President Joe Biden delivered an address to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening, however it looked different than the traditional joint address.

Instead of the typical packed House chamber the nation envisions for a State of the Union Address, Biden’s remarks were made to a largely empty chamber as he approached 100 days in office.

His speech spanned about 64 minutes and was widely criticized by Republicans, including the members of Alabama’s congressional delegation.

U.S. Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), the vice chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, released a statement panning the president’s address.

“Tonight’s address from President Biden was focused on drastically changing the country, but instead of reaching across the aisle to find ways to work together, this Administration is prioritizing liberal policies and a partisan agenda,” lamented Alabama’s senior senator.

“The President’s speech was a snapshot into the unprecedented spending sprees and executive overreaches his Administration has planned for the next four years,” Shelby outlined. “Expanding big-government programs, forcing the largest tax increase in a generation, and undoing effective border policies would damage our economy and undermine the rule of law. He failed to outline a legitimate plan to improve our nation’s infrastructure system – whether that be traditional roads and bridges or modern rural broadband. Instead, he would rather burden Americans with steep tax hikes. To make matters worse, he plans to do this when individuals and businesses are already struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Taxation has economic consequences; Republicans know that, and Democrats should too.”

He concluded, “President Biden’s Administration has been distinguished by anything but bipartisanship thus far. Americans deserve better; they deserve to be heard. It is time to put our differences aside and focus on what we can do to improve our country. Let’s work to create jobs, help American businesses compete globally, and give people the opportunity to succeed. I urge President Biden to reach across the aisle and find real solutions by addressing the concerns of all Americans.”

U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) expressed strong disappointment with what he heard from Biden.

“Earlier today, I urged President Biden to use tonight’s Joint Address as a way to get back to the message of unity he sold to the American people,” said Alabama’s junior senator. “It is clear now that idea of unity is in the Biden Administration’s rearview mirror. From the Green New Deal to open borders, President Biden is working for the partisan progressives – not the American taxpayers. What bothered me most about what President Biden said tonight is the notion that America, the greatest nation in the world, is not great in the eyes of this Administration. Instead, he believes America should be completely changed down to its core. This much has been clear even before his address through his support of liberal policies like massive and untargeted spending bills, packing the Supreme Court, and stripping states’ Right to Work protections.”

“We need to believe in the power of the American people, not the power of the Biden Administration. Tonight’s address should have been a moment to hit reset. It wasn’t, and that is ultimately a disservice to the American people,” he advised.

Congressman Robert Aderholt (AL-04), the dean of Alabama’s U.S. House delegation, said in a statement, “President Biden continues to govern counter to what he promised in his inaugural address when he pledged to not be a partisan President. Instead, he is pushing a liberal, wish list, spending frenzy that Franklin Roosevelt could never have dreamed of and sending the American taxpayer the bill. And because he is pushing such partisans spending bills, he will get partisan results from Congress. This is not the Joe Biden of old who worked across the aisle, but a new Joe Biden who seems to be a trojan horse for the radical left.”

Congressman Mike Rogers (AL-03), ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, stated, “Tonight, President Biden laid out to the American people his version of socialism. The list of big government over-reach into our jobs, schools and lives by the Biden administration is unprecedented. For example, the so-called ‘Jobs Plan’ should be called the ‘anti-jobs plan.’ The damage it will cause to industries in Alabama and across America can’t be overstated.”

“Where President Trump put America first, President Biden is doing everything he can to make America last. China is laughing at us all the way to the bank,” he added. “I will tirelessly work against this socialist agenda. As President Trump said, ‘America will never be a socialist country.’ We should all commit to the principle of freedom on which our great nation was founded.”

Congressman Barry Moore (AL-02) commented, “During his first one hundred days in office, President Biden has managed to create the greatest border crisis we’ve seen in decades by halting construction on the border wall and promoting open-door policies, send thousands of American workers to the unemployment line by revoking the Keystone Pipeline permit, and tack on trillions of dollars to the national debt for liberal pet projects.”

“In his address, he not only ducked taking responsibility for the crisis he created, but he reaffirmed his commitment to the radical liberal elites by touting far-left policies that will come at the expense of everyday American families,” Moore continued. “The only thing America needs to be rescued from is this administration’s socialist policies that will leave hardworking Americans out in the cold.”

Congressman Jerry Carl (AL-01) said in a statement, “In his inaugural address, President Biden made an empty promise to be a president for all Americans and work across the aisle in a bipartisan way to move America forward. Unfortunately, he has completely failed to deliver on this promise during his first 100 days in office. During this time, President Biden has not met with GOP leadership nor sat down to work with the GOP in a constructive manner. Instead, he has ignored the crisis he created at the border, killed thousands of American jobs, and championed trillions of dollars in spending that does nothing to re-open the economy or get people back to work. It’s time for President Biden to deliver on his promise to be a president for all Americans instead of governing with his pen and paper and catering to the far left.”

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn