Here's what New Mexico leaders had to say about Biden's State of the Union address
President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday in Washington as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., watch.
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President Joe Biden鈥檚 focus on the economy and democracy in his State of the Union address seemed to resonate with New Mexico鈥檚 congressional delegation.
But New Mexico鈥檚 Republican Party chairman said the speech deflected responsibility.
Corey Sukala, government professor at New Mexico State University called Biden鈥檚 address an election year speech.
鈥淲e鈥檙e all getting ready to practice democracy, and (Biden) talked about democracy, American ideals, for longer than any other subject that he talked about tonight,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd he framed himself as the person who encapsulates those ideas.鈥�
Here鈥檚 what state leaders had to say about Thursday鈥檚 address.
Sen. Martin Heinrich: 鈥淯nder President Biden, we secured the largest expansion of health care for our nation鈥檚 veterans in generations. We created an American manufacturing boom by making historic investments in our workforce and in our infrastructure. And we鈥檝e taken unprecedented strides toward lowering costs and accelerating a clean energy future,鈥� said Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-NM.
Sen. Ben Ray Luj谩n: 鈥淧resident Biden and Congressional Democrats have led the way in recovering from the pandemic, rebuilding our infrastructure, helping lower costs for families, and investing in research and development. President Biden and Congressional Democrats have consistently delivered for the American people,鈥� Sen. Ben Ray Luj谩n.
Rep. Teresa Leger Fern谩ndez: 鈥淭he issues (Biden) raised from the power of women to claim our own freedoms, the power of the electorate to claim their own democracy, that鈥檚 the kind of freedoms that he talked about that Americans I think, will value. And I loved it when he said we can make things in America, and when he focused on how important it is to build semiconductor chips in America ... We鈥檙e doing that in New Mexico,鈥� said Rep. Teresa Leger Fern谩ndez.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury: 鈥淒onald Trump made excuses. While Joe Biden and Democrats went to work, and because of that work, we鈥檙e investing millions into infrastructure projects in New Mexico and across the country,鈥� Rep. Melanie Stansbury wrote on X.
Rep. Gabe Vasquez: 鈥淭onight as we hear from the President鈥檚 address, I continue to look back to why I ran this race in the first place and why I鈥檓 here to serve New Mexico ... I consistently hear from constituents in my district that the number one thing is the economy, that our families cannot keep up with the rising cost of living,鈥� said Rep. Gabe Vasquez.
Steve Pearce, New Mexico Republican Party chairman: 鈥淭he president鈥檚 address was riddled with inaccuracies, deflection of responsibility, and hollow promises. When New Mexicans see the increase in their cost of living, the alarming crime rates, and the ongoing border crisis, it鈥檚 clear the state of the union is in decline,鈥� said New Mexico Republican Party Chairman Steve Pearce.
