State of the Union 2023: Biden urges Congress to finish economic fightback

US President Joe Biden called on Republicans to help “finish the job” of delivering for hardworking families, in his annual State of the Union address.

The Democrat stressed the importance of bipartisanship to a divided Congress where the lower chamber now has a Republican majority.

He also vowed to defend US sovereignty in the wake of an incursion by an alleged Chinese spy balloon.

The speech was seen as a roadmap for a widely expected 2024 re-election bid.

Mr Biden’s 73-minute address came as his public approval rating hovers near the lowest level of his presidency.

The opposition party delivers a response to the president’s State of the Union every year. On Tuesday night, the Republican rebuttal was given by Arkansas’ governor, who accused Mr Biden’s government of being more preoccupied by “woke fantasies” than “the hard reality Americans face every day”.

Mr Biden delivered the address to a packed chamber and high-profile guests – including U2’s Bono – as well as Supreme Court justices.

Over the president’s shoulder at the rostrum in the House of Representatives was one of his most vocal critics, the Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

Mr Biden extended an olive branch to the opposition party, which took over the lower chamber of Congress last month with vows to investigate the president’s family and Cabinet.

“To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress,” said the president, who has previously been accused by his opponents of divisive rhetoric.

“We’ve been sent here to finish the job!” he added.

Mr Biden also said that two years after supporters of his predecessor Donald Trump rioted at the US Capitol, America’s democracy was “unbowed and unbroken”.

As sometimes happens in State of the Union speeches, the president was at points heckled by opposition lawmakers.

Mr Biden made minimal reference in the 7,200-word speech to the foreign policy imbroglio that has gripped the nation in recent days: a suspected Chinese surveillance balloon that crossed US territory before the American military shot it down off the coast of South Carolina last weekend.

The president said he was committed to working constructively with China, but cautioned: “Make no mistake: as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country. And we did.”

Republicans have been demanding to know why Mr Biden waited a week to act. The president’s administration has said it wanted to avoid risk to civilians from falling debris.

Mr Biden’s speech was light on foreign policy in general, with Ukraine – the main topic of his 2022 State of the Union in the wake of Russia’s invasion – getting a mention towards the end of this year’s remarks. Mr Biden reiterated that the US would stand with Kyiv “as long as it takes”.

The president focused on domestic issues, hailing the resilience and strength of the US economy. Unemployment dropped to a half-century low in January, and there are signs that the worst inflation in four decades is cooling. But the president acknowledged American families need more “breathing room”.

Mr Biden aired his political wish-list, calling for an assault weapons ban, a minimum tax for billionaires, and access to pre-school for three and four-year-olds – though many of the proposals are likely to go nowhere in Congress.

He also condemned “outrageous” profits by oil companies, but drew scorn from Republicans in the chamber when he said: “We’re going to need oil for at least another decade.”

Following the death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis last month, Mr Biden also challenged lawmakers to pass long-stalled reforms to policing, saying: “Do something.” Mr Nichols’ mother and stepfather were in the audience as guests of First Lady Jill Biden.

The president also emphasised that “most cops are good, decent people”, drawing a rare standing ovation by lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.

The 80-year-old president is facing questions over his ability to serve a second presidential term, which would end when he is 86.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders – who at 40 is the country’s youngest governor, and best known for her tenure as press secretary to former President Trump – delivered the Republican response to his speech.

The rebuttal is often delivered by young rising stars in the opposition party and frequently from outside Washington.

Mrs Sanders said: “Most Americans simply want to live their lives in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didn’t start and never wanted to fight.”