WASHINGTON (Washington Insider Magazine) – President Joe Biden delivered his inaugural State of the Union speech to lambaste Russian President Vladimir Putin and rouse the country in favor of war-torn Ukraine. It did not last very long, though there was a brief moment of political unity in the Capitol on Tuesday night.
Awash in gold and blue scarves, ribbons, dresses, and ties — a nod to the colors of Ukraine’s national flag — Republicans and Democrats lawmakers paused their typical partisan attacks and momentarily appeared together to stand in support of a European partner facing unimaginable destruction and death at the hands of Putin, according to NBC NEWS.
Symbols of the United States’ solidarity for Ukraine could be found all over the place. As Biden’s convoy made the short trip from the White House to the Capitol Building, Ukrainian national flags were hung across Pennsylvania Avenue. Jill Biden greeted Ukraine’s envoy to the United States, Oksana Markarova, with a warm greeting as she approached the House floor, earning her a standing ovation.
Rep. Victoria Spartz, R-Indiana, the 1st Ukrainian-born congresswoman, was chosen to assist in escorting Biden into the chamber, and she sat right behind the top 2 House GOP leaders, Louisiana’s Steve Scalise and California’s Kevin McCarthy. Spartz, who just spoke with her 95-year-old grandmother as well as other friends and relatives in Ukraine, referred to the fatal invasion as “a genocide of the Ukrainian people by a mad man” earlier Tuesday.
Several Republicans agreed Biden hit the appropriate tone on Ukraine, but faulted his foreign policy for indirectly fueling the present crisis, particularly his botched pullout from Afghanistan.
Biden did, however, reveal a number of initiatives his administration is doing in Ukraine, which drew bipartisan applause. He has stated that all Russian planes will be denied access to US airspace. He also said that he is collaborating with 30 nations to liberate 60 million barrels of crude oil from reserves throughout the world, reducing the reliance on Russian oil.
As Biden gazed out over a sea of yellow and blue, there stood Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, who was criticized by Democrats during the 2012 presidential election campaign for claiming Moscow was Washington’s “No. 1 geopolitical foe.”
Romney sat across the aisle from West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, who already single-handedly stymied Biden’s $2 trillion social investment proposal, dubbed “Build Back Better,” which Biden didn’t mention by name in his 62-minute address.
Some members of Congress were not in the mood for bipartisanship. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., and Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., were 2 conservative bomb-throwers who continuously taunted Biden on Covid regulations on constructing a border wall all through the night.
Greene received backlash this week after speaking at a white supremacist meeting shortly after the organizer made derogatory statements and lauded Putin.
Biden’s full cabinet was present, with the exception of Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, who became the night’s “designated survivor,” which took on fresh meaning in light of Putin’s recent nuclear provocations.
