Politics

EXCLUSIVE: Several Republicans Say They Will Not Attend Biden’s State Of The Union Address

Photo by Melina Mara-Pool/Getty Images

Henry Rodgers Chief National Correspondent
Font Size:

A few Republicans in Congress will skip President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, saying they will not take a COVID-19 test in order to attend.

At least five House Republicans and one Senate Republican say they will not attend Biden’s first State of the Union, many first telling the Daily Caller that they do not believe a COVID-19 test should be required to enter the chamber for Biden’s address to Congress and saying it is strictly political.

Illinois Rep. Mary Miller, Virginia Rep. Bob Good, Montana Rep. Matt Rosendale and Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde all shared their plans to not attend the State of the Union first with the Daily Caller after Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio said they would not be attending Monday.

“Once again, Speaker Pelosi is politicizing the State of the Union to further the Radical Left’s COVID-19 agenda. Members of Congress should not be subject to COVID-19 tests and social distance when it is not necessary, and the entire nation has ended most, if not all, coronavirus restrictions,” Rosendale told the Daily Caller.

“The Hollywood elite attended the Super Bowl free of COVID-19 restrictions, so why must we, sitting Members of Congress, adhere to the demands of Nancy Pelosi? Montanans knew well over a year ago that these restrictions are pointless, and it is far past time to return to normal. Hate to break it to you, Nancy, but no one is listening to you or Dr. Fauci anymore,” Rosendale added.

Good said he refuses to take a COVID test for a speech and will not attend, mentioning Biden’s mandates.

“President Biden subjected the country to life altering mandates for over a year. I will not submit to an unnecessary COVID test to attend a State of the Union only to hear this President whisper through a speech that will inevitably fail to take responsibility for the tremendous damage he has and continues to cause to our country,” Good told the Caller.

Miller mentioned Biden’s low poll numbers and the fact the mask mandate was lifted just before Biden’s speech.

“Biden’s poll numbers plummeted to historic lows, so the Democrats are once again changing ‘THE SCIENCE’ on masks to try and use the State of the Union as a reset. The only science the Left cares about is political science!” Miller told the Caller. (RELATED: Humvees Patrol US Capitol As New Fences Go Up Ahead Of Biden’s SOTU Speech)

President Joe Biden addresses a joint session of congress as Vice President Kamala Harris (L) and Speaker of the House U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) (R) look on in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol on April 28, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Jim Watson – POOL/Getty Images)

Clyde mentioned the mask mandates on the House floor and the Capitol fence that has been installed around the Capitol before Biden’s speech.

“Political pandemic theater has defined the last two years, and despite Democrats’ attempts to conceal their hypocrisy, tonight’s shenanigans for the State of the Union are not the exception to their preposterous hysteria. Just last week, the presence of my maskless face on the House floor would rack up more fines under my name, but today, conveniently in time for President Biden’s State of the Union address, all members are free to decide whether they wear a mask or not,” Clyde told the Caller.

“The science never changed, but the politics — ahead of the midterm elections — sure did. I’m sick and tired of power-crazed Democrats subjecting Americans to illogical and unlawful medical tyranny, all while breaking or reversing their rules when it suits them. Forcing members to still be tested, walk through magnetometers, and socially distance just to listen to Biden’s speech of spin in the People’s House, that is surrounded by unnecessary metal fencing, feeds into their deranged narrative,” he added.

The United States Capitol attending physician Dr. Brian P. Monahan said Sunday that masks will not be required inside the Capitol beginning Monday, just one day before Biden is set to deliver his State of the Union address.

Monahan reportedly made the decision based on the current rate of positive results at the Capitol’s testing center, which has dropped to 2.7%, according to Politico. House members have been required to wear masks on the House floor, and some members have been fined for violating the mandate put in place by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, who tends to follow Monahan’s guidance.

“Business processes such as committee hearings and other meetings should revise signage or operating statements to reflect interior space mask wear is optional and not required at this time,” Monahan wrote a Sunday memo. (RELATED: Capitol Attending Physician Announces Face Masks Will Be Optional Ahead Of Biden’s State Of The Union Address)

“Coronavirus circumstances, the COVID19 Community Level, may change to a ‘medium or yellow’ level where select individuals resume interior mask wear and weekly serial testing while a ‘high or orange’ level would prompt resumption of the indoor mask wear requirement for all,” he added.

The Senate has never had a mask mandate. The House chamber, where the address is delivered, can reportedly hold up to 950 people. During Biden’s first joint address to Congress, Pelosi limited the number of members who could attend the address to 25 for both parties.

Earlier in February, a group of House Republicans sent a letter to Pelosi demanding all members of Congress be allowed to attend Biden’s State of the Union address after they claimed she planned to limit the number of members who can go in person.(RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: House Republicans Demand Pelosi Allow All Members Of Congress To Attend Biden’s State Of The Union Address In-Person)

“We’re still being forced to test, a fence is up, & Americans can’t visit the Capitol. While I have an obligation to be present to vote for my constituents (vs. ‘proxy’ voting), I don’t have an obligation to be there for political theater,” Roy said in a tweet Monday. His office then confirmed to the Daily Caller that he would not be attending.

Shortly after, Rubio was asked on Capitol Hill if he would be attending Biden’s State of the Union, to which he said he does not take COVID-19 tests unless he has symptoms.

“I don’t have time to go take a COVID test today,” Rubio said, according to a HuffPost reporter. “I only take a test if I’m sick.”

PREMIUM ARTICLE: Subscribe To Keep Reading

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!

Sign Up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
Sign up

By subscribing you agree to our Terms of Use

You're signed up!
BENEFITS READERS PASS PATRIOTS FOUNDERS
Daily and Breaking Newsletters
Daily Caller Shows
Ad Free Experience
Exclusive Articles
Custom Newsletters
Editor Daily Rundown
Behind The Scenes Coverage
Award Winning Documentaries
Patriot War Room
Patriot Live Chat
Exclusive Events
Gold Membership Card
Tucker Mug

What does Founders Club include?

Tucker Mug and Membership Card
Founders

Readers,

Instead of sucking up to the political and corporate powers that dominate America, The Daily Caller is fighting for you — our readers. We humbly ask you to consider joining us in this fight.

Now that millions of readers are rejecting the increasingly biased and even corrupt corporate media and joining us daily, there are powerful forces lined up to stop us: the old guard of the news media hopes to marginalize us; the big corporate ad agencies want to deprive us of revenue and put us out of business; senators threaten to have our reporters arrested for asking simple questions; the big tech platforms want to limit our ability to communicate with you; and the political party establishments feel threatened by our independence.

We don't complain -- we can't stand complainers -- but we do call it how we see it. We have a fight on our hands, and it's intense. We need your help to smash through the big tech, big media and big government blockade.

We're the insurgent outsiders for a reason: our deep-dive investigations hold the powerful to account. Our original videos undermine their narratives on a daily basis. Even our insistence on having fun infuriates them -- because we won’t bend the knee to political correctness.

One reason we stand apart is because we are not afraid to say we love America. We love her with every fiber of our being, and we think she's worth saving from today’s craziness.

Help us save her.

A second reason we stand out is the sheer number of honest responsible reporters we have helped train. We have trained so many solid reporters that they now hold prominent positions at publications across the political spectrum. Hear a rare reasonable voice at a place like CNN? There’s a good chance they were trained at Daily Caller. Same goes for the numerous Daily Caller alumni dominating the news coverage at outlets such as Fox News, Newsmax, Daily Wire and many others.

Simply put, America needs solid reporters fighting to tell the truth or we will never have honest elections or a fair system. We are working tirelessly to make that happen and we are making a difference.

Since 2010, The Daily Caller has grown immensely. We're in the halls of Congress. We're in the Oval Office. And we're in up to 20 million homes every single month. That's 20 million Americans like you who are impossible to ignore.

We can overcome the forces lined up against all of us. This is an important mission but we can’t do it unless you — the everyday Americans forgotten by the establishment — have our back.

Please consider becoming a Daily Caller Patriot today, and help us keep doing work that holds politicians, corporations and other leaders accountable. Help us thumb our noses at political correctness. Help us train a new generation of news reporters who will actually tell the truth. And help us remind Americans everywhere that there are millions of us who remain clear-eyed about our country's greatness.

In return for membership, Daily Caller Patriots will be able to read The Daily Caller without any of the ads that we have long used to support our mission. We know the ads drive you crazy. They drive us crazy too. But we need revenue to keep the fight going. If you join us, we will cut out the ads for you and put every Lincoln-headed cent we earn into amplifying our voice, training even more solid reporters, and giving you the ad-free experience and lightning fast website you deserve.

Patriots will also be eligible for Patriots Only content, newsletters, chats and live events with our reporters and editors. It's simple: welcome us into your lives, and we'll welcome you into ours.

We can save America together.

Become a Daily Caller Patriot today.

Signature

Neil Patel