Alabama Sen. Katie Britt, the youngest Republican woman to ever be elected to the US Senate, will give the GOP's official response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union on Thursday night.
Britt, who turned 42 a little over a month ago, is just barely into her first term in the chamber. Her appearance will only further her status as a rising star in the party. She is expected to lean into the generational contrast she has with the president, a theme she also used successfully during 2022 Senate campaign.
While delivering the State of the Union response is considered a thankless task, then-Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Sen. Rand Paul all delivered their respective responses before later running for the Republican presidential nomination. Then-Rep. Paul Ryan delivered the GOP's 2011 response and less than two years later was tapped to be then-former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's running mate. Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who was Trump's second White House press secretary, delivered the 2023 response and is now receiving some speculation that she might join Trump on the ticket this November.
There are potential pitfalls with the assignment. Unlike the president, most responses are not delivered in front of live crowds that can interrupt a speech for rousing applause. Responses are also far shorter than the lengthy State of the Union addresses.
Rubio and then-Rep. Rep. Joseph Kennedy III found out the hard way that a speaker can go viral for just about anything other than what they actually say.
Here's a look at Britt's rapid rise and what she may touch on Thursday night.