State of the Union 2023: GOP lawmaker leads Republican boycott of Biden’s address
Ryan King
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Rep. Mary Miller (R-IL) is leading the GOP charge to boycott President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday, citing concerns that he will lie profusely.
So far, Republican snubbing of this year’s address appears to be down from last year, in which over a half dozen skipped the feted event. However, historical precedent and bitter polarization indicate that Miller may not be the only GOP absentee.
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“I will not be attending. I do not plan to show up to and listen to him continue to lie,” Miller told Breitbart. “[His] entire presidency has been filled with lie after lie … and I’m not going to sit there and listen to him lie and then watch the media and other members of Congress applaud him.”
She plans on giving her tickets to a colonel who was pushed into retirement for refusing to receive the COVID-19 vaccine.
Miller boycotted Biden’s address last year, as did Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Josh Hawley (R-MO), and Tom Cotton (R-AR). On the House side, she was joined by Reps. Andrew Clyde (R-GA), Chip Roy (R-TX), Bob Good (R-VA), Thomas Massie (R-KY), and Matt Rosendale (R-MT) in announcing plans to skip the speech at the time as well.
At the time, there were simmering frustrations over requirements for COVID-19 testing to attend the speech. Miller cited concerns about the Biden administration’s COVID-19 restrictions.
The Washington Examiner contacted representatives for the congressmen and senators who spurned the State of the Union address last time. Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), who initially signaled reluctance over attending Biden’s 2022 address, plans on sitting for the speech this time, according to his spokesperson.
Massie has also indicated he will likely attend the address but will don a copper-cased ticker highlighting the national debt during the speech, Roll Call reported.
Boycotts might not be the only spectacle surrounding Biden’s speech. Last time, Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO) heckled Biden and disrupted the address.
After the speech, Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) and Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) are set to offer the Republican rebuttal. Additionally, Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) was selected by the Working Families Party to deliver the progressive response to both the rebuttal and Biden’s address.
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For Miller, Biden’s address is a reminder of how “elections have consequences.”
“We’ve got to get rid of our compromised administration,” she added. “I think we need to focus on the next election and getting strong leaders in there.”