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Rep. George Santos’ constituents from New York’s third congressional district traveled to Washington, D.C., to call for his removal from Congress.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

• Constituents from George Santos’ congressional district gathered in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
• They demanded Santos’ removal from Congress and questioned why he would not meet with them.
• Santos has refused to resign until the people who voted for him in New York demand it.

A group of constituents from Rep. George Santos’ district in New York turned up at his office in Washington, D.C., demanding his removal from Congress.

The group was seen flooding the hallway outside Santos’ room in the Longworth House Office Building on Tuesday. Santos aide Vish Burra opened the door and spoke briefly with a female constituent, who handed Burra a petition demanding Santos be removed from Congress.

“We are not comfortable with the lies, and the deceit,” said the woman, who was wearing a shirt from the nonprofit organization Courage for America. “We wanna vote to expel. We want him to respond to us. We sent over 50 different meeting requests and did not get a response back.”

After Burra went back into Santos’ office and shut the door behind him, the people gathered outside started to clamor for a response.

“Where is George?” one person shouted.

“We came down from New York, and we’re not being seen,” another woman said. “We all sent emails, nobody got a response, and he’s not here to meet with us. That’s unacceptable.” 

—Ford Fischer (@FordFischer) February 7, 2023

A spokesperson for Courage for America told Insider that 45 constituents from New York traveled to DC together to try to meet Santos. The trip was organized by Courage for America in collaboration with “Concerned Citizens of NY-03,” a grassroots organization that wants Santos out of office, the spokesperson said.

Courage for America also posted several videos on its Twitter page that show the group outside the Capitol building.

“@RepSantosNY03 ‘s constituents have travelled all the way to DC because they want an honest and credible person representing them in Congress, not a fraud,” the organization tweeted.

—Courage for America (@Courage4America) February 7, 2023

In another video, the constituents were seen holding up signs and chanting “Santos has got to go.” One sign read: “SCAMTOS.” This may be a reference to accusations from multiple people that Santos pocketed thousands of dollars raised for animal welfare and pet rescue initiatives.

On Tuesday, Courage for America tweeted that a letter with close to 1,500 signatures from Santos’ constituents was delivered to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The organization called for McCarthy to “do what’s right” and hold a vote to expel Santos from Congress. McCarthy did not immediately respond to the petition, and did not meet with the group.

However, a McCarthy aide separately told Reuters that the House Ethics committee has “received complaints” about Santos.

Santos has admitted to lying about going to university, being Jewish, and working at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup.

Santos has refused to resign from his congressional seat, saying he will only do so if the people who voted for him in New York demand it. Santos, however, did say in January that he would step down from his committee assignments on the science and small business panels.

Representatives for Santos and McCarthy did not immediately respond to Insider’s requests for comment.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene gives a thumb down as President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address on February 7, 2023.

Jim Watson/Getty Images

• Republicans repeatedly heckled Biden during his SOTU address.
• It was an unorthodox display of behavior during what is generally a tame event. 
• McCarthy previously said that Republicans would behave during the address.

Republicans repeatedly interrupted and heckled President Joe Biden during his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, offering a theatrical reminder of the historically contentious state of US politics as millions of Americans watched on live TV. 

Biden’s comments on a range of issues — everything from the national debt to fentanyl overdoses — prompted boos and loud yelling from Republicans. The president appeared to be largely unfazed by the GOP’s unorthodox behavior, at times directly responding to their jeers. 

GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, for example, shouted “liar” after Biden suggested that some in her party wanted to see Social Security and Medicare end. Biden ultimately got Republicans to stand up and applaud in support of both programs, and declared there was “unanimity” on the matter. 

—POLITICO (@politico) February 8, 2023

 

Greene, a particularly vocal attendee of Biden’s address, at another point shouted “China spied on us” as the president discussed tensions between Washington and Beijing — including the recent downing of a suspected Chinese spy balloon. 

The raucous behavior of a number of congressional Republicans came after House Speaker Kevin McCarthy insisted that members of his caucus behave during the address.

“We’re members of Congress. We have a code of ethics of how we should portray ourselves,” McCarthy said to CNN’s Manu Raju on Tuesday. “And that’s exactly what we’ll do.”

McCarthy, who said there would be no “childish games” during Biden’s speech, was ultimately seen shushing Republicans who were yelling as the president addressed the nation.

—Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 7, 2023

—JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) February 8, 2023

 

The behavior of Republicans on Tuesday night was indicative of McCarthy’s struggles to control his caucus after barely clawing his way to the speakership last month — a dramatic fight that saw him to make a number of concessions to hyper-conservative members. 

It was also emblematic of the rising animosity between Democrats and Republicans under a newly divided government, at a time when far right elements of the GOP are becoming more and more influential — and increasingly steering the tone of the party.

President Biden urged unity during his State of the Union address on Tuesday, but there was little of that on display in a raucous chamber where the president was heckled by a number of newly empowered House Republicans. 

Biden’s speech was a blend of a victory lap over his first two years in office and a pitch to voters about what he would do with six more years if he were re-elected in 2024. The president rattled off a list of bipartisan legislation that he argued had revitalized the economy and shown the government can work for the public, while urging a newly divided Congress to “finish the job.”

“To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together and find consensus on important things in this Congress as well,” Biden said. “I think the people sent us a clear message. Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere. And that’s always been my vision of our country, and I know it’s many of yours.”

He touted his work to improve the U.S. economy early in the address, noting that the January jobs report released last week showed unemployment dropped to 3.4 percent and that gas prices are down $1.50 a gallon from their peak.

And, he touted the passage of the bipartisan CHIPS and Science Act and the bipartisan infrastructure law, taking a stab at Republicans who voted against the legislation but have celebrated projects it funds.

But even as he urged unity, Biden also put GOP lawmakers on the spot when he suggested that they wanted cuts to Social Security and Medicare, which became an unusual moment of live back-and-forth on the issue that culminated in an apparent agreement.

“Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans — some Republicans want Social Security and Medicare to sunset. I’m not saying it’s the majority,” Biden said.

One Republican – Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, yelled “liar” toward Biden after those remarks, which drew boos and from Republicans in attendance. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) shook his head as he sat next to Vice President Harris behind Biden, for the first time as Speaker of the House.

Updated 11:01 p.m.

(NewsNation) — President Joe Biden delivered his State of the Union address Tuesday, asking Republicans to help him “finish the job” he started two years ago of rebuilding the economy and unifying a country beset by deep political divides during a pandemic that has claimed more than a million lives.

The speech was Biden’s first in front of a GOP-controlled House that has placed much of the blame for record-high inflation on Democratic policies. He urged his colleagues across the aisle to set aside political differences and deliver results for the American people.

During last year’s State of the Union, Biden made separate promises centered on holding Russia accountable, addressing gun violence, police reform and funding, and immigration.

Here’s what the president said Tuesday night about those promises:

Inflation and economy

Biden touted an economic plan he said is about “investing in places and people that have been forgotten.”

During his tenure the president has been contending with inflation that reached a four-decade high earlier this summer. It’s since come down but still remains elevated — prices were up 6.5% in December compared to the same month a year prior.

The Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates to stem consumer demand and bring down prices, targeting a 2% inflation rate. A better-than-expected January jobs report shows the economy is still strong, and unemployment is at its lowest level since 1969.

“Jobs are coming back, pride is coming back because of the choices we made in the last two years,” Biden said. “This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and make a real difference in your lives.”

Biden emphasized the 12 million jobs that have been added in the past two years, but most of that was added back from the 21 million lost during the pandemic. Roughly 12 million were gained back before Biden took office, and employment reached pre-pandemic levels in February 2022. As of today, there’s about 5 million more jobs that been added above the pre-COVID level.

Republicans argue that things aren’t as rosy. The economy was a central focus of the midterm campaigns, and congressional candidates tried to make the case that Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act did just the opposite.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders delivered the Republican response to Biden’s speech.

“In the radical left’s America, Washington taxes you and lights your hard-earned money on fire, but you get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves, and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race, but not to love one another or our great country,” Huckabee Sanders said.

Police reform

The president’s speech came nearly a month after the death of Tyre Nichols, who was beaten by police during an arrest Jan. 7 in Memphis. He died days later in a hospital, and multiple officers have been charged with second-degree murder.

Biden said what happened to Nichols happens too often, an adverse effect of police officers being asked to do too much.

“We know police officers put their lives on the line every day, and we ask them to do too much — to be counselors, social workers, psychologists; responding to drug overdoses, mental health crises, and more,” Biden said. “When police officers or departments violate the public’s trust, we must hold them accountable.”

Biden’s fiscal year 2023 budget requests a fully paid investment of about $35 billion to support law enforcement and crime prevention.

“All of us in this chamber, we need to rise to this moment,” he said. “Let’s come together and finish the job on police reform.”

Biden has sought to thread the needle between supporting law enforcement and promoting accountability, rejecting calls to “defund the police” coming from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

“After years of Democrat attacks on law enforcement and calls to ‘defund the police,’ violent criminals roam free, while law-abiding families live in fear,” Huckabee Sanders said. 

Russia and Ukraine

Biden vowed continued support for Ukraine, which has been fighting a Russian invasion that began Feb. 24, 2022. What was initially thought would be a quick and decisive victory for Russia has turned into a drawn-out slog for control of territory in the eastern part of the country.

The United States has provided more than $24 billion in aid for Ukraine, and Biden remained steadfast in his commitment for future help.

“We will stand with you as long as it takes,” Biden told Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., who was in attendance.

But he may find resistance in Congress. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has previously said he won’t supply a “blank check” for Ukraine, and hardline Republicans have voted against previous aid packages and called for audits of the money and equipment being shipped to Ukraine.

Gun violence

Referencing the May 2022 shooting that killed 21 people at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, Biden renewed his call for a ban on all assault weapons.

After decades of deadlock on gun reform, Congress came together after the shooting to pass the most significant federal gun restrictions bill in nearly 30 years.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act requires people younger than 21 to undergo enhanced background checks, funds crisis intervention and distinctly classifies gun trafficking and straw purchases as federal crimes.

The legislation, which came on the heels of the deadly shootings in Buffalo, New York and Uvalde, Texas, didn’t go as far as Biden had hoped. The president initially asked Congress for a ban on all assault weapons.

He renewed that call Tuesday night.

“We did it before. I led the fight to ban them in 1994,” Biden said. “In the 10 years the ban was law, mass shootings went down. After Republicans let it expire, mass shootings tripled.”

Immigration

Immigration policy has been one of the biggest challenges for the Biden administration. Migrant encounters at the southern border topped a record-high 2.3 million in fiscal year 2022, and numbers remain high so far in 2023.

Most recently, Biden announced the U.S. would deny entry to Cubans, Haitians and Nicaraguans who cross the border from Mexico without authorization, which expanded on an earlier effort to restrict Venezuelans.

Biden noted that policy as resulted in a 97% drop in unlawful migration from those countries, and he called on Congress to make immigration “a bipartisan issue like it was before.”

“If you won’t pass my comprehensive immigration reform, at least pass my plan to provide the equipment and officers to secure the border,” Biden said, “and a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers, those on temporary status, farm workers, and essential workers.”

Huckabee Sanders in her response criticized the administration

Despite Democrats’ trillions in reckless spending and mountains of debt, we now have the worst border crisis in American history,” Huckabee Sanders said. “100,000 Americans a year are now killed from drug overdoses, largely from fentanyl pouring in across our southern border. Yet the Biden administration refuses to secure the border and save American lives.”

President Joe Biden gestures as he delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2023, in Washington, as Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California, watch.

Jacquelyn Martin, Pool/AP

• Biden addressed the nation Tuesday, laying out his vision and touting his accomplishments.
• Republicans heckled him several times throughout his remarks. 
• From bipartisan appeals to surprising combativeness, here are the big takeaways from the speech.

President Joe Biden delivered his 2023 State of the Union Address on Tuesday, amid pessimistic feelings about the US and polling from voters saying they’re reluctant to see him run for reelection. 

Yet the president struck an optimistic tone as he prepared to preside over a divided government for the first time during his presidency. He urged Congress to get behind him to achieve bipartisan victories, and painted a picture of a country still on the comeback. 

Here are Insider’s four biggest takeaways from the president’s annual address to Congress: 

First Lady Jill Biden arrives to the House Chamber for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address in the U.S. Capitol on February 07, 2023 in Washington, DC. The speech marks Biden’s first address to the new Republican-controlled House.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

He tried to appeal to bipartisanship 

Biden is beginning this year with a divided government — but he struck a unifying tone as he opened Tuesday evening’s speech. He noted that during the first half of his term, he signed more than 300 bipartisan measures into law, including sending defense funding to Ukraine, spending on infrastructure, and codifying same-sex marriage. 

“If we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this Congress as well,” he said, adding that his “vision” was to “unite the country.” 

Before diving into the list of bipartisan accomplishments, though, Biden began by congratulating House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. 

“I don’t want to ruin your reputation, but I look forward to working with you,” Biden said to McCarthy. The comments, slightly adlibbed from his prepared remarks, were met with laughs from the audience. A call for increased funding for cancer research appeared to receive bipartisan support in the chamber. 

A fashion statement appeared to top it all off. In a symbolic appeal to bipartisanship, First Lady Jill Biden wore purple— the color that results from combining blue and red. 

Biden did nimble crowd work when Republicans heckled him 

While Republicans appeared to exchange some pleasantries with the president when he entered the chamber, some members had vocal outbursts throughout Biden’s speech. This included Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia who called him a “liar.” 

These unscripted moments happened much more frequently than in past State of the Union Addresses, including under past presidents. 

But Biden engaged Republicans instead of ignoring them.

When Biden accused Republicans of wanting to cut popular Medicare and Social Security programs, he was met with shouts from Republicans sitting in the audience. There was a chaotic back and forth, until Biden said, “Let’s all agree let’s stand up for seniors.” McCarthy stood to clap behind him.

“So folks, as we all apparently agree, Social Security and Medicare off the books now, right?” Biden quipped, in a departure from his prepared remarks.

Republicans geared up for battle ahead of his speech, going on a media circuit to criticize his record. “They’re reacting obviously to open borders, rampant crime, inflation through the roof and the balloon,” McConnell told the Guy Benson Show on Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, former President Donald Trump shared his thoughts about Biden’s speech on his social media platform, Truth Social. Biden stayed away from Trump for most of his speech other than referring to January 6, in which he referred to Trump as “an assailant” who “unleashed violence.” 

“As Americans listen to President Biden, I am confident they will see the glaring contrast between Democratic unity on the one hand, and Republican chaos on the other,” Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Tuesday during a speech on the Senate floor. 

President Joe Biden gestures toward first lady Jill Biden as he delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on February 7, 2023 in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC. The speech marks Biden’s first address to the new Republican-controlled House.

Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images

He laid out his attack lines for 2024  

Biden’s remarks weren’t all about working together. He warned Republicans he would veto attempts to repeal his signature Inflation Reduction Act, with includes provisions to lower the prices of some prescription drugs. The provisions won’t happen for years — but announcements about lower prices for expensive medicines will come just ahead of the 2024 election. 

In addition to attacking Republicans on Social Security and Medicare cuts, Biden opened up several other lines of attack.

The president used the same attack line during the 2022 midterms and is set to home in on the message this week during a trip to Tampa, Florida. He hasn’t yet formally declared he is running for reelection but has said he intends to run.

He didn’t mention certain promises he made before he was elected 

When Biden ran for president in 2020, he promised to lower Medicare’s eligibility from 65 to 60 and to create a “public option” that would allow people to choose between a private health insurance plan and one that is run by the government. On Tuesday, he did not press for the passage of these measures. 

That isn’t to say that he didn’t raise any of the promises he made in 2020. Biden pressed Congress to “finish the job.” These included funding for people with disabilities to receive home care, funding for universal preschool, and mandating universal paid family leave. 

Rep. Lauren Boebert said “little Twitter trolls” often ask her if Jesus needed an AR-15 to challenge her pro-rights gun stance.

Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

• Rep. Lauren Boebert told a crowd God may use them to stand in front of “demons,” or a “speaker of the House.”
• Boebert, though she was coy about what House speaker she referred to, tried to block McCarthy’s bid.
• Boebert has previously invoked religion and politics, saying “the church is supposed to control the government.”

GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert discussed “standing up to demons” including a “speaker of the House.”

Boebert, who was re-elected in November in an unexpectedly tight race, was speaking at a women’s conference held at a church in Dallas, Texas, over the weekend when she made the comments.

“Ladies, I know you are on fire for God,” the congresswoman from Colorado said, according to a clip of the speech shared by the liberal PAC PatriotTakes.

“God is using you in mighty ways. Maybe he’ll have you ball up your fists, and stand in front of some demons — maybe a speaker of the House,” she continued, prompting laughter and a standing ovation from the audience. When the crowd quieted down, she added: “I also stood up against Nancy Pelosi so nobody knows what I really meant there, for the record, when they try to put this in print.”

—PatriotTakes (@patriottakes) February 6, 2023

 

Whether she was referring to Pelosi, or not, Boebert was among the hard-right faction of Republican representatives who initially refused to support McCarthy as speaker in the new GOP majority.

After negotiations within the party and 15 rounds of voting, McCarthy was finally elected speaker last month, kicking off the new Congress. Boebert never voted for him, but switched her vote to “present” rather than for another member, ultimately benefitting McCarthy’s chances at winning.

In order to win the speakership, McCarthy made certain concessions to the hard-right faction, though the extent of those concessions was unclear.

In her speech at the church over the weekend, Boebert said she and some colleagues presented McCarthy with a “list of concessions” but that he “dismissed them.”

“We started hearing lies about the meeting, that we came in asking for a personal wish list, nothing for the good of the country,” she said.

Boebert ended up with a coveted committee assignment on the House Oversight Committee, the main oversight body in the chamber that would lead potential investigations into President Joe Biden.

A representative for Boebert’s office did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.

Boebert has made controversial comments about Christianity and the government in the past. In June she said she was “tired of this separation of church and state junk,” which is in the US Bill of Rights, or the first 10 Amendments added to the US Constitution.

In another speech at a Christian conference in September, Boebert said it was “time for us to position ourselves and rise up and take our place in Christ and influence this nation as we were called to do” and that humanity was in its “last days.”

Andrew Whitehead, a sociologist at IUPUI and co-author of “Taking America Back for God: Christian Nationalism in the United States,” told Insider at the time her comments touched on Christian nationalist imagery that’s linked to violence.

“Citing the end times really does feel like a call to action and a rallying cry in some sense,” Whitehead said, adding: “A lot of that end times imagery is associated with violence and rapture and descending into chaos societally.”

Boebert has been accused of promoting Christian nationalism, or the belief that Christianity should have a privileged position in the US, but has denied being a Christian nationalist.

Have a news tip? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com.

Republican Rep. George Santos of New York at the State of the Union Address on February 7, 2023.

Win McNamee/Getty Images

• George Santos and Mitt Romney had what appeared to be a tense exchange at the State of the Union.
• C-SPAN cameras captured the interaction, but the two men gave competing accounts.
• Following the speech, Santos tweeted that Romney “will NEVER be PRESIDENT!”

Before President Joe Biden entered the chamber to deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, Rep. George Santos found himself in an apparently tense conversation with fellow Republican Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah.

C-SPAN cameras captured the tense interaction between Santos — the scandal-plagued Long Island congressman — and Romney, the party’s 2012 presidential nominee.

—Acyn (@Acyn) February 8, 2023

 

Following the speech, the Utah Republican told reporters that Santos is a “sick puppy” who “shouldn’t have been there.”

“He should be sitting in the back row and being quiet instead of parading in front of the president,” he told reporters, noting the ethics inquiries Santos faces.

—Frank Thorp V (@frankthorp) February 8, 2023

Santos — not exactly the most reliable interlocutor — claimed to Semafor’s Kadia Goba that Romney called him an “ass” and that Santos retorted that Romney is a “much bigger asshole.”

—Kadia Goba (@kadiagoba) February 8, 2023

And according to CNN, Romney simply told Santos: “You don’t belong here.”

 

Santos sat in a seat on the center aisle beside fellow Republican Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, giving him the opportunity to shake dignitaries’ hands as they entered the chamber.

He could be seen shaking hands with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Whip John Thune, Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville, and even a couple of Democrats: Sens. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Dick Durbin of Illinois.

Following the speech, Santos tweeted that Romney “will NEVER be PRESIDENT!”

—George Santos (@Santos4Congress) February 8, 2023

 

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia boos President Joe Biden during the State of the Union

Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images

• Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green called Biden a “liar” after he accused the GOP of wanting to cut Medicare and Social Security.
• GOP lawmakers had previously been floating cuts to those programs during debt limit negotiations.
• But McCarthy said cuts to Medicare and Social Security are “off the table.”

Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene joined fellow Republicans in shouting down President Joe Biden during the State of the Union, a raucous moment that underlines the tension on key economic issues.

“You lie, you lie,” Greene shouted from the back of the House chamber. She was far from the only House Republican who was outraged at Biden’s suggestion that the GOP would end Medicare or Social Security, massively popular federal programs.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy was even caught on camera mouthing what appeared to be, “No” as he shook his head. 

Biden was talking about Republican Sen. Rick Scott’s pre-midterm plan that called for all federal laws to be sunset within five years unless Congress voted for them.  Scott, who at the time was in charge of the Senate GOP’s campaign arm, was denounced by senior members of his party, including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.

—CSPAN (@cspan) February 8, 2023

 

“Instead of making the wealthy pay their fair share, some Republicans, some Republicans, want Medicare and Social Security to sunset — I’m not saying it’s a majority,” Biden said before the boos grew louder.

Biden has argued that Scott’s plan is indicative of the broader GOP’s views. On Tuesday night, he tried to be clear that it was more a limited view within the Republican party but even that was not enough to tamp down the outcry.

The president was defiant in face of the outburst, responding, “Anybody who doubts it, contact my office. I’ll give you a copy.”

After the back and forth, Biden said that the two sides had found “unanimity,” pleased that the GOP agreed it would not touch the entitlement programs. McCarthy had promised as much during a speech of his own on Monday night.

Potential cuts to Medicare and Social Security have surrounded negotiations to raise the debt ceiling. With Republicans holding a slim majority over the House, many of them expressed the desire to use raising the debt limit as a bargaining chip to achieve spending cuts, with some of them throwing Medicare and Social Security into the mix.

Democratic lawmakers, including Biden’s administration, slammed the idea that the GOP was considering cuts to those programs, and even former President Donald Trump urged Republicans to leave Medicare and Social Security out of debt limit talks. 

As Insider previously reported, McCarthy said cuts to those programs were “off the table,” but some GOP lawmakers still wanted the solvency of the programs to be included in a potential debt limit deal. McCarthy has failed to specify what exactly he wants to include in spending cuts, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned him that “extraordinary measures” to keep the government on top of paying its bills will run out this summer — and the debt limit needs to be raised before then.

U.S. President Joe Biden put taxes and corporate stock buybacks squarely in investors’ focus during Tuesday night’s State of the Union address as part of his push to restructure the world’s largest economy to be less favorable to the very wealthy.

Biden, who earlier last year signed into law a 1% tax on corporate stock buybacks, used his speech to call for that to be quadrupled, as well as renew his calls for higher taxes on billionaires.

Investors said that while the chances of such a proposal passing in Congress – where Republicans control the House of Representatives – were low, it could have some bearing on investor behavior.

If companies sense such a tax is imminent, it might spur them to speed up buybacks and eventually shift toward paying dividends instead.

“We could see an acceleration and that could boost earnings and equity prices this year, perhaps,” said Jack Ablin, co-founder and chief investment officer at Cresset Capital, ahead of the speech. “If this tax encourages companies to raise their dividends instead of buying back shares, all in all, it’s not a bad thing.”

The address comes at a time when the S&P 500 (.SPX), which had rallied 6.2% in January, has come under some pressure as investors weigh the U.S. Federal Reserve’s encouraging words on some progress on controlling inflation against a robust labor market that hints at a longer period of policy tightening.

In an indication of the challenges Biden faces in implementing his wish list in a divided Congress, U.S. stock futures barely moved after the speech.

Biden’s words on the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling were also of interest to investors. The White House has said Biden will not negotiate over the need to lift that ceiling, while Republicans want spending cuts in exchange for their support.

“Some of my Republican friends want to take the economy hostage – I get it – unless I agree to their economic plans,” Biden said.

Damien Boey, chief macro strategist at Barrenjoey in Sydney, said overcoming that gridlock in Congress was critical as the government gets closer to hitting the debt ceiling.

“Obviously Biden is clearly pitching to the Republicans is that they want to work together. Most people anticipate that is not going to be an easy promise as you get there.”

Other topics were also watched by investors, particularly remarks on China, a key area of interest for investors.

Given the recent shooting down of a suspected Chinese spy balloon off the coast of South Carolina by the U.S. military, investors were looking to see how forcefully Biden addressed U.S.-China relations.

Biden said that if China threatened U.S. sovereignty, the U.S. would act to protect the country.

“I expected some more hawkish comments on China,” said Naka Matsuzawa, chief strategist at Nomura in Tokyo. “Biden should be clearer about how they are going to develop the supply chain away from China. Trade with China is still increasing, rather than decreasing, at this moment.”

Corporate stock buybacks, where public companies buy back their own shares, thereby juicing the price of the shares as a way to return cash to shareholders, have grabbed headlines this year.

Even if the tax goes up, the ultimate impact may be relatively small, said Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P Dow Jones Indices.

Silverblatt estimates the existing 1% tax will shave off only 0.5% from S&P 500 earnings in 2023.

S&P 500 companies’ stock buybacks are expected to total $220 billion for the fourth quarter of 2022, with 2023 set to be the first fiscal year with over $1 trillion in buybacks, according to data from S&P Dow Jones Indices.

If the tax were to go up to a 2.5% to 2.75% levy, it could start to move money from buybacks to dividends, but not dollar for dollar, Silverblatt said.

Biden was especially critical of oil companies’ profits. “I think it’s outrageous,” he said, while noting the United States would need oil for at least another decade.

Biden also called for another narrow tax increase: a “billionaire minimum tax” aimed at taxing the unrealized capital gains from assets such as stocks, bonds, or privately held companies of high networth individuals.

That proposal would be a highly complicated new tax regime, creating difficulty for a currently overwhelmed Internal Revenue Service and complexity for taxpayers, according to the nonpartisan Tax Foundation.

Still, analysts were skeptical of this also coming to fruition.

“The tax proposals are dead on arrival since Congress is divided, so it is more of a political talking point for the upcoming campaign just as tax the 1% has been in the past,” said Ulf Lindahl, chief executive at Currency Research Associates.