A number of Democrats in each chambers of Congress are planning to skip President Trump’s first handle to lawmakers of his second White Home time period Tuesday evening, anticipated to be a wide-ranging speech after six weeks in workplace.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) posted Tuesday on social media that she would not attend.
“I’m not going to the Joint Address. I will be live posting and chatting with you all here instead. Then going on IG Live after,” she mentioned on Bluesky.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (Va.), the highest Democrat on the Home Oversight and Authorities Reform Committee, mentioned he’ll boycott Trump’s speech “in solidarity” with federal authorities staff who’ve been terminated as a part of the Trump administration’s push to downsize the federal government and reduce waste. Connolly additionally added that his protest is a solution to supply backing for these each home and abroad who’re set to be impacted by Trump’s agenda.
“We have never seen our laws, institutions, and the separation of powers so attacked from within. These are not normal times. The challenges my constituents face demand more than sitting in a chamber I revere, listening as if the person addressing our country is not unleashing chaos and cruelty on their lives,” Connolly mentioned in a press release. “I cannot give audience to that.”
Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) wrote Tuesday morning that Trump will handle a “coequal branch of government for which he has shown total contempt and disregard.”
“Meanwhile my constituents are seeing their livelihoods destroyed, often illegally,” Beyer wrote in a publish on social platform X. “What he is doing is not normal, it is not acceptable, and I won’t be attending.”
Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) mentioned Trump and shut adviser and tech billionaire Elon Musk are “destroying the state of the union.”
“I don’t need to be there to watch him claim otherwise,” Mfume mentioned in a Tuesday assertion.
In a “Dear Colleague” letter, which was distributed Monday, Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) known as on Home Democrats to have a “strong, determined and dignified” presence at Trump’s speech.
“The decision to attend the Joint Session is a personal one and we understand that members will come to different conclusions,” Jeffries wrote.
“However, it is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber,” Jeffries added. “The House as an institution belongs to the American people, and as their representatives we will not be run off the block or bullied.”
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) hammered Trump over his heated assembly Friday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, including the president and Musk have “made life worse for countless Denverites and Americans, many of whom call my office every day expressing their frustration and fear that the Trump administration is doing nothing to help them.”
“Trump’s childish and shameful actions in the Oval Office towards Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, as well as his barrage of illegal attacks against public servants and vulnerable groups, have disgraced and embarrassed our country,” DeGette mentioned in a Tuesday assertion. “His actions are beneath the office of the President and do not merit my attendance at this Joint Address.”
A number of Senate Democrats are additionally opting to skip Trump’s speech.
“Instead of attending Trump’s SOTU, I’m speaking with constituents of mine like Scott, a disabled veteran who worked at VA helping to house homeless veterans,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) mentioned Tuesday on X. “Elon fired Scott. I’ll be sharing his story along with many others.”
New Mexico Democrat Martin Heinrich mentioned he’ll begin attending Trump’s speeches to Congress “when he starts following the law.”
Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) mentioned on Tuesday that she — alongside Democratic Sens. Chris Murphy (Conn.), Brian Schatz (Hawaii), Ed Markey (Mass.) and Angela Alsobrooks (Md.) — will fact-check and supply stay reactions to Trump’s speech.
“My conversation tonight will be the best way I can use my voice for Vermonters. They are sick of the lies and Trump’s complete and utter disregard for our constitution,” Balint introduced Tuesday.
Murphy instructed CNN on Sunday that the “State of the Union speech is going to be a farce. I think it’s going to be a MAGA pep rally, not a serious talk to the nation.”
