As you know, President Biden delivered his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress last week. My guest, Stephens County Sheriff Randy Shirley, and I attended to hear what the President had to say. Yet even though I set the bar pretty low, President Biden still failed to meet my expectations.

Like you, I was hoping to hear truth and accountability. But instead, the President delivered deception and deflection. Time and time again, President Biden has shamelessly used falsehoods to manipulate reality and mislead the American people — and his State of the Union address was no different.

But you and your family deserve the truth, which is why I’d like to highlight some of Biden’s most notable State of the Union blunders. 

As expected, the President attempted to rewrite history by touting his so-called successful economic policies. In the process, he blatantly lied straight to the American people. For starters, he claimed: “inflation is coming down.” As we all continue to face sticker shock at the gas pump and grocery store, we know this statement to be completely false. In fact, the latest inflation numbers provide concrete evidence that contradicts the President’s claim. Just this week, the Consumer Price Index revealed inflation rose in January by 0.5% and is up 6.4% from last year. 

Additionally, when discussing the state of the economy, President Biden boldly took credit for “creating a record 12 million jobs.” While this sounds impressive, it’s not rooted in reality. Millions of positions that were temporarily abandoned during COVID-19 have now been refilled post-pandemic. President Biden cannot take credit for creating jobs that returned when the economy reopened, just as I cannot take credit for creating electricity by turning on a light switch.

Another one of Biden’s blatant lies? Insisting Republicans want to meddle with Social Security and Medicare benefits amidst the ongoing debt ceiling fight. I can assure you that Republicans want to cut wasteful spending — not Social Security and Medicare benefits. We want to keep both Social Security and Medicare benefits strong. Instead of sitting down to negotiate commonsense spending reform with Republicans, President Biden and his Democrat allies in Congress continue spreading this falsehood to fearmonger the American people.

Notably, only a mere 30 seconds were dedicated to addressing the raging border crisis. During this time, the President attempted to proclaim his Administration has been successfully working to secure the border, adding: “America’s border problems won’t be fixed until Congress acts.” Of course, we all know that the border is not secure. Under Biden’s watch, there have been more than 4.7 million illegal alien encounters at the southern border, in addition to over 1.2 million known illegal gotaways. Furthermore, it’s the Biden Administration’s misguided policies that have created and fueled the unprecedented chaos at the border. President Biden already has the authority to fix this crisis, but refuses to use it.

As a proud defender of Americans’ Second Amendment rights and a Federal Firearms Licensee by trade, I would be remiss if I did not highlight the President’s oppressive remarks regarding our constitutional right to keep and bear arms. After discussing recent devastating events across the country, Biden proclaimed: “Ban assault weapons once and for all.” I strongly disagree! Evil deeds do not transcend constitutional rights. This was nothing more than another attempt to weaponize tragedies for political gain in order to take aim at and destroy Americans’ Second Amendment freedoms. 

Despite giving a 72-minute long speech, the President failed to mention his botched Afghanistan withdrawal for a second year in a row. As a veteran, I believe it’s incredibly disappointing that Biden routinely ignores this catastrophe rather than taking full responsibility for the matter. And while our Commander-in-Chief has apparently forgotten our 13 heroes killed in the Afghanistan retreat, I can assure the President that the American people — and the world — have not.

Ultimately, President Biden intentionally wasted an opportunity to be honest with Americans about the real state of the union, which is in crisis under his failed leadership. Yet while the President remains determined to advance his disastrous agenda, House Republicans are committed to working toward getting our nation back on the right track.

As you may know, I successfully passed my first bill in the House last week. My resolution of disapproval to block the D.C. Council’s dangerous Revised Criminal Code Act (RCCA) passed with bipartisan support by a vote of 250 to 173. If enacted, the RCCA would embolden violent criminals — threatening the well-being of both Washingtonians and visitors at a time of heightened crime in our nation’s capital. Thankfully, the House effectively utilized its constitutional authority to save our nation’s capital from itself by passing my resolution to prevent the D.C. Council’s radical rewrite of Washington’s criminal code from taking effect. 

My resolution, H.J.Res. 26, sends a clear message to the Senate, the White House, and the American people that the People’s House rejects soft-on-crime policies that jeopardize Americans’ safety and security. I’m encouraged that our fight to make Washington safe for all Americans garnered the support of 31 House Democrats — including Congresswoman Angie Craig (D-MN), who was violently assaulted by a serial criminal just hours before the vote. While 173 of her pro-crime Democrat colleagues rejected the opportunity to combat crime in D.C., I’m hopeful that my resolution will also gain bipartisan support in the Senate.

Before the vote, I urged my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support my commonsense resolution. Please click the video below to watch my full remarks.