Rashida Tlaib offers fiery progressive response to Biden's first State of the Union address

• Rep. Rashida Tlaib gave her own progressive State of the Union response for the Working Families Party.
• She said progressives have backed up Biden's agenda and it's time for centrists to do the same.

Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan gave a "progressive" response to President Joe Biden's first State of the Union address in a speech on behalf of the Working Families Party on Tuesday night.

"In the richest country in the world, it shouldn't be this hard for so many to have a good life," said Tlaib. "I'm a lifelong Democrat. I'm also part of the Working Families Party, because I believe that our government must put the needs of working families first."

Tlaib argued that progressives have worked the hardest to support Biden's agenda, blaming both Republicans and "corporate-backed Democratic obstructionists" for the lack of action on Build Back Better, the social spending and climate bill at the center of Biden's domestic agenda.

"No one fought harder for President Biden's agenda than progressives," said Tlaib. "We rallied together with our supporters, held town halls in our communities, engaged new people, and we even played hardball in Congress."

"But two forces stood in the way: a Republican Party that serves only the rich and the powerful, and just enough corporate-backed Democratic obstructionists to help them succeed," she said.

That package stalled out in the Senate late last year due to opposition from Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia. The conservative Democrat has since come under withering criticism from progressives like Tlaib and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for dealing a blow to the party's efforts to combat the climate emergency along with expanding access to healthcare and affordable childcare. There's little sign that it will be revived anytime soon.

Tlaib largely praised Biden in the speech, though she called on him to use his executive power to cancel student loan debt.

"President Biden and Congress stopped what could have been economic freefall," said Tlaib, referring to Biden's COVID stimulus bill, the American Rescue Plan. "Not a single Republican, not one, voted for that relief package."

"With the majority of the Build Back Better agenda stalled, Mr. President, the work is unfinished," she also said. "And we are ready to jumpstart our efforts again."

Tlaib, in contrast to Biden, mentioned the January 6 attack on the US Capitol during her remarks, declaring that Republicans "are trying to destroy the political power of working class families and they're willing to tear down our democracy to do it.

"Republicans act like the real danger to democracy is having enough voting booths in Black neighborhoods, mail-in ballots, fair district lines," she said.

The firebrand "Squad" member gave the address on behalf of the Working Families Party, a minor political party that works to boost progressive candidates and elected officials within the Democratic Party. Many states have their own chapters, and the party carries significant political weight, especially in New York state politics.

While it's unusual for a member of the same political party to give a response to the president's address to Congress — both Tlaib and Biden are Democrats — the Working Families Party has been giving its own response since 2018. Democratic Rep. Jamaal Bowman of New York gave the party's response to Biden's first joint address to Congress in April 2021, and Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts delivered the response to President Donald Trump's final State of the Union address in 2020.

Natalia Salgado, director of federal affairs for the Working Families Party, told Insider ahead of the speech that the Detroit-area congresswoman was chosen to give the address because she "represents a section of the American electorate that has been hit first-hand with the repercussions of the pandemic" and "economic upheaval."

"She has been a voice against the corporate Democrats in the House — also known as the 'Unbreakable Nine' — and also the corporate players in the Senate," added Salgado.

The address also came the same night that several progressive candidates backed by the Working Families Party competed in high-profile Democratic House primaries in Texas. The party is backing former city councilor Greg Casar in Austin, State Rep. Jasmine Crockett in Dallas, and immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros in South Texas.

"Blocking the far-right is just not enough," Tlaib said during her speech. "We also need to elect the next generation of working families champions."

It's a big moment for both the party and the broader progressive left.

"We want to make sure that the corporate wing of the party is going to be forced to listen to those legislators that represent the community every step of the way," said Salgado. "I think that it is important to be able to have a check in Congress to those centrist forces, to the corporate forces that are not necessarily listening to the people that we represent."