Sen. Britt Points to Death of Laken Riley, Slams Border Crisis After SOTU

Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) slammed President Joe Biden in her Republican response to his State of the Union address on Thursday night, pointing to the death of Laken Riley as evidence of the president’s disastrous policies.

During his address, Biden acknowledged Laken Riley, the 22-year-old Georgia nursing student murdered allegedly at the hands of an illegal alien. Biden’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released Riley’s accused killer, illegal alien Jose Antonio Ibarra of Venezuela, into the United States interior in September 2022.

WATCH: Biden Calls Laken Riley, Nursing Student Allegedly Murdered by Illegal Alien, “Linken”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) shouted at Biden, “What about Laken Riley? Say her name!” when he began talking about the issue of illegal immigration. Biden responded, seemingly mispronouncing Riley’s name while admitting that an illegal alien is accused of murdering her on the University of Georgia (UGA) campus in February.

“Lincoln Riley!” Biden responded to Greene. “An innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal. That’s right. But how many of thousands of people have been killed by illegals? To her parents, I say, my heart goes out to you, having lost children myself. I understand.”

Britt noted the exchange in her response, which was filmed from her kitchen.

“As a mom, I can’t quit thinking about this. I mean, this could have been my daughter — this could have been yours. And tonight, President Biden finally said her name, but he refused to take responsibility for his own actions,” Britt said. “Mr. President, enough is enough. Innocent Americans are dying and you only have yourself to blame. Fulfill your oath of office, reverse your policies, end this crisis, and stop the suffering.”

Britt also criticized Biden’s handling of the economy and his weakness on the world stage. 

“His reckless spending dug our economy into a hole and sent the cost of living through the roof. We have the worst inflation in 40 years and the highest credit card debt in our nation’s history. Let that sink in. Hardworking families are struggling to make ends meet today. And with soaring mortgage rates and sky-high childcare costs, they’re also struggling to how to plan for tomorrow. The American people are scraping by while President Biden proudly proclaims that Bidenomics is working,” she said. 

She added:

For years, the left has coddled criminals and defunded the police all while letting repeat offenders walk free. The result is tragic, but foreseeable from our small towns to America’s most iconic city streets — life is getting more and more dangerous.

And unfortunately, President Biden’s weakness isn’t just hurting families here at home. He is making us a punchline on the world stage. Look where I’m from, your word is your bond. But for three years, the President has demonstrated that America’s word doesn’t mean what it used to. From abandoning our allies in his disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan, to desperately pushing another dangerous deal with Iran, president Biden has failed. We’ve become a nation in retreat and the enemies of freedom, they see an opportunity. 

Britt took the opportunity to join other Republicans in defending in vitro fertilization following an Alabama Supreme Court ruling that frozen embryos are considered unborn children, and that anyone who destroys them may be held liable under the state’s Wrongful Death of a Minor Act.

“We are the party of hard-working parents and families, and we want to give you and your children the opportunities to thrive, and we want families to grow,” she said. “It’s why we strongly support continued nationwide access to in vitro fertilization. We want to help loving moms and dads bring precious life into this world.”

Since the ruling, Democrats, including President Joe Biden, have been using the decision as part of their pro-abortion and reproductive health campaign. Republicans, many of whom claim to believe life begins at conception, are being told to uncritically support IVF so as not to look “extreme” — despite the moral and ethical quandaries surrounding the process, including disposal, experimentation, longterm storage, eugenic-style embryo selection, and even selective abortions later on.