President Joe Biden delivered his first joint address to Congress on Wednesday, outlining his vision for the country and speaking to what he sees as his administration's initial accomplishments as he approaches 100 days in office.
Biden told Congress that it must that "prove democracy still works" and that it "can deliver for the people," according to excerpts released by the White House before the speech.
The address, which lasted an hour and five minutes, was held in the House chamber and due to security concerns following the Jan. 6 Capitol attack and Covid-19 safety measures, only about 200 people were in attendance.
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House Minority Leader McCarthy appears unimpressed
Five takeaways from Biden's first big speech to Congress
In his first big speech to Congress on Wednesday, President Joe Biden repeatedly spoke off the cuff and made a populist pitch to "forgotten" voters, urging lawmakers to pass his multitrillion-dollar economic agenda.
Biden sought to strike a balance between optimism and pragmatism, celebrating the progress in the battle against Covid-19, attributed to the widespread availability of vaccines and economic aid to struggling Americans, while emphasizing the magnitude of the task that lies ahead.
"America is on the move again," he said — but the country has "more work to do" to beat the coronavirus, put people back to work and restore faith in democracy. "We're at a great inflection point in history."
Click here for the five takeaways from Biden's speech.
Sen. Tim Scott delivers Republican response to Biden's speech
Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., delivered the Republican response to Biden's address, criticizing the president's policies and Biden himself for not doing more to work with his party.
Biden and Democrats "are pulling us further apart," Scott said.
After a speech in which Biden urged support for his infrastructure and family proposals, which total about $4 trillion in spending, Scott said Biden's plans go far beyond the country's needs. He also called for bipartisan consensus on infrastructure and said the country needs to find common ground on race.
"From colleges to corporations to our culture, people are making money and gaining power by pretending we haven't made any progress, by doubling down on the divisions we've worked so hard to heal," Scott said. "You know this stuff is wrong. Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country."
Similar to Biden, Scott called on Americans not to treat one another as "adversaries."
"We are not adversaries. We are family. We are all in this together. And we get to live in the greatest country on Earth," he said.
Democrat Mark Kelly says Biden's address lacked solutions for border crisis
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said in a statement afterward that Biden's joint congressional address lacked focus on immediately addressing the crisis at the southern border.
"While I share President Biden's urgency in fixing our broken immigration system, what I didn't hear tonight was a plan to address the immediate crisis at the border," Kelly said. "And I will continue holding this administration accountable to deliver the resources and staffing necessary for a humane, orderly process as we work to improve border security, support local economies, and fix our immigration system."
Kelly, won a special election in November to serve out the rest of the late Sen. John McCain's term, faces re-election to a full term next year.
Since he took office, Biden has faced a surge of migrant children at the border, putting the administration on the defense.
Biden has said his policies were not the cause of the increase in children arriving at the border, as Republicans have claimed. He has instead blamed former President Donald Trump for neglecting Central America and for implementing policies that led to overcrowding in facilities at the border.
Biden lingers in House Chamber to hobnob with lawmakers
After the end of his speech, Biden did something that comes very naturally to him — he spent several minutes on the House floor hobnobbing with lawmakers.
He was seen speaking to other Democratic lawmakers, such as Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, and fist-bumped Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming, the No. 3 Republican in the House. He was also heard asking a lawmaker, "How's mom?"
Even after the joint session was gaveled out, Biden, who had put his mask back on after the speech, was still in the chamber talking to people.
Fact check: Biden promotes new jobs created in first 100 days
Biden said "the economy created more than 1.3 million new jobs" in his first 100 days.
This appears to be true. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 916,000 in March and by 486,0000 in February. That's a total of 1.4 million.
While the gains under Biden are true, the same BLS data also showed that the economy had already begun recovering during Donald Trump's final months in office. According to the data, total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 638,000 from October through December, Trump's final full month in office.
The unemployment rate during that time ticked down to 6.7 percent from 6.9 percent. According to the latest data, through March, the unemployment rate is 6.0 percent.
Biden calls Jan. 6 attack 'existential crisis' for America
Biden bookended his speech by referring to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, which left several people dead.
He called on lawmakers to show unity and consensus after the attack.
"We have stared into an abyss of insurrection and autocracy — of pandemic and pain — and we the people did not flinch," he said. "At the very moment our adversaries were certain we would pull apart and fail, we came together."
He added: "We have to prove democracy still works. That our government still works — and can deliver for the people."