Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds (R) will give the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) announced Tuesday.
McConnell said in a statement, “While Washington Democrats fail working Americans, Republican governors are fighting and winning for families. Governor Kim Reynolds’ brave, bold and successful leadership for Iowans has put her right at the front of the pack.”
McCarthy added saying, “Reynolds handled COVID by choosing freedom over lockdowns and personal responsibility over mandates, leading to real economic recovery from the pandemic. She kept kids in school and critical race theory out. And she stood tall for election integrity when Speaker Pelosi tried to steal a congressional seat from Iowans.”
The State of the Union address will be delivered by Biden on March 1, the latest date ever set for the constitutionally mandated speech. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) has waffled on COVID-19 capacity restrictions, first telling Republicans she would enforce a one-fourth capacity limit.Â
Pelosi received heavy criticism from Republicans for the restriction limit, some even commenting they would attend anyway. Later, the House Sergeant-at-Arms announced that all members of both chambers will be allowed to attend, but that he would enforce a mask mandate and require participants to present a negative COVID-19 test.
In justifying limits, Pelosi has pointed to the Capitol Physician’s rules for the House of Representatives. Dr. Brian Monahan, an admiral in the U.S. Navy, briefly lifted the mask mandate in the summer of 2021, but brought it back after less than two months. The Senate does not enforce a mask mandate.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will release new and highly anticipated guidance on Friday, February 25, easing indoor masking recommendations, which may change the restrictions at the State of the Union address.
Each year a rebuttal speech is given by a politician from the opposite party of the President who gave the address.
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