State of the Union: Rashida Tlaib delivers progressive response

Washington DC – In a highly unusual move, Squad member Rashida Tlaib delivered a progressive response to Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday.

Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib delivered a progressive response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union on Tuesday.
Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib delivered a progressive response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union on Tuesday.  © IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

"With the majority of the Build Back Better agenda stalled, Mr. President, our work is unfinished," Rep. Tlaib said on behalf of the Working Families Party. "We are ready to jumpstart our work again."

Though she praised Biden for the coronavirus vaccination program and economic relief provided through the American Rescue Plan, the Michigan Congressmember said more needs to be done to address ongoing inequities.

"Roads and bridges are critical, but so are child care and prescription drugs," she insisted, referring to the Build Back Better Act. "And we shouldn't have to choose."

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Tlaib made thinly veiled jabs at Democratic senators Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who have been blamed for tanking the Biden administration's social spending package as well as Democratic-priority voting rights legislation.

"No one fought harder for President Biden's agenda than progressives," she said. "We rallied with our supporters, held town halls in our communities, engaged new people, and we even played hardball in Congress."

"But two forces stood in the way: a Republican Party that serves only the rich and powerful, and just enough corporate-backed Democratic obstructionists to help them succeed," she added.

Her remarks highlight a growing divide between progressives, who say they best reflect the wishes of the American public, and corporate Democrats, who have often undermined their own party's agenda.

Despite these challenges, Tlaib believes Biden can do more to make good on his campaign promises, calling on him to cancel student loan debt and curb CO2 emissions through executive action.

She also said the US cannot "police away homelessness, poverty or the mental health crisis," referring to Biden's insistence that we must "fund the police."

Cover photo: IMAGO/ZUMA Wire

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