U.S. Rep. Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., much in the news this week, has been picked to give the Republican response to President Obama's weekly address on Saturday.
The selection comes in a week when the House voted overwhelmingly to approve Paulsen's bill repealing a tax on medical device makers under Obama's health care overhaul.
Thursday's House vote, in defiance of a White House veto threat, moves the tax repeal effort to the Democrat-led Senate, where its prospects look bleak.
Still, Paulsen's selection allows the Republicans to play offense on "Obamacare" during a month when the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling on the landmark law.
Paulsen is the first Minnesota Republican to deliver the GOP response to one of Obama's weekly addresses since August, 2009, when Rep. John Kline got the call and pressed Obama and the Democrats to hit reset button and renegotiate the health care law.
