Warnock accuses Republicans of trying to ‘score political points’ over Laken Riley’s death

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) on Sunday accused Republicans of using the death of 22-year-old Laken Riley, who was subpoenaed during President Biden’s State of the Union address, to score “cheap political” points. .

“As a pastor who has given hundreds of eulogies and presided over funerals of all kinds, I can tell you that in a tragic reversal of nature, instead of children burying their parents, parents burying their children. I mean, there’s no worse grief than when you have to… So it’s unfortunate that in this moment of grief, there are people who are trying to score cheap political points,” Warnock said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” He spoke at

“And the fact that they’re the ones who ran away from this bipartisan bill, or at least the opportunity to debate it, and now they’re trying to score political points in the wake of a young woman’s death. It’s wild politics at its worst. . That’s what keeps people away from politics. And I think we can do much better than that. We can protect our borders and we can do everything we can to keep our children safe. We can ensure that we do that,” Warnock continued.

On his way to the Capitol for Thursday’s State of the Union address, Mr. Biden met with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who presented Mr. Biden with a pin honoring Mr. Riley. She then heckled Riley, a 22-year-old University of Georgia student who police say was killed in 2022 by a Venezuelan immigrant who entered the country illegally.

Mr. Biden pulled out a pin given to him by Mr. Greene that had Mr. Riley’s name on it and was worn by many members of Congress. Many Republicans have used her death in recent weeks to vocalize their calls for stricter border laws.

“Laken Riley, an innocent young woman killed by an illegal alien. That’s right,” Biden said during his speech. “But how many thousands of people have been killed by law enforcement? To her parents, my heart goes out to you because I myself have lost a child.”