State of the Union 2023: Biden touts infrastructure, American resolve despite attacks on democracy

President Joe Biden only briefly addressed China during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, but his words fell flat contrasted with actions he has taken against the country, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., said after the speech.

Despite escalating tensions between China and Taiwan in the Pacific and the recent shooting down of the spy balloon that hovered over the United States, Hawley, R-Mo., described Biden’s actions towards China as "very weak."

"Actions speak louder than words. And President Biden's actions have been very weak toward China," Hawley told Fox News during an interview Tuesday evening.

He also said Biden’s words during the State of the Union were "totally inadequate" given the current geopolitical tensions.

"I thought it was totally inadequate," Hawley continued. "I mean, he said almost nothing, no specific talk or acknowledgment of the balloon espionage incident, no plan to counter it and no acknowledgment that he's been incredibly weak on China."

Hawley also mentioned the controversial spy balloon — which China claims was a civilian object that was measuring mostly metrological data — which was shot down off the coast of South Carolina last week.

"I mean, how was it that China was allowed to fly this tool of espionage across the continental United States, including the state of Missouri, and that his administration did nothing about it?" the senator asked.

Hawley added: "They would have kept the whole thing a secret if the Billings paper had ruined it by publishing photos. So, I mean, this is a guy who's in total denial, by the way. They still haven't level with the American people or senators, for that matter. We don't know anything more than anybody else knows because they won't level with the American people."

Rep. George Santos and Sen. Mitt Romney engaged in a tense exchange in the moments leading up to President Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.

The exchange started when Romney, R-Utah, was walking down the center aisle on the way to his seat and made eye contact with the controversial Santos, R-New York, who had a prized seat along the aisle.

"You don’t belong here," Romney appears to say, in full view of C-SPAN cameras. The State of the Union is widely televised, and multiple angles caught the exchange.

"You ought to be embarrassed," a stern Romney continued, prompting a brief exchange of words between the two lawmakers.

Santos is facing a House Ethics Committee investigation for allegedly lying about his work experience and fabricating accolades throughout his campaign.

The New Yorker appeared to defend himself in the exchange.

Romney appears to call Santos an "a—" before turning away from the lawmaker, who appeared to fire back: "You’re a bigger one."

A hot mic after the State of the Union Tuesday evening caught President Biden telling Sen. Bob Menendez that he has to talk to him "about Cuba."

Menendez, D-N.J., is a Cuban lawmaker and serves as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, an influential committee for initiating legislative proposals in the chamber. 

"Bob, I gotta talk to you about Cuba," Biden said to the senator. 

The moment was caught on C-SPAN cameras as Biden spoke with Menendez and Rep. Adam Schiff, who House Speaker Kevin McCarthy blocked from joining the House Intelligence Committee. 

Menendez is heard replying, "Okay."

The lawmaker seemed confused by the president’s comment.

"I’m serious," added Biden. 

Menendez, the son of two Cuban migrants, has spent much of his time working in the House of Representatives and later the U.S. Senate on immigration and national security issues.

The Working Families Party's (WFP) response to President Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday subtly criticized moderate Democrats who opposed the trillion-dollar Build Back Better package.

Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., who was selected to give the WFP's progressive response to Biden, applauded House Democrats for passing the $1.75 trillion Build Back Better package in November 2021, but criticized "corporate Democrats" for blocking the bill in the Senate. The legislation ultimately stalled last year after receiving significant pushback from Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., last year.

"When Democrats controlled the House, we passed President Biden’s full Build Back Better plan," Ramirez remarked. "That included funding to make child care and eldercare and community college more affordable. House Democrats voted to extend the child tax credit, putting $300/month in the pockets of working parents."

"Every Republican was opposed. And just enough corporate Democrats joined them to block that bill," she added.

While Biden aggressively pushed the Build Back Better plan early in his presidency as a top priority, Manchin and Sinema refused to support the legislation over concerns related to its massive price tag and potential impact on already-high inflation.

In addition to her comments criticizing efforts to oppose Build Back Better last year, Ramirez repeatedly slammed Republicans over their economic agenda in her speech Tuesday evening.

"What I want to say to President Biden and all my fellow Democrats in Congress is that we have two jobs," Ramirez said. "We must stand up to the extremism of the MAGA Republicans. We have to show working people what Democrats will deliver for working families if they put us in control."

"If Republicans in the majority are as interested in working class families as they claim, they’ll stand with us," she continued. "But if they don’t, Americans will see who is on their side, and Republicans will pay the price at the ballot box."

President Biden appeared to go off script during his State of the Union address Tuesday evening, saying that the U.S. would need oil and natural gas for many years to come.

"We are still going to need oil and gas for a while," Biden said during his speech.

Biden's comments were quickly met with a mixed reaction as some Republicans appeared to cheer the remarks. 

The president then told an anecdote in which an oil executive asked him why his company should invest in fossil fuel projects in light of the negative business atmosphere for oil and gas projects. Biden said he responded that oil and gas would be needed for years to come.

"They said, 'well, we're afraid you're going to shut down all the oil wells and all the oil refineries. So, why should we invest in them?' I said, 'we're going to need oil for at least another decade and beyond,'" Biden added.

Republican lawmakers in the chamber were then heard loudly laughing at the remark, likely because most estimates suggest oil and gas will be required for several more decades before they can be phased out and replaced by green alternatives.

Biden's comments on oil and gas, though, were notably not included in the official copy of his speech shared by the White House. The only mention of oil in the official transcript was a comment about Big Oil reporting record profits last year.

"Last year, they made $200 billion in the midst of a global energy crisis," he said. "It’s outrageous."

The Biden administration has repeatedly taken aim at oil and gas production as part of its climate agenda.

Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, tweeted that President Joe Biden is "not well" as he delivered his State of the Union speech Tuesday night.

Lee shared his take on Biden's speech as the president delivered his joint address to Congress.

"He’s not well," the Utah senator tweeted.

At one point of the speech, Lee was seen shaking his head in disbelief at the president.

President Biden opened his State of the Union address with a gaffe, incorrectly calling Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the "minority leader."

"And congratulations, Chuck Schumer, another you know, another term as Senate minority leader," said Biden.

The current Senate Minority Leader is Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.

Biden was booed by audience members after claiming the GOP wants to cut Medicare and Social Security. 

Newly-elected Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered the GOP rebuttal to President Biden's second State of the Union address Tuesday, calling for a "new generation of Republican leadership" and describing the choice between Democrats and Republicans as a choice "between normal or crazy."

"Being a mom to three young children taught me not to believe every story I hear. So forgive me for not believing much of anything I heard tonight from President Biden. From out-of-control inflation and violent crime to the dangerous border crisis and threat from China, Biden and the Democrats have failed you," Sanders said.

"It’s time for a change. Tonight, let us reaffirm our commitment to a timeless American idea: that government exists not to rule the people, but to serve the people. Democrats want to rule us with more government control, but that is not who we are," she added.

Sanders noted that she and Biden didn't have a lot in common because she is "for freedom" and he's "for government control," and went on to note the four decades difference in their ages.

Read more here: Sarah Sanders delivers GOP rebuttal, says Americans have a choice 'between normal or crazy'

President Biden called for Congress to act on securing the southern border during his Tuesday State of the Union address, one year after calling for the same thing.

"American border problems won't be fixed until Congress acts. If we don't pass my comprehensive immigration reform, at least pass my plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border," Biden told Congress.

He didn't mention the record number of migrant encounters at the southern border since he took office, and his comments echoed what he called for in his 2022 State of the Union.

"Folks, if we are to advance liberty and justice, we need to secure our border and fix the immigration system," Biden said last year.

Republicans have repeatedly criticized Biden's handling of the border crisis, including for dismantling former President Donald Trump's policies and for halting construction of a border wall.

Some have also sponsored a bill to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., screamed "liar" after President Biden claimed during his State of the Union address Tuesday that some Republicans aimed to cut Medicare and Social Security programs.

"Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans want Medicare and Social Security to sunset every five years," Biden remarked. "That means if Congress doesn’t vote to keep them, those programs will go away."

Biden continued: "I won’t let that happen. Social Security and Medicare are a lifeline for millions of seniors."

President Biden reference the Chinese spy balloon that was shot down by the U.S. Air Force last week, about an hour into his second State of the Union address.

"But make no mistake about it: as we made clear last week, if China’s threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did," said Biden.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said Tuesday that Republicans "may" introduce legislation that would condemn the Biden administration's handling of the Chinese spy balloon, which was carrying sensors and surveillance equipment.

President Biden once again called on Congress to ban "assault weapons" in his State of the Union speech Tuesday.

"Ban assault weapons now. Ban them now once and for all," Biden told Congress after introducing a guest that he said wrestled an active shooter to the ground at a business he worked at.

"I led the fight to do that in 1994. For ten years that ban was law, mass shootings went down. After we let it expire in a Republican administration mass shooting tripled. Let's finish the job and ban these assault weapons," he added, referencing the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban that expired in 2004.

Biden did not elaborate on what type of firearm fell under the classification of an "assault weapon."

He most recently renewed his push for such a ban in December, while speaking at the 10th Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Vice President Kamala Harris were spotted chatting and laughing in a friendly exchange before President Biden gave the second State of the Union address of his presidency Tuesday evening.

Biden began his speech by touting the progress made under his administration in his speech, specifically with regard to the economy.

Four Supreme Court justices opted against attending President Biden's State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday evening.

Biden greeted five of the high court's nine justices — John Roberts, Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Ketanji Brown Jackson — shortly before he began his speech, according to video footage of the event. The four justices absent were Clarence Thomas, Sam Alito, Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch.

The president spent a brief moment, in particular, with Jackson, the newest Supreme Court Justice and the first Black woman to hold a seat on the court. Jackson is the only justice Biden selected for the Supreme Court.

First lady Jill Biden and second gentleman Doug Emhoff shared a kiss ahead of President Biden's second State of the Union address Tuesday evening at the national Capitol.

The moment immediately went viral on Twitter.

President Biden opened his State of the Union address with a gaffe, incorrectly calling Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer the "minority leader."

"And congratulations, Chuck Schumer, another you know, another term as Senate minority leader," said Biden.

"You know, I think, you know, this time you have a slightly bigger majority, Mr. Leader. You know, majority leader, but that much bigger," he clarified after.

The member of President Biden's cabinet missing from tonight's State of the Union (SOTU) address is Labor Secretary Marty Walsh.

The designated survivor is a traditional role given to a member of the president's cabinet during every SOTU address, who is not in the Capitol for the speech, and would take over the government should an attack on the U.S. takes place and incapacitates those attending the address.

Walsh is the former mayor of Boston, serving in the role from 2014 to 2021. He previously served in the Massachusetts House of Representatives.

It was reported earlier Tuesday that Walsh will likely leave his job as labor secretary to head up the NHL Players’ Association, Fox News confirmed.

A source close to Walsh said the deal is not final, and talks are still in the contract stage. Biden did not push for Walsh’s departure and Walsh did not seek out the job, but he’s a “huge hockey fan” and excited.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., turned heads with her wardrobe choice for President Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday.

The former Democrat appeared in a bright yellow dress against a sea of largely blue and grey suits, drawing attention from viewers who took to Twitter to give their opinions.

"Kyrsten Sinema got confused and thought this was the Grammys," wrote one user, while another claimed she was "seeking attention."

Another described the dress as "highlighter yellow," and a number of others made the comparison to cartoon characters Big Bird and Tweety Bird, who are both yellow.

Sinema has often received criticism for her eccentric style, most recently for wearing a large sheep-like sweater while appearing at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, angering liberals.

President Biden has arrived at the Capitol ahead of his second State of the Union address after making the short journey from the White House down Pennsylvania Avenue.

Traveling with him are First Lady Jill Biden, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, incoming White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients, and a number of other assistants and advisors.

The address is expected to begin at approximately 9:00 p.m. ET.