Arkansas Governor and former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address next Tuesday.
(Bloomberg) — Arkansas Governor and former White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address next Tuesday.
In turning to Sanders, Republican congressional leaders have chosen a rising star in their party — and a familiar face to many Americans from her time behind the briefing room podium. The daughter of former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, Sanders replaced Sean Spicer as former President Donald Trump’s top spokesperson, holding the job for two years.
“I am grateful for this opportunity to address the nation and contrast the GOP’s optimistic vision for the future against the failures of President Biden and the Democrats,” Sanders said in a statement Thursday. “We are ready to begin a new chapter in the story of America – to be written by a new generation of leaders ready to defend our freedom against the radical left and expand access to quality education, jobs, and opportunity for all.”
Sanders, who worked as a contributor for Fox News after leaving the White House, handily won her bid to become Arkansas governor, becoming the state’s first female leader.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Sanders was “bringing new ideas for a changing future, while also applying the wisdom of the past, including from the leadership of her father, Mike.”
The State of the Union response provides a unique high-profile opportunity for a party not holding the White House to reach the tens of millions of Americans who tune in annually for the president’s prime time address. But it can often prove difficult for speakers to match the pageantry of the main event, with moments like Senator Marco Rubio’s lunge for a glass of water during his 2013 attempt often providing the most memorable moments.
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