WASHINGTON ― Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) put on a red “Make America Great Again” hat as President Joe Biden entered the House chamber to give his State of the Union address on Thursday.
Greene grabbed a seat near the center aisle so she could make a video of herself greeting Biden. She handed him a pin bearing the name of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old college student who was murdered last month.
“Laken Riley,” Green said in her video.
“I know how to say the name,” Biden said as he accepted the pin, with Greene responding, “Say her name.”
The president carried the pin with him as he greeted Supreme Court justices and military officials on his way to the House rostrum, where he placed it next to a glass of water.
Earlier on Thursday, the House passed a symbolic bill named after Riley requiring federal authorities to detain undocumented immigrants who commit theft or burglary. Riley’s suspected killer, who crossed into the U.S. illegally in 2022, was previously charged with endangering a minor and was arrested in connection with a shoplifting case. Unprecedented numbers of migrants have been apprehended at the border, and Republicans have made it their top political issue.
After Biden had passed, Rep. Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) had an animated conversation with Greene, gesturing with his hands and appearing to demand she remove her MAGA hat.
House rules say members “may not wear non-religious headdress or a hat” when the House is in session. The rules also say anyone on the House floor “may not smoke or use a mobile electronic device that impairs decorum.” Dozens of lawmakers used their phones to take selfies before Biden arrived.
During his speech, Biden picked up the pin and seemed to mispronounce Riley’s name as “Lincoln Riley” before describing her as “an innocent young woman who was killed by an illegal.”
It was a striking off-script moment, both for the fact that Biden was essentially engaging with Greene, one of his most outspoken House antagonists, and because Democrats generally don’t call immigrants “illegal.”
Biden said his heart went out to Riley’s parents, but that Congress could help stymie illegal immigration by approving Biden-backed legislation that would speed up the processing of asylum claims.
“My Republican friends owe it to the American people. Get this bill done,” Biden said.