Washington, D.C. (Feb. 22, 2022) — The Working Families Party announced today that U.S. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (MI-13) will deliver the Party’s response to President Biden’s State of the Union Address. This marks the fifth WFP response to a president’s address before a joint session of Congress. 

Watch live on Facebook following President Biden’s address.

“Rep. Tlaib is a fearless progressive who wakes up every day to fight for working people, and we’re thrilled for her to deliver the WFP State of the Union Response,” said Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell. “Obstructionist Republicans and a handful of corporate Democrats have ground Washington to a standstill while child poverty spikes and costs continue to rise for housing, healthcare, and childcare. It doesn’t have to be this way. Rashida will articulate a progressive vision for how we can meet the basic needs of the American people, and ensure all of us can thrive.” 

Responses to previous State of the Union Addresses were given by Rep. Jamaal Bowman in 2021, Rep. Ayanna Pressley in 2020, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. and former WFP national committee member Mandela Barnes in 2019, and former U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards in 2018. 

“It’s an honor to deliver the Working Families Party response to President Biden’s State of the Union, and I am especially excited to elevate the voices of the working-class residents in my district and across the nation,” said Rep. Rashida Tlaib. “It should not be this hard to deliver on healthcare, climate, housing, child care, safety, voting rights, clean water and so much more. Democrats are in the majority and must set a new course that moves with a sense of urgency. Our communities deserve for us to act now.” 

Rep. Tlaib has represented Michigan’s 13th Congressional District—which includes part of Detroit and surrounding suburbs—since 2019. In Congress, Rep. Tlaib introduced legislation this year to end childhood poverty, and has sponsored bills to provide $2,000 monthly survival checks during the pandemic, guarantee clean, affordable water as a human right, invest billions in affordable housing and community development , and encourage the creation of public banks. Tlaib made history in 2008 by becoming the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan state legislature, and again in 2018 as one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.

The Working Families Party is the political party of the multiracial working class, fighting for a nation that cares for all of us. This year the WFP is supporting a slate of candidates from coast to coast to build a “Working Families Majority” in Congress. On the same evening as the State of the Union, three candidates on the WFP Majority slate—Greg Casar, Jessica Cisneros, and Jasmine Crockett—will play starring roles in the Texas Democratic primaries. 

In 2020, the Working Families Party fought to defeat Donald Trump in key battleground states like Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Arizona and then waged a $2.5 million voter mobilization effort in Georgia to elect Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate. The WFP helped elect progressive champions Jamaal Bowman and Mondaire Jones in heavily-contested Congressional races, drove a wave of victories for progressives in Rhode Island, shook up the New Mexico Democratic establishment with progressive victories under the banner of “No Corporate Dems,” elected a diverse slate of progressives in Delaware, and helped create the most progressive NY state legislature in decades by winning thirty-three state legislative primaries.