A number of Democratic lawmakers are planning to protest President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address next week.
While Trump delivers the highly anticipated annual speech, which will be the first State of the Union address of his second term, some Democrats have pledged to instead attend a counterprogramming event near the Capitol on the National Mall. Several more have spoken out in opposition to the upcoming speech, or plan to attend but demonstrate resistance to the President in other ways.
Democrats made various shows of protest when Trump last spoke before a joint session of Congress last March. Some walked out before the 100-minute address ended, or skipped it entirely. Others wore pink in an act of defiance or waved paddles bearing messages such as “Save Medicaid” and “False” during his remarks. On several occasions, Democrats audibly booed or audibly pushed back on Trump’s comments. Rep. Al Green of Texas was ejected from the chamber for interrupting the speech.
This year, Democratic lawmakers are looking to take a different—and perhaps somewhat more cohesive—approach.
The upcoming State of the Union address, which Trump will deliver on Tuesday, Feb. 24, comes as Democrats and the White House are locked in a standoff over immigration enforcement that has caused an indefinite shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, and as the President faces mounting disapproval from voters over his mass deportation campaign and broader policy agenda. Many Democrats are determined to use the annual event to demonstrate their opposition to Trump.
Rather than disrupting the speech, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has advised lawmakers to either attend the address in “silent defiance” or skip it, according to sources familiar with his comments who spoke to Axios. Several of the lawmakers opting to boycott Trump’s remarks will deliver their own at a rally set to take place at the same time as the speech.
Rep. Ami Bera of California wrote in progressive media outlet MeidasTouch, which is coordinating the counterprogramming event along with left-wing advocacy group MoveOn, that despite feeling an “obligation” to attend the address as a senior House member, “this year I feel different.”
“After watching President Trump run roughshod over the Constitution, display utter disregard for Congress, and openly engage in corruption as he and his family use the office to enrich themselves and tarnish this country that I love, I will not give him the dignity of having my presence at the State of the Union,” Bera wrote.
Here’s what to know about Democrats’ plans.
The counterprogramming event
A rally called the “People’s State of the Union” will take place during Trump’s address on Tuesday.
At the counterprogramming event, multiple Democratic lawmakers are planning to speak alongside people who have been negatively impacted by Trump’s policies, such as federal workers who lost their jobs and people targeted in the President’s immigration crackdown. The event will be hosted by television host Joy Reid and political commentator Katie Phang.
“President Trump has spent the first year of his administration making all of our lives worse: slashing health care, sending masked ICE agents to terrorize our neighbors, and passing tax cuts for the Epstein class. Trump wants the attention and the ratings, but we cannot treat this year’s State of the Union like business as usual,” MoveOn chief of program Sara Haghdoosti said in a statement accompanying the announcement of the event. “That’s why MoveOn is hosting the People’s State of the Union, where we will hear directly from the people facing the consequences of Trump’s disastrous administration.”
According to MoveOn, the members of Congress planning to attend the rally include Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Tina Smith of Minnesota, and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, along with Reps. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Becca Balint of Vermont, Greg Casar of Texas, Veronica Escobar of Texas, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, and Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey.
More guests are to be announced before the event, per the organizers.
“Next week, Trump will deliver his State of the Union address. I won’t be there,” Van Hollen posted on his X account on Wednesday. “Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy. This cannot be business as usual.”
“The State of the Union should be a reckoning with reality, but Donald Trump will use it to spin fiction and normalize the gross abuse of power,” said Markey in a statement shared by the rally’s organizers. “He will claim everything is fine while families struggle to afford health care and housing, immigrant communities live in fear, and his billionaire allies loot the country under the cover of chaos – I will not legitimize those lies.”
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson criticized Democrats’ plans to boycott Trump’s speech in a statement to TIME.
“Every Democrat in Congress tried to pass a $4 trillion dollar tax hike and voted against the working and middle class tax cuts the American people are seeing right now in their refunds. Democrats all voted against securing the border and deporting criminal illegals. Democrats all voted against modernizing our military. The list goes on. It’s not a surprise that they refuse to celebrate and honor the Americans who have benefitted from the commonsense policies Republicans have governed with,” Jackson said.
What other Democrats are planning
Instead of skipping the address, some Democratic lawmakers intend to bring people who have been impacted by Trump’s policies as guests to the speech as a form of protest.
Rep. Gwen Moore of Wisconsin told The Hill in an emailed statement that she would be bringing someone “who is a small business owner of a nonprofit daycare and advocate for the Affordable Care Act.”
“With the address likely to be divisive, I believe it’s important to have a guest in the room who has the pulse of what the American people really care about: affordable childcare and healthcare for all,” she said.
A spokesperson for Rep. Jennifer McClellan of Virginia also said that “she will be bringing a guest who can speak to how their disastrous policies have made it harder for him and his family to make ends meet as they face an active health care crisis.”
Other Democrats plan to attend the speech but walk out before it’s over.
Rep. Jared Huffman of California told Axios, “The only question for me is which of his disgusting lines prompts me to get up and leave, because at some point I will.”
Jeffries, for his part, told reporters on Tuesday that he intends to be at the State of the Union address.
“We’re not going to his house. He’s coming to our house, and it’s the people’s house,” Jeffries said. “And having grown up where I grew up, you never let anyone run you off your block.”
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