GOP's Katie Britt on State of the Union: Biden a 'dithering and diminished leader'

WASHINGTON – While President Joe Biden painted a picture in his State of the Union address of a prosperous nation bouncing back, Republicans blasted him for failed policies and leaving the country in crisis – previewing a battle likely to continue throughout the election year.

In a biting Republican response to Biden's address, first-term Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., slammed the president's handling of the economy, the southern border, crime and foreign policy, calling him a "dithering and diminished leader."

At 42, she is the youngest Republican woman to ever be elected to the upper chamber and is considered a rising star among a party dominated by older men. Britt also provides a stark contrast with Biden, the oldest sitting president in American history.

She has two children still in middle and high school. Her identity as a mom took center stage in her speech delivered from her kitchen table at home in Alabama, where she said she's worried for her kids.

"President Biden just doesn't get it. He's out of touch. Under his administration, families are worse off," she said. "I just wish he understood what real families are facing around kitchen tables just like this one."

She outlined her rise to the U.S. Senate but said the American dream has now "turned into a nightmare" for many. She hammered on Biden's handling of the migrant crisis at the southern border. In a particularly intense moment, she described the repeated sexual assault of a Texas child trafficked "by the cartels."

"This crisis is despicable," she said. "And the truth is it it is almost entirely preventable."

She blamed high inflation on Biden's "reckless spending" that "sent the cost of living through the roof" and lampooned Democrats' moniker of "Bidenomics" to tout economic gains under the administration.

"Goodness y'all, bless his heart," she said. "We know better."

Biden has made the United States a "punchline" on the international stage over the "disastrous" withdrawal from Afghanistan and a 2023 deal to unfreeze Iranian assets in exchange for the release of five detained U.S. citizens, she argued, which has encouraged countries like China to engage in "undercutting American workers."

"We've become a nation in retreat," she said, voice shaking with emotion. "The enemies of freedom, they see an opportunity."

The address comes just over two weeks after the Alabama Supreme Court issued a decision that rocked families across the country: It determined that frozen embryos used in in vitro fertilization are children and have legal protections under state law.

Republicans rushed to pledge they support IVF. The GOP Senate campaign arm encouraged candidates to state their support, citing polling data showing the procedure's overwhelming popularity among women, people who identify as "pro-life" and evangelical Christians.

Britt repeated that support during her speech "We want families to grow. It's why we strongly support continued nationwide access to in vitro fertilization," she said. "We want to help loving moms and dads bring precious life into this world."

White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said in a statement responding to Britt's remarks: "Because an extreme Supreme Court decision overturned Roe v. Wade and set American women back nearly 50 years – with Senator Britt’s support – women across Alabama were just cut off from IVF treatment and dreams of growing their families."

In his speech, Biden called upon Congress to "guarantee the right to IVF." When Democrats in the Senate tried to advance a bill that would enact federal protections for the fertility procedure, Republicans largely would not commit to supporting it. Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., blocked the proposal on the Senate floor, arguing the federal bill was overreach and policy is best left up to the states.

Britt closed with an emotional appeal "to my fellow moms" for the sake of their children and grandchildren: "Get into the arena."

"Every generation has been called to do hard things," she said. But "we are steeped in the blood of patriots who overthrew the most powerful empire in the world. ... And when we gaze upon the heavens, never forget that our DNA contains the same ingenuity that put man on the moon."

The speech comes on the tail of Super Tuesday, when multiple states held their primary election. Trump's runaway win in those contests pushed former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley out of the race, marking the beginning of the general election season.

Both Biden and Britt's speeches reflected the messaging that will mark campaign divisions through the rest of the year. Republicans plan to hammer on the economy, the border crisis and public safety while Democrats will highlight potential threats to democracy and reproductive rights under a second Trump presidency while touting wins under the last administration.

Former Democratic Alabama Sen. Doug Jones said in a statement that Britt's speech was "disappointing."

Britt "stuck to Donald Trump's losing MAGA playbook," he said, "trotting out the same dangerous and unpopular policies that attack our freedoms and would devastate our economy."

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell praised Britt as a "smart, capable" senator who "did a fabulous job" in her speech.

"By delivering the message from her house, she was able to identify the problems that everyday families have in trying to put food on the table, trying to afford gasoline, and all the rest."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP's Katie Britt slams Biden as 'dithering and diminished'