By Corinne Murdock |
Arizona’s congressional leaders had varied reactions to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address on Thursday, largely toeing party lines. Nearly all addressed the state of the border and the economy; however, while Republicans generally viewed each as being in a negative state, Democrats viewed them as being in a positive state.
Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) issued the lengthiest play-by-play during Biden’s remarks in a series of X posts (formerly Twitter), touching on the major issues facing the country: involvement in foreign conflicts, as well as the economic, crime, and illegal immigration crises.
- The average military age in Ukraine is 42. They’ve lost 500,000 men. Why are we encouraging war instead of encouraging peace?
- Joe Biden has actually weaponized our government against his enemies. These included protestors on both the Left and Right, school board parents, and Catholics.
- Joe Biden’s economy has been a disaster for Americans. There has been 19.8 percent inflation since January 2021, costing Arizona families $12,891 this year, according to the Joint Economic Committee.
- Under Joe Biden’s leadership, layoffs have surged to the highest level in 15 years.
- If Joe Biden really wants to take down Big Pharma, he should support, pass, and sign our bill that would eliminate immunity for dangerous vaccines.
- We’re $34 trillion in debt, Joe. The Affordable Care Act: still unaffordable.
- Education is actually a state issue.
- The last thing we need in our education is Dr. Jill [Biden] and Joe reading to three-year-olds.
- Joe, has your son paid back his taxes yet?
- Joe Biden actually wants to ensure the Child Tax Credit goes to illegal aliens.
- Joe Biden is actually making insulin prices higher for Americans.
- When does Big Government get out of the way? It doesn’t.
- Joe Biden can shut the border down NOW. Get it done!
- Joe Biden is separating families. His Administration has lost some 140,000 illegal aliens from the border.
- The biggest dark money distributors are DEMOCRATS.
- Democrats have called for defunding the police. Crime is everywhere as a result.
- Joe Biden is citing figures from the Gaza Health Ministry. They were found to have completely fabricated their casualty figures.
- These so-called UN humanitarian workers actually helped facilitate the heinous October 7th attacks in Israel.
- Joe Biden’s plan to create a ‘Gaza Port’ actually fast-tracks aid to Hamas. GOP Oversight and I have been conducting oversight on our aid to Gaza. It’s ending up in the wrong hands.
Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ-06) criticized Biden’s address as “divisive,” “disconnected,” avoidant of all responsibility for issues like the border crisis, and void of “real solutions.” Ahead of the SOTU, Ciscomani issued his endorsement of President Donald Trump. Ciscomani said that, despite Biden’s failings, he had hope for a national revival.
“President Biden’s State of the Union was divisive, devoid of real solutions, and disconnected from our real needs,” said Ciscomani. “While those [issues] still persist, so does the will and determination of our people and the American spirit that built this country. As long as we have that, I remain optimistic for our future and focused on fighting for our families.”
Ciscomani’s guest was Jane Strain, an Army veteran from Sierra Vista.
Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) also issued a brief play-by-play during the SOTU. Crane criticized Biden’s focus on foreign nations over America, and dismissed the feasibility of the border provisions within the failed $118 billion foreign aid bill.
- Biden mentioning Ukraine before America is pretty on brand.
- He seems to be pretty nervous about his predecessor, given how often he’s referring to him.
- The ‘toughest border security bill’ Biden is referring to would only force action by DHS after 5,000 criminal aliens infiltrated PER DAY FOR A WEEK.
- “All Americans deserve the freedom to be safe and America is safer today than when I took office.” – Biden. 8+ million criminal aliens have infiltrated our communities during Biden’s time in office.
- Tough talk about China from someone who let a Chinese spy balloon traverse the entire contiguous United States.
Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) also issued a brief play-by-play during the SOTU. Gallego praised the CHIPS and PACT Acts, critiqued the unfairness of fees on service items, and urged agreement on a border security bill.
- Arizona is a hub that’s seeing major benefits from the CHIPS Act. That’s more jobs, higher wages, and a boon to our state’s economy. I’m proud to have helped get it passed.
- Arizona families are tired of price gouging junk fees that raise the cost of everything from hotels to phone plans. I’ve introduced the Junk Fees Prevention Act to put an end to it.
- Arizona needs the bipartisan border deal. Far-right extremists killed it. I’ll keep fighting for real solutions to secure our border and fix our broken system.
- I slept next to burn pits in Iraq, and I’ve seen too many of my Marines brothers suffer because of it. That’s why I fought to pass the PACT Act and ensure all toxic-exposed veterans get the healthcare they need.
Gallego’s guests to the SOTU were two Marines that served with him in Iraq, John and Cheston Bailon.
Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ-07) said that Biden’s address was a “robust defense” of current policy. Grijalva focused on the passage of Biden’s massive budget bills, which have financed a wide array of projects and initiatives including infrastructure, and contrasted Biden with former President Donald Trump.
“The American people continue to benefit from the Biden administration’s landmark legislative accomplishments, including the Inflation Reduction Act, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, CHIPS and Science Act. These laws are revitalizing Arizona with projects like the I-10 expansion, the City of Tucson’s 22nd Street bridge, millions of dollars to update clean drinking water infrastructure, the San Luis and Douglas Ports-of-Entry, and more. The Biden presidency stands in direct contrast to the extremism presented by Trump and Congressional Republicans. Trump and Republicans tried to overturn a democratic election, repealed Roe v. Wade, refused to secure resources for our border and pass immigration reform, and supported tax breaks for corporations and billionaires instead of helping working families. Through chaos and threats, Republicans have shown over the past two years that they are incapable of governing. All the while, Trump and Republicans remain fixated on the southern border and chose to block bipartisan immigration reform for the sake of campaign politics. I do, however, caution President Biden from pushing for Trump-era immigration policies that have not yielded any positive results and only worsened conditions at the border for families and individuals seeking refuge in our country. Real immigration reform is needed, and it begins with providing the necessary resources to localities like those in Southern Arizona that are at the forefront of the situation. It’s clear the American people have benefitted from the leadership of President Biden and his commitment to defending the freedoms and values essential to American democracy. I look forward to working together with President Biden to ensure we can build on the historic progress we have made thus far and champion bold policies to protect reproductive freedom, establish a living wage, guarantee paid leave, ensure climate justice, hold corporations accountable, require the wealthy to pay their fair share in taxes, safeguard Social Security and Medicare, and defend and advance racial equity and civil rights for every American for future generations.”
Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) also issued a play-by-play, focusing on how Biden policies have resulted in an increased cost of living, and a sweeping crisis of illegal immigration and crime.
- President Biden touts his economic policies, meanwhile the average American family is spending $1K+ more per/month than they were 3 years ago for the same things. Are those families supposed to believe Bidenomics is working?
- List of things the American people can no longer afford: Gas, Groceries, Housing, Vehicles, Utilities AND MORE! His claims of the success of #Bidenomics are a slap in the face to every American family struggling through this cost-of-living crisis!
- Since Biden took office, the income needed to purchase a home comfortably has gone up 80%. That’s the reality of #Bidenomics
- Is it really a surprise Biden is blaming the Republicans on the border crisis? Of course he doesn’t want to take accountability for halting construction of the border wall, ending ‘Remain in Mexico’, starting catch-and-release, and more. He’s failed, and he knows it.
- These “pro-immigrant” policies President Biden is touting are the same ones that get women and children trafficked and raped, kidnap families, and allow terrorists to move into your neighborhood.
- Why is President Biden blaming House Republicans when he could… Reinstate ‘Remain in Mexico’, End catch-and-release, Stop the taxpayer funded migrant money grabs, Build the wall. President Biden caused the border crisis.
- There’s an invasion at our Southern Border whether Biden believes it or not. That’s why I introduced my resolution recognizing the border crisis as an invasion. We’ve already had more than 1 MILLION illegal crossings this fiscal year! Sounds like an invasion to me.
- FACT CHECK: DC had the highest number of homicides in 2023 since 1997. Our country has gotten no safer under the Biden Administration and Biden’s soft-on-crime policies will only make it worse.
Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ-01) focused on the poor fiscal health of the nation in his response: a $3 trillion increase in the national debt over the past year.
“The national debt will have increased by over $333 million by the time President Biden finishes speaking. Our nation’s fiscal health is rapidly deteriorating,” said Schweikert. I won’t stop sounding the alarm about our intensifying fiscal nightmare.
Rep. Greg Stanton (D-AZ-04) also offered a brief play-by-play during the SOTU. Stanton focused on abortion rights, semiconductor manufacturing, pharmaceutical costs, and the border.
- When the Supreme Court overturned Roe, they turned back the clock on women’s rights in America. Congress must make the protections Roe provided the law of the land once again.
- The CHIPS Act is bringing in billions of dollars in investment to Arizona, and creating thousands of good paying jobs that don’t require a college degree. Advanced manufacturing is returning to the United States.
- We’ve capped the cost of insulin at $35 a month for seniors on Medicare, lowered the cost of health care coverage, and finally forced Big Pharma to negotiate lower drug prices. Now we’re working to expand these savings to ALL Americans.
- I was in Nogales just last week to meet with federal law enforcement and leaders on the front lines of the border crisis. Every day that extreme House Republicans block a vote on a border funding bill, it’s Arizona communities that suffer the consequences.
- “We can fight about the border or we can fix it. I’m ready to fix it.” – @POTUS Let’s get it done.
In her play-by-play, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) said that the Republican and Democratic parties were resisting mutual solutions to the border crisis. Sinema also discussed laws passed under her on gun regulation and benefits for injured veterans.
- Both parties are guilty of pointing fingers and pushing off the blame when it comes to our border crisis. If partisans care about securing the border as much as they pretend to on cable news appearances, let’s drop the talking points and deliver real results.
- After the horrific Uvalde shooting, I brought Senators in both parties together to craft the Bipartisan Safer Communities law – breaking the 30 year logjam on gun violence prevention legislation. Since then, gun violence has dropped by 12% in urban centers and 10% elsewhere.
- Earlier this week, millions of veterans exposed to toxins while serving gained access to health care thanks to our work on the PACT Act law. That’s how we work to deliver lasting solutions for those we serve.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) issued a brief defense of the Biden administration as having implemented positive progress for the country.
“Tonight, President Biden illustrated the clear choice our country faces between continuing the progress we’ve made over the past few years or going backwards,” said Kelly.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
