“Saturday Night Live” kicked off its 47th season on Saturday evening with Owen Wilson taking on hosting duties, but the episode began with a cold open in which new cast member James Austin Johnson made his debut as President Joe Biden as he squared off with four Democrats while trying to pass his $4.5 trillion infrastructure plan.
Johnson as Biden was flanked by Cecily Strong as Senator Kyrsten Sinema and Aidy Bryant as Senator Joe Manchin, two moderate Democrats who have been holding up the passage of Biden’s bill. “I didn’t come to Congress to make friends, and so far mission accomplished,” Strong’s Sinema said as she leaned into the seemingly chaotic nature of Sinema’s decisions.
The cold open also featured Melissa Villaseñor as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ego Nwodim as Representative Ilhan Omar, squaring off against Sinema and Manchin’s obstinance.
Adding to the chaos was Pete Davidson as former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who appeared and immediately laid into a number of double entendres.
You can watch the cold open above.
Alex Moffat played Biden during the last season of “Saturday Night Live” after Jim Carrey vacated the role, but he is now back to playing Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Before being announced as a new “SNL” cast member, Johnson came to prominence on social media for his uncanny Donald Trump impression, so many were curious to see if he’d take over that role from Alec Baldwin. That remains to be seen currently, but his Biden impression is certainly a step up from Moffat’s solid turn and Carrey’s too-cartoonish take on the current president.