Sen. Joni Ernst to lead GOP ‘prebuttal’ to Biden’s joint address to Congress

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EXCLUSIVE: Sen. Joni Ernst, the vice chair of the Senate GOP conference, will lead a “prebuttal” Wednesday afternoon to President Biden‘s joint address to Congress

Ernst, R-Iowa, and at least five other Republicans will deliver a series of speeches on the Senate floor to protest how Biden has handled his first 100 days and to accuse the Democrat of ignoring his inauguration promise of listening to opposing views and seeking to bring the country together.

“Frankly, the president only seems to be listening to the far-left progressives within the Democratic Party who live on their own liberal fantasy island,” Ernst says in her prebuttal speech in prepared remarks shared exclusively with Fox News.

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Ernst accuses Biden of giving into a “radical agenda” and attempting to silence half the country. 

The Iowa senator charges that Biden immediately broke his pledge for “unity, not division” when on Day 1 of his presidency he signed a crush of executive orders to undo former President Trump’s policies, including stopping the construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline and reversing Trump’s immigration policies.

Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, speaks during a news conference following a weekly meeting with the Senate Republican caucus at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. She'll lead a GOP "pre-buttal" to President Biden's joint address to Congress on April 28, 2021. Photographer: Greg Nash/The Hill/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Senator Joni Ernst, a Republican from Iowa, speaks during a news conference following a weekly meeting with the Senate Republican caucus at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Dec. 8, 2020. She’ll lead a GOP “pre-buttal” to President Biden’s joint address to Congress on April 28, 2021. Photographer: Greg Nash/The Hill/Bloomberg via Getty Images

“That very same day, as soon as he reached the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, President Biden seemed to forget his own words as he began signing a record number of executive orders,” Ernst says in her prepared remarks.

“With the stroke of a pen, he unilaterally created a new migrant crisis by reversing the previous administration’s successful policies and ceasing construction of the wall,” Ernst continues. 

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Biden is slated to deliver his first joint address to Congress Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET to a partially empty House chamber due to coronavirus protocols and social distance guidelines. Biden’s biggest legislative achievement so far is passing $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief legislation, which no Republicans supported. 

He’s now aiming to pass a two-part spending bill. The previously revealed $2.3 trillion first package is for rebuilding roads and bridges, as well as water systems, green energy, hospitals and elder care.

On Wednesday night, Biden will outline another $1 trillion in spending for education, childcare and paid family leave support services plus $800 billion more in tax cuts. Biden proposes paying for the massive spending plan through tax hikes on corporations and the wealthiest Americans.

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Sen. Tim Scott has the official role of the GOP response to Biden’s speech Wednesday night, but the South Carolina Republican will be getting lots of support from his friends in the Senate in the lead-up to his speech.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 29: U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) poses before a meeting with Seventh Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President's Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, in the Mansfield Room of the U.S. Capitol on September 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. Scott is delivering the GOP response to President Biden's joint address to Congress on April 28, 2021. (Photo by Bonnie Cash-Pool/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON, DC – SEPTEMBER 29: U.S. Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) poses before a meeting with Seventh Circuit Court Judge Amy Coney Barrett, President’s Trump’s pick for the Supreme Court, in the Mansfield Room of the U.S. Capitol on September 29, 2020 in Washington, DC. Scott is delivering the GOP response to President Biden’s joint address to Congress on April 28, 2021. (Photo by Bonnie Cash-Pool/Getty Images)

Ernst will be leading the prebuttal and she’s expected to be followed by GOP Sens. John Barrasso of Wyoming, Rob Portman of Ohio, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Thom Tillis of North Carolina and Roger Marshall of Kansas.

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Ernst says Scott, who authored the GOP version of police reform legislation last year, epitomizes positive leadership and is “the perfect voice for the American dream.”

“Tim listens and he works hard to bring people together,” Ernst is expected to say. “And folks, that is what President Biden promised to do, but he’s not living up to that promise.”

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