State of the Union 2024: Progressive ‘Squad’ turns up heat on Biden with demands ahead of speech

The Progressive House “Squad” is demanding more from President Joe Biden in Gaza ahead of his third State of the Union address.

Progressive Democrats, who have long expressed outrage over Biden’s support for Israel during the War in Gaza, believe that his latest actions aren’t enough. The administration has taken several major moves to send aid to starving Palestinians in Gaza, including airdropping supplies, and, as will be announced tonight, opening up a port to facilitate further aid. Despite this, progressives want more.

Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Cori Bush (D-MO), and Ilhan Omar (D-MN) all told Axios that Biden must do more to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinians, mainly by stopping Israel’s assault.

“If the port brings in hundreds of trucks a day, that’s great, but we need a ceasefire now,” Bowman told the outlet. Furthermore, Biden should press for the “release of the hostages in the West Bank and Gaza, not just in Gaza,” and ensure a “pathway to peace for the Palestinians.”

Omar put it more bluntly, saying that Biden needs to “end the onslaught.”

Bush said that Biden must push for a lasting ceasefire, rather than a temporary one, and restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

However, they noted that they aren’t getting their hopes up for those promises in the State of the Union.

“I’m hoping to hear all of that,” Bowman said, but, “I probably won’t.”

Bush also signaled her wider support for Biden, despite not revealing if she voted for him in her state’s primary.

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“Right now my focus is making sure that we save lives now, because if we do the work to save lives now then we protect our democracy in November,” she told the outlet.

“How we save our democracy is by listening to … the voters and the more than 70% of Democrats saying they want a ceasefire,” Bush added.

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