House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) sat stoically behind President Joe Biden during his first State of the Union address with Republicans in control of the House of Representatives, a stark contrast to his predecessor, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
The speaker of the House remained largely expressionless, but there were several notable moments when the California Republican reacted to the president’s speech.
As Biden called for raising the debt ceiling “without preconditions or crisis,” McCarthy was seen shaking his head. He was also seen disapproving when the president said Republicans want to take the economy hostage in a portion of the speech about the debt ceiling negotiations with Republicans.
Republicans laugh at Biden when he suggests oil production could be phrased out after a decade. McCarthy then doesn’t applaud when Biden proposes increasing taxes on stock buybacks. pic.twitter.com/9QVVmCu6nd
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 8, 2023
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McCarthy also did not applaud for investments in climate sustainability or when Biden condemned the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
McCarthy did stand for the first time when Biden said his “stand up for seniors” line. He also stood up when Biden said “most cops are good and decent” during the portion of the speech about police violence and when Biden said it was important to crack down on Big Tech.
