State of the Union: Joe Biden vows to work with Republicans – and says US democracy is bruised but unbroken
Joe Biden has vowed to work with political rivals in his latest State of the Union address.
The US president was speaking before Congress for the first time since Republicans took control of the House of Representatives last month.
While he acknowledged that America’s democracy is bruised, Mr Biden stressed it is “unbowed and unbroken”.
The Democrat said “there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress” – and Americans crave unity.
He added: “The people sent us a clear message. Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere … We’ve been sent here to finish the job!”
President Joe Biden arrives to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
What is the State of the Union?
This annual speech gives the president an opportunity to set out their legislative priorities for the year ahead.
Mr Biden has appealed for bipartisan efforts on cancer research, supporting veterans, and beating the “opioid and overdose epidemic”.
But some of his other proposals – such as a minimum tax for billionaires – are unlikely to be passed by the current Congress.
And the president’s wish for a nationwide cap on the cost of insulin, meaning diabetes patients wouldn’t pay more than $35 (£29) a month, may not get congressional approval either.
Among those who are uninsured, the cost of insulin can be up to $900 (£746) a month – forcing many to ration or skip doses and endanger their health.
Elsewhere in the speech, Mr Biden focused on policing reform following the death of Tyre Nichols, a black man who died after being beaten by officers in Memphis.
The White House and new Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy have been at loggerheads over America’s $31.4trn (£26trn) debt ceiling, which needs to be raised in the coming months to avoid a default.
In a video ahead of the State of the Union, Mr McCarthy said he respects the Democrats but has the right to disagree on policy.
He added: “I want to make sure this country is stronger, economically sound, energy independent, secure and accountable.”
Mr McCarthy also cautioned Mr Biden against using the term “extreme MAGA Republicans” in his address – a nod to Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” slogan.
Pic: AP
Biden remains unpopular
A recent Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll put Mr Biden’s approval rating at 41%, which is close to the lowest level of his presidency.
Right now, 65% of Americans believe the country is on the wrong track, compared with 58% a year ago.
Like the UK, the US has also been suffering from red-hot levels of inflation in recent months – but the Federal Reserve is expecting “significant declines” throughout 2023.
Mr Biden’s speech was designed to set an optimistic tone ahead of a second presidential campaign in 2024, which is expected to launch in a matter of weeks.
He turned 80 years old in November and would be 82 if re-elected for a second term – and recent polls suggest this is a cause for concern among many Democratic voters.
A man has pleaded guilty to murdering four University of Idaho students in November 2022.
Bryan Kohberger, a 30-year-old former criminal justice student, was arrested at his parents’ home in Pennsylvania weeks after the killings.
He was accused of sneaking into the rented home in Moscow, Idaho, which is not far from the university campus, and attacking Ethan Chapin, Xana Kernodle, Madison Mogen and Kaylee Goncalves.
Kohberger previously pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and burglary.
It comes after he agreed to a plea deal, just weeks before his trial was set to begin, in a bid to avoid the death penalty.
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Bryan Kohberger during a hearing in Latah County District Court in Moscow, Idaho. Pic: Reuters
Kaylee Goncalves, Maddie Mogen and Xana Kernodle, and Xana’s boyfriend Ethan Chapin
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It is certainly big – 940 pages long – but on the question of beauty, Congress is divided.
Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” has sparked ugly debate – both for its ambitious scope and for the political manoeuvring that’s gone on around it.
Elon Musk branded it “political suicide” for Republicans and threatened to fund challenges against those who back it in next year’s midterm elections.
But the president hit back, suggesting he would consider cutting Musk’s lucrative government contracts or even deporting him back to South Africa.
The “big, beautiful bill”, or HR 1 to give the proposed legislation its proper title, is Mr Trump’s signature spending and tax policy.
It extends tax cuts he secured in 2017 and bankrolls his second-term agenda in the White House.
File pic: Reuters
Here is a summary of the key points:
• Permanent tax cuts: Extending relief from the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
• Small business support: Doubling the small business expensing limit to $2.5m (£1.8m) to help businesses expand and hire staff
• Child tax credit: Expanding the child tax credit and making it permanent, benefiting 40 million families
• Making housing affordable: Expanding the low-income housing tax credit to kickstart construction of affordable homes
• Defence and border security: Allocating $170bn (£123bn) for border security alone, including $46bn (£33bn) for completing the border wall
• Made-in-America incentives: Providing tax breaks and incentives for domestic manufacturing to promote US industry
• Healthcare and social welfare: Implementing restrictions on Medicaid, which provides healthcare for millions of Americans, and reducing funding for certain healthcare and nutrition programmes.
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Clash over ‘monster’ debt bill
Musk, Mr Trump’s former ally and the man who established the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), claimed the bill “raises the debt ceiling by $5trn, the biggest increase in history.”
“DOGE is the monster that might have to go back and eat Elon,” was President Trump’s response.
The national debt currently stands at $37trn (£27trn) and the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates that the bill could add $2.4trn (£1.7trn) to that over the next decade.
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Trump threatens to ‘put DOGE’ on Musk
Bill splits Republican ranks
Republican Senator Thom Tillis voted against the bill and, following criticism from the president, announced he would not seek re-election in North Carolina.
He said he couldn’t support it due to his concerns about the impact cuts to Medicaid would have on people in his state.
Democrats in the Senate forced a full reading of all 940 pages and then a vote-a-rama, a series of marathon voting sessions.
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In the House of Representatives, it passed by a single vote, 215-214. In the Senate, Vice President JD Vance, had to cast the deciding vote to break a tie (50-50).
Legislatively, the progress of the bill has been a case study in the complexities of American law-making.
Strategically, it represents a mammoth effort to consolidate the president’s policy agenda and secure his legacy.
In the long Gaza war, this is a significant moment.
For the people of Gaza, for the Israeli hostages and their families – this could be the moment it ends. But we have been here before, so many times.
The key question – will Hamas accept what Israel has agreed to: a 60-day ceasefire?
At the weekend, a source at the heart of the negotiations told me: “Both Hamas and Israel are refusing to budge from their position – Hamas wants the ceasefire to last until a permanent agreement is reached.
“Israel is opposed to this. At this point, only President Trump can break this deadlock.”
The source added: “Unless Trump pushes, we are in a stalemate.”
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Will Trump achieve a Gaza ceasefire?
The problem is that the announcement made now by Donald Trump – which is his social-media-summarised version of whatever Israel has actually agreed to – may just amount to Israel’s already-established position.
We don’t know the details and conditions attached to Israel’s proposals.
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Would Israeli troops withdraw from Gaza? Totally? Or partially? How many Palestinian prisoners would they agree to release from Israel’s jails? And why only 60 days? Why not a total ceasefire? What are they asking of Hamas in return?
We just don’t know the answers to any of these questions, except one.
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Dozens killed at beachfront cafe in Gaza
We do know why Israel wants a 60-day ceasefire, not a permanent one. It’s all about domestic politics.
If Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu were to agree now to a permanent ceasefire, the extreme right-wingers in his coalition would collapse his government.
Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich have both been clear about their desire for the war to continue. They hold the balance of power in Mr Netanyahu’s coalition.
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If Mr Netanyahu instead agrees to just 60 days – which domestically he can sell as just a pause – then that may placate the extreme right-wingers for a few weeks until the Israeli parliament, the Knesset, is adjourned for the summer.
It is also no coincidence that the US president has called for Mr Netanyahu’s corruption trial to be scrapped.
Without the prospect of jail, Mr Netanyahu might be more willing to quit the war, safe in the knowledge that focus will not shift immediately to his own political and legal vulnerability.
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