Obama pays tribute to Giffords

The Associated Press

CHANDLER, Ariz. — President Barack Obama is paying tribute to Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who resigned from the House Wednesday more than a year after she suffered a gunshot wound to the head by a would-be assassin.

This video image provided by House Television shows Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. and House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, on the floor of the House on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Giffords resigned from the House on Wednesday amid tears, tributes and standing ovations, more than a year after she was gravely wounded by a would-be assassin. (AP Photo/House Television)

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., assisted by her chief of staff, Pia Carusone, leaves her office on Capitol Hill in Washington for the last time as a member of Congress, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012. Earlier, in a House occasionally known for untoward exits, Giffords stood among cheering, crying colleagues to say goodbye Wednesday, over a year after she was gravely wounded by a would-be assassin. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Barack Obama embraces retiring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., as members of Congress applaud before his State of the Union address in front of a joint session of Congress Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb)

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Obama says at a speech at a new Intel chip manufacturing facility that he was happy to see Giffords during Tuesday's State of the Union address. The president says he was "able to give her a big hug" and tell her he was happy to see her.

The president says Giffords "just looked gorgeous last night." He says the outgoing congresswoman "loves this state and she loves all of you."

The congresswoman formally resigned after a series of tributes from her colleagues in Congress. She is stepping down to focus on her recovery.

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January 25, 2012 07:21 PM EST

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