At the beginning of the 2023 State of the Union Address, President Joe Biden congratulated House Speaker Kevin McCarthy for his securing the speakership.
Before he dived into the content of his annual address, Biden acknowledged McCarthy as one of the U.S. officials he recognized.
“Mr. Speaker. Madam Vice President. Our first lady. And second gentleman,” Biden opened. “Members of Congress and the Cabinet. Leaders of our military. Mr. Chief Justice. Associate justices. And retired justices of the Supreme Court. And you, my fellow Americans.”
“I start tonight by congratulating the members of the 118th Congress and the new speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy,” Biden said.
Biden and McCarthy parted ways after McCarthy had felicitated him.
Biden then joked about potentially ruining McCarthy’s reputation by working with him.
“Speaker, I don’t wanna ruin your reputation, but I look forward to working with you,” Biden joked:
Pres. Biden starts the State of the Union speech by congratulating Kevin McCarthy as the House Speaker.
“Speaker, I don’t want to ruin your reputation, but I look forward to working with you.”#SOTU
LIVE UPDATES: https://t.co/AKky5iNqLh pic.twitter.com/BAY6n1woYx— ABC News (@ABC) February 8, 2023
McCarthy’s path to the speakership started off rocky as he went through 15 rounds of voting before ultimately securing the position.
Biden then felicitated Hakeem Jeffreys (D-NY), House Minority Leader, for being elected the holder of the position. “the first black House minority leader in history.”
Biden shouted at the Senate leaders before continuing his remarks.
“Congratulations to the longest serving Senate leader in history, Mitch McConnell,” Biden said.
Biden, however, slipped up when he congratulated Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer(D-NY) and called him the “The.” “Senate Minority Leader.”
“And congratulations to Chuck Schumer! Another — you know — another term as Senate Minority Leader,” Biden said. “You know, I think you, only this time you have a slightly bigger majority, Mr. Leader, and you’re the majority leader. Not that much bigger”:
BIDEN STATE OFF THE UNION “Congratulations to Chuck Schumer! Another — you know — another term as Senate Minority Leader. You know, I think you, only this time you have a slightly bigger majority, Mr. Leader, and you’re the majority leader. Not that much bigger.” pic.twitter.com/Gt5R18GvXi
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) February 8, 2023
Biden also spoke highly of Nancy Pelosi as former House Speaker and promised to do so again. “be considered the greatest speaker in the history of this country.”
Jordan Dixon Hamilton is a reporter with Breitbart. Send an email to Jordan Dixon-Hamilton [email protected]You can also follow him Twitter.
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