's most iconic city streets, life is getting more and more dangerous."
- She criticized Biden's foreign policy, including his chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and talk of a renewed nuclear deal with Iran. She did not directly mention Ukraine's war with Russia, as Biden has aggressively pushed the Republican-led House to take up a Senate-passed aid package.
- In his speech, Biden called for nationwide protections for IVF following the Alabama state Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos can be considered children under state law. In her rebuttal, Britt stopped short of calling for new policy but reiterated her support for the practice, saying "we want to help loving moms and dads bring precious life into this world."
- Britt, who has made immigration a top issue, also slammed the president on the border, calling his policies a "disgrace" that have led to higher numbers of border crossings during his presidency. She noted that Biden mentioned slain Georgia nursing student Laken Riley during his speech, but said he "refused to take responsibility for his own actions." Police say Riley was killed by an immigrant in the country illegally.
Britt said "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."
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