Washington (CNN) – Whichever language you speak, the Republican response to the State of the Union address tomorrow night will be in a woman’s voice.
Florida Republican Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen will give a Spanish version of the party’s response to President Barack Obama’s annual speech, her office tells CNN. That will parallel the response Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Washington, plans to give in English and will mark the first time that the GOP has tapped two women to give its official rebuttal of the President’s remarks.
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Ros-Lehtinen spokesman Keith Fernandez said Monday that the Florida congresswoman was working on translating McMorris Rodgers’ planned speech and that the Spanish version would be essentially the same content as its English companion, with personal anecdotes or references changed.
The choices point toward two of the GOP's most-wanted groups: women and Hispanics. House Speaker John Boehner's office made the Ros-Lehtinen announcement Monday evening in a Spanish-only statement.
The female double-team is a first for Republicans at the Capitol, but the general task is not new for Ros-Lehtinen. She also gave a State of the Union response in Spanish in 2011, working alongside Rep. Paul Ryan’s English version that year.