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1966 GOP Response to the State of the Union Address


Senate Story: Opposition Response to the State of the Union Address

Portrait of Clara Barton taken in the Civil War
On January 17, 1966, in the Capitol’s Old Senate Chamber, Senate Republican Leader Everett Dirksen (at the podium) and House Minority Leader Gerald Ford (seated behind Dirksen) delivered the first official opposition response to a State of the Union Address, beginning a tradition that continues to this day.
credit: U.S. Senate Historical Office