Joe Biden

Progressives Will Deliver Their Own Response to Biden's Speech to Congress

Traditionally, the opposition party gives a rebuttal to the president's address. But this year, a member of Biden's own party will respond, too

This undated file photo, provided by his campaign, shows Jamaal Bowman, a first-time congressional candidate who helped found the Cornerstone Academy of Social Action in 2009. On April 22, 2021, it was announced that Bowman will respond to President Joe Biden’s speech to Congress next week.
Corey Torpie via AP

Unlike in previous years, a progressive group has decided to deliver a formal response to President Joe Biden's first address to a joint session of Congress next week, NBC News reports.

It's traditional for the opposition party to give a response when the president delivers a State of the Union or other address to Congress. But it's much less common for a member of the president's party to deliver a rebuttal.

Next week, Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., speaking on behalf of the left-wing Working Families Party, will respond after Biden gives his first address to a joint session of Congress.

Bowman, a freshman lawmaker who defeated a 16-term Democratic incumbent in a primary in a New York City district last year, said the response is intended not to be critical of Biden but rather to credit him as appropriate and cue him for what the left wants to see next.

Read the full story on NBCNews.com

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