By Peter Baker

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden challenged the new House Republican majority on Tuesday (7) night to work together with him to “finish the job” of repairing America’s unsettled economy and fragile democracy even as the emboldened opposition geared up to try to force him to change course.

In the first State of the Union address of a new era of divided government that at times turned surprisingly rowdy, Biden vowed to cooperate with the other party but offered no concessions to it. Instead, he called on Republicans to embrace his program of raising taxes on the wealthy and extending social aid to the needy, citing bipartisan legislation passed when Democrats were in charge.

“To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there’s no reason we can’t work together and find consensus on important things in this Congress as well,” Biden said in what amounted to the opening of a re-election campaign he plans to announce by this spring.

“The people sent us a clear message,” he added. “Fighting for the sake of the fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere.” Instead, he said, “we’ve been sent here to finish the job, in my view”.

The president’s first major encounter with the newly empowered House Republicans featured striking moments of unscripted drama the likes of which were rarely seen during State of the Union addresses of the past. When he mentioned the fentanyl crisis, some Republicans heckled him. “The border! The border!” some shouted. “It’s your fault!”

At another point, Biden engaged in a remarkable spontaneous colloquy with Republicans when he accused them of threatening Social Security and Medicare, an assertion that drew some of them to their feet as they rejected the assertion loudly and angrily.

“Liar!” screamed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga.

“Contact my office,” the president responded, offering to give her proof of his point.

When Republicans continued to deny they planned to cut the social programs, the president extended the dialogue, declaring himself happy that Republicans were agreeing to leave the programs alone. “I’m glad to see — no, I tell you, I enjoy conversion,” said Biden, who often refers to his Catholic faith.

Then, he sought to cement the moment. “Let’s stand up for seniors!” he exhorted, one of the few times Republicans did join Democrats in jumping to their feet to applaud.

But there was little sense that the two sides would agree on much else. He was left to shout at Republicans to pass what he could not in the past two years. “Ban assault weapons now!” he yelled. “Ban them now!”

Introducing the parents of Tyre Nichols, the Black man beaten to death by five police officers in Memphis, Tennessee, who were sitting in the first lady’s box with Jill Biden, the president implored lawmakers to overhaul policing. “Do something,” he said. “Do something.”

His finish-the-job mantra, a phrase he repeated nearly a dozen times in a 73-minute speech, characterized an address that included no major new policy direction. Instead, reaching out to disaffected Americans who feel left behind economically, he rattled off a series of relatively modest populist ideas focused on relatable issues like credit card fees, airline fees and overdraft fees. “Here’s my message to all of you out there: I have your back,” he said.

The appeal for bipartisan unity was a message aimed as much at the American public watching on television as those attending the speech in person, an effort to position the president as a responsible leader beset by a quarrelsome opposition. No one expects the Republicans who captured the House in November’s midterm elections to embrace Biden’s legislative program, nor for that matter is the president likely to agree anytime soon to the other side’s demands for deep spending cuts in exchange for an increase in the debt ceiling.

But the speech and the GOP response will frame the terms of debate heading into the coming year, even as Biden prepares to announce his re-election campaign. The president and the House are heading for a collision that could jeopardize the nation’s credit rating and incomplete economic recovery, with both sides already seeking to win the battle of public opinion.

Republicans brushed off Biden’s call for cooperation Tuesday long before he was to arrive at the Capitol, which was once again surrounded by security fences two years after a mob of President Donald Trump’s supporters stormed the building on Jan. 6, 2021, seeking to halt the counting of electoral votes sealing Biden’s election. They portrayed Biden as a failed leader captured by the liberal wing of his party.

The shifting power dynamics were on display Tuesday night. Sitting behind the president for the first time at a joint session was to be the newly selected Republican House speaker, Kevin McCarthy of California, who won his post only after 15 ballots and promises to his right wing to confront Biden aggressively at every turn.

Biden made a point of congratulating McCarthy and shaking hands with him. “Mr. Speaker, I don’t want to ruin your reputation,” he said jokingly, “but I look forward to working with you.” McCarthy offered a tight smile but sat unmoved through most of the speech. When some of his members began shouting, though, he seemed to be trying to shush them.

The hovering presence of the president’s defeated predecessor manifested itself as well, with the party’s official response assigned to Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas, who served as Trump’s White House press secretary. Trump has already announced his campaign to run for president again in next year’s election, setting up the prospect of a rematch with Biden.

“He is simply unfit to serve as commander in chief,” Sanders said of Biden in her speech. “And while you reap the consequences of their failures, the Biden administration seems more interested in woke fantasies than the hard reality Americans face every day. Most Americans simply want to live their lives in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didn’t start and never wanted to fight.”

In taking the rostrum Tuesday night, however, Biden’s challenge was not only to navigate the new partisan realities of Washington but to persuade the broader nation that it is on the right path after the devastation wreaked by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Jan. 6 attack. He sought to offer an optimistic vision in sour times, celebrating economic gains at a moment when polls show that many Americans still do not feel them.

The president touted recent gains in the economy, including falling inflation and strong job growth, while taking credit for legislation meant to curb prescription drug prices for seniors, expand health benefits for veterans, invest in climate change programs and rebuild roads and bridges.

He directly addressed those who still remain unsettled by the economy.

“You wonder whether a path even exists anymore for you and your children to get ahead without having to move away — I get that,” he said. “That’s why we’re building an economy where no one is left behind. Jobs are coming back, pride is coming back, because of the choices we made in the last several years. You know, this is, in my view, a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and make a real difference in your lives at home.”

The speech came at a time when Biden has scored major policy successes and forged a broad coalition against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but polls show that most Americans are not satisfied with his leadership and even most Democrats would prefer that someone else run for president in 2024. Biden has among the lowest average second-year approval ratings of any modern president; only Trump’s second-year average was worse.

Clouding Biden’s message was a new special counsel investigation into the mishandling of classified documents and the furore over a Chinese spy balloon that crossed American airspace. Republicans have spent the past few days hammering Biden for perceived weakness, arguing that he should have ordered the military to shoot the balloon down right away rather than waiting until it reached the Atlantic Ocean to avoid possible casualties on the ground.

Biden skirted around the balloon episode, making no explicit reference to it but alluding to his decision to shoot it down as an example of his determination to stand tough against Beijing when necessary. “Make no mistake, as we made clear last week, if China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country,” he said. “And we did.”

-New York Times