Republican Senator Marco Rubio is leading a protest of sorts by refusing to attend tonight’s State of the Union address because of a requirement that visitors take a Covid-19 test beforehand. “I don’t have time to go take a COVID test today,” he told HuffPost. “I only take a test if I’m sick.” Others considering not attending include his fellow Senate Floridian Rick Scott, who says he might not attend because “I don’t want to feel so obligated to stand up and say, ‘That’s a lie.’”
Mr Biden is set to use the speech to promote a united response by the US and its allies against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
NBC News reports that the White House has been reworking the president’s remarks to more heavily emphasise the response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as the assault on Kyiv grows, but domestic policies will also feature including a plea to Congress to pass elements of the Build Back Better plan.
Press secretary Jen Psaki told MSNBC: “Every State of the Union address is an opportunity for the president delivering it to speak directly to the American people about what is happening in that moment, the progress being made and also the challenges we’re facing.”
She added: “Certainly, what we’re seeing on the ground in Ukraine, the fact that the president has built a coalition of countries around the world to stand up against Russia and Putin and put in crippling sanctions, that is part of what people will hear.”
Stay tuned for the latest updates.
