Blackburn predicts Biden will 'push left' in address, slams 'lack of leadership' in first 100 days

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EXCLUSIVE: Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn says she expects President Biden's address to a joint session of Congress Wednesday night to focus on a "litany of issues" that will "change the way people live their lives on a day-to-day basis."

In an exclusive interview with Fox News, Blackburn, of Tennessee, slammed Biden's executive orders and "lack of leadership" in his first 100 days. 

"I think he is going to go out there and act like everybody agrees with him, and that if you don't, something’s wrong with you," she said. "I think that's pretty much the tone he is going to go. This is a foregone conclusion, this is his agenda, he is going to push it forward, and you oughta like it." 

Blackburn said that she expects Biden to "push left" on social policies. 

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"He virtue signals, and the Democratic Party virtue signals, through these executive orders," Blackburn said. "Now he is going to pivot, and is going to talk about things like mandatory pre-K, incentivizing teachers in elementary and high school to teach certain things, the need for free junior college, forgiving student loan debt." 

Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee speaks at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Orlando, Fla., Feb. 26, 2021. (REUTERS/Octavio Jones) (REUTERS)

Blackburn added that Biden’s policies will "really have government take the leading role in the family, as opposed to having the family make their decisions." 

Biden is expected to announce the American Families Plan during his first joint address to Congress on Wednesday night, which would be on top of the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package passed in March. 

The plan calls for at least four years of free, public education for every child, and a universal preschool for all children between the ages of 3 and 4, a senior Biden administration official said.

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The plan also calls for two years of free community college to be made available to all Americans. 

"As I always say, if the government is going to pay for your education, they can tell you what you’re going to study. If they are going to have a way to pay for your health care, they’re going to tell you what your health care is going to be," Blackburn told Fox News. "So I think, for the left, he will roll out that litany of issues that change the way people live their lives on a day-to-day basis." 

The price tag for the universal pre-school program is about $200 billion, while the free community college would cost taxpayers about $109 billion, the administration said. Under the plan, Dreamers would also qualify for free education at community colleges and would have access to Pell Grants, which would also be increased by $1,400. 

The legislation will offer new funding for historically Black colleges and bring a renewed focus on teacher training in the U.S.

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The administration said the focus of the American Jobs Plan is on the country's physical infrastructure and the creation of millions of jobs; the American Families Plan will invest in young Americans and help families cover basic expenses. 

The plan will ensure that qualifying families do not spend more than 7% of their income on child care and will provide nutrition assistance to reduce childhood hunger, the administration said. Lack of child care costs the U.S. economy about $57 billion each year in earnings, according to the administration.

According to senior administration officials, some of these families could benefit from additional tax cuts in the form of child tax credits, earned income tax credits and child and dependent care tax credits. The credits are already found in the American Rescue Plan and would be expanded under the new bill; credits, the administration says, have proven effective in improving academic performance for students.

The legislation would also establish a national paid-leave program. 

But Blackburn slammed Biden’s proposals, likening them to former President Obama’s 2012 "Life of Julia" campaign tool. Julia was a fictional woman relying on the federal government to take care of her through her life. Blackburn said the tool was "ridiculed" at the time.

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"They are basically putting 'Life of Julia' on the books, with having mandatory pre-K — and then supplanting the need for mom and dad, husband and wife, and a family," Blackburn said. "This is something that is saying we applaud the 'Life of Julia' and her reliance on the federal government to meet her needs and the needs of her child."

Blackburn added that under this type of policy, "there is no recognition that there is actually a family supporting this child."

"It is all about the federal government that is the center of this," Blackburn said, adding that "the majority of the country does not believe in this."

She added: "This is a part of [Biden's] vision of how America could work, and in his speech, Biden is likely going to lay out some of these provisions that would make the government central to your life and not your family or your freedom or your faith or your value system."

Meanwhile, Blackburn went on to slam Biden for the number of executive actions he’s taken within his first 100 days in office. 

Since taking office, Biden has signed dozens executive orders and taken dozens of executive actions— many of which have been reversals of former President Trump's policies and directives, like re-engaging with the World Health Organization, restoring the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program and restoring the Paris Climate Agreement.

"He is choosing to supplant legislation by doing these executive orders, and really kind of using it almost as a threat — if you don’t do this, I’m going to do it this way," she said. 

"They know their policies are so unpopular with the American people they would not stand up to scrutiny trying to go through the legislative process because it’s not what people want," Blackburn continued. "They know there is an incredible amount of buyer’s remorse among the American people." 

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Blackburn said, though, that she believes the Biden administration and Democrats are "trying to push issues like packing the court and D.C. statehood, and federalizing elections before 2022, because they see that as the only hope they have to be a permanent majority." 

Blackburn said she is most surprised by Biden’s "lack of leadership" within his first 100 days in office. 

"You know someone is calling the shots, and it does not appear to be him," she said.