In another sign of his rising national stature among small-government conservatives, Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) will deliver the Tea Party movement’s response to President Obama’s State of the Union address next week.

Lee, who recently has staked out his own turf on issues such as education, poverty and health care, will make his remarks from the National Press Club following the official Republican response to Obama’s Jan. 28 speech before Congress.

“For the Tea Party movement, 2014 is not just about taking back the Senate, but it is also about putting forward conservative ideas that will allow for America to prosper,” Tea Party Express Chairman Amy Kremer said in a prepared statement.

Lee “has been both a Tea Party hero for supporters across the nation, and a conservative leader in the upper chamber,” Kremer said. “He has introduced tangible policy solutions to some of America’s biggest problems.”

Lee is the fourth public figure to give a Tea Party response to an annual State of the Union speech by Obama, following Senator Rand Paul (R-KY), former Godfather’s Pizza executive Herman Cain and Representative Michele Bachmann (R-MN).

This story was produced by The Foundry’s news team. Nothing here should be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of The Heritage Foundation.