Reynolds to give GOP response to Biden's State of the Union

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the Republican response to President Biden’s State of the Union address next week, the top party leaders in the House and Senate announced Tuesday.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) cited Reynolds’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and signing of a law that prohibits schools from teaching critical race theory examining the legacy of slavery in American society.

Both are hot-button cultural issues the GOP is making a central part of its campaign platform heading into this year’s midterm elections.

Reynolds’s remarks will be aired on national television following Biden’s speech, which is set to begin shortly after 9 p.m. Eastern next Tuesday night.

“The Biden Administration is governing from the far-left, ignoring the problems of working-class Americans while pushing an agenda that stifles free speech, free thought, and economic freedom. The American people have had enough, but there is an alternative and that’s what I look forward to sharing on Tuesday evening,” Reynolds said in a statement.

She has served as Iowa governor since 2017 and was the first woman elected to the position.

“Governor Reynolds’ leadership in Iowa over the last few years allowed our communities to successfully manage the pandemic, Iowa Congresswoman Mariannette Miller-Meeks said Tuesday in a statement. “Our businesses, economy, and schools stayed open and gave other states a plan to follow to stay safe. There is no better executive in the United States to show how to fight for the average American than Governor Reynolds and I look forward to hearing her remarks.”