Pacific Northwest lawmakers have mixed reactions to President Biden’s ‘fiery’ State of the Union Address

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — President Joe Biden addressed Congress and the nation in his annual State of the Union speech Thursday night, drawing mixed reactions from across the political spectrum, including from local lawmakers.

Biden discussed several issues concerning Americans, including the economy, foreign wars and the migrant crisis.

U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley, (D-Ore.), had praise for Biden’s speech, calling it a powerful vision and a job well done.

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“He drove home the message that we’re going to fight to make democracy work in America and it’s going to work for working Americans. And then he touched on the same issues that I’m hearing about in town halls across the state – that we need to tackle the cost of housing, that we need to have the best price on drugs for all Americans… That education is so important to the future of our children,” Merkley said.

U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal, (D-Wash.), also released a statement Friday via a post on X, saying Biden “knocked his speech out of the park.”

“He was fiery, optimistic, and laid out a great proposition agenda on the economy, immigration, and more to inspire Americans across this country,” Jayapal said.

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Across the aisle, U.S. Representative Lori Chavez-Deremer, (R-Ore.), criticized Biden’s speech for not more directly addressing the fentanyl crisis.

“I urged the Biden Administration to develop a concrete, timely, and bipartisan plan to address the fentanyl crisis. Unfortunately, little progress has been made, and it only received a passing mention in his speech tonight,” Chavez-Deremer said.

U.S. Representative Dan Newhouse, a (R-Wash.), also criticized Biden’s speech, saying in a statement on his website that it shows he is “completely disconnected from the issues facing Americans.”

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“It is hard to process hearing the president say that the state of our union is strong while he refuses to act on the southern border and continues to attack American energy production. These are challenges being felt in every corner of the country, and Central Washington is not excluded from that,” Newhouse said.

Though everyday issues like economics and the migrant crisis were a central focus of Biden’s speech, the campaign season added an extra flavor to the proceedings, especially when it came to partisan politics.

Biden’s speech spent a good amount of time differentiating himself from former President Donald Trump, who is likely to be his Republican competitor during this year’s Presidential election once again, setting the stage for a rematch from a similar contest in 2020. Biden even referenced “my predecessor” 13 times in his speech without mentioning Trump by name.

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