State of the Union: Republicans urge Biden to address Chinese spy balloon, ... trends now
Ahead of President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on Tuesday night, Republican lawmakers told DailyMail.com that they want to see the commander-in-chief pledge to rein in federal spending and be 'truthful' with Americans about the current threats to U.S. homeland security.
The president will be delivering his first speech to a divided Congress, tasked with bringing a unifying message to a Republican-controlled House of Representatives and a Democrat-held Senate.
But before he even begins, Biden's address is already likely to be overshadowed by the recent diplomatic incident caused by a suspected Chinese 'spy balloon' floating over multiple U.S. states at a low enough altitude to be seen with the naked eye - alarming millions across the country. Multiple GOP lawmakers told DailyMail.com that he will need to address the near-crisis.
Meanwhile, some House Republicans indicated they're already skeptical of what Biden will bring to the table.
Republican Study Committee Chairman Kevin Hern (R-OK), among the conservatives leading the charge for spending cuts to offset raising the U.S. debt limit, pointed out that the president's speech is coming one day after he's expected to miss a statutory deadline for submitting a budget proposal to Congress for the next fiscal year.
And China hawks within the GOP conference, Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL) and Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD), are demanding that Biden give Americans answers on what happened regarding China's suspected surveillance device.
President Joe Biden is set to deliver his first address to a divided Congress on Tuesday night with his State of the Union speech
Waltz also called on Biden to broach the crisis at the southern border - an issue that's been an albatross for the White House for much of his term.
'This Chinese spy balloon was a wake-up call and I believe a Sputnik moment for the country,' Waltz told DailyMail.com in reference to the infamous Soviet satellite that epitomized the 20th Century space race.
'President Biden needs to be honest with the American people that the Chinese Communist Party is in a Cold War with the us and this needs to be made a priority for our country.'
Johnson, a member of the House Select Committee on China, shared a similar call for accountability on Tuesday
