Katherine Doyle is a White House reporter for NBC News.
WASHINGTON— Alabama freshman Sen. Katie Britt will deliver the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address, throwing into relief one of the biggest challenges facing Biden in his reelection campaign.
A rising conservative star, Britt will take the stage against the backdrop of a presidential election fight that is setting up to be waged by party leaders whose combined age is nearly four times her own. She became the youngest Republican woman to be elected to the Senate, and the first to represent Alabama when she was sworn in last year after garnering Trump’s endorsement. She is a staunch conservative who has made immigration a top issue. Now with Biden facing increasing skepticism over his age, Britt, 42, is poised to sharpen the contrast after the president makes his third State of the Union address on Thursday evening. Republicans have sought to emphasize the obstacle for Democrats: In an advertisement that began airing on Thursday, the super PAC supporting Donald Trump questioned whether Biden “could even survive” a second term. At the same time, Britt, with her husband NFL player and Super Bowl champion Wesley Britt, is known for her close friendship with Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman and his wife Gisele, a pairing that showcases how Americans on opposite sides of the aisle can look beyond their partisan differences. Britt, in her address, is expected to make an argument that the Republican Party is the party of family, sharing her perspective on kitchen table issues as a mother of two, according to people familiar with her remarks. “Senator Britt doesn’t have to talk abstractly or even think abstractly about how policies are affecting American families,” a source familiar with Britt’s remarks said. “She’s living through it.” Central to Britt’s case is that voters are not being heard by Biden and Democrats. “Frankly, a large part of our message is going to be that the president’s out of touch,” the source said. The Alabama senator is being elevated as voters have expressed deep dissatisfaction with the choices they are being offered. A New York Times/Siena College poll published over the weekend showed a majority of voters hold an unfavorable view of both Biden and Trump, with even those who supported the 81-year-old president in 2020 responding that he is “just too old” to be effective. In announcing that Britt would give the party response, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell called the senator “an unapologetic optimist.” The sentiment was among the reasons Speaker Mike Johnson gave to Britt about why he believed she should be the one to deliver the speech, a source familiar with the conversation said. “I do remember the speaker saying, ‘Look, I think we’re we need the kind of 'Shining City on a Hill' Reaganesque, Republican … that person who can bring not only strength but optimism for the future. And you’re somebody who I think can deliver that message,’” said the source. Her address comes as Republicans continue to struggle with women voters in suburbs and highly educated enclaves, who have trended away from the party after Trump’s election. “Republicans are elevating someone who looks and sounds like the demographic that they know Trump is struggling with,” said Karen Finney, a top adviser to Hillary Clinton during her 2016 presidential campaign. “They know they have trouble with women.” Britt’s address comes as statewide ballot questions on abortion have yielded victories for abortion rights advocates in Republican-leaning states, and as efforts are underway to get protections on the ballot in 2024 in at least a dozen more. Britt has taken on a leadership role with Republicans behind the scenes that there is a path to talking about invitro fertilization, the source familiar with her remarks said. When a Supreme Court ruling in Alabama threatened fertility clinics in the state, Britt made the case to Trump that a truly pro-family stance should embrace IVF, a source familiar with the conversation confirmed. The decision in Alabama ruled that embryos created during the process of in vitro fertilization can be considered children under state law, raising questions about what destroying them could mean. Trump has evaded staking out positions on the most contentious fights over reproductive rights. But soon after the call, Trump issued a post-ruling statement advising that he would “strongly support the availability of IVF” and urging the Alabama state legislature to find an immediate solution to preserve its access. She is expected to address her support for it in her response, said a source. Allies of the president are taking note of Britt’s ascent. “She’s a rock star,” said a Democratic strategist. “She could very well could be the face of the post-Trump GOP. And maybe our first woman president in 2028.” “She’s an incredible politician and could win a lot of suburban women in a huge way,” the strategist added.
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