President Joe Biden used one line repeatedly in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday night, as he turned “Let’s finish the job” into his mantra during the address.
Biden deployed the line as he called for action in a range of areas, including healthcare, education, antitrust policy, policing reform and taxes on the wealthy.
He talked up a law that targeted shipping companies and said Congress should finish that work by passing legislation to strengthen antitrust enforcement and prevent big online platforms from giving their own products an unfair advantage.
The president touted Democratic efforts that lowered premiums for Affordable Care Act coverage, then said: “Let’s finish the job and make these savings permanent.”
Overall, Biden said “Let’s finish the job” at least 10 times, according to the full text of his State of the Union address, as prepared for delivery andreleased by the White House.
It’s possible that “Let’s finish the job” will become a key phrase in his re-election campaign. He appears set to announce in early spring thathe’ll run for president againin 2024.
In Tuesday’s speech, another spot where the line appeared was in a discussion of policy for pre-K education.
“If you want America to have the best-educated workforce, let’s finish the job by providing access to preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds,” Biden said.
It also came up with Biden’s call to extend a monthly price cap of $35 for insulin copays to all Americans.
“Let’s finish the job this time,” he said. “Let’s cap the cost of insulin for everybody at $35.”
In addition, Biden urged lawmakers to impose a billionaire minimum tax, after the White House had announced on Monday that he would do do.
“Let’s finish the job,” he told the joint session of Congress. “Pass my proposal for the billionaire minimum tax.”
Now read: Here are key proposals from Biden’s State of the Union speech