Several Democrats to boycott Trump’s address
Several Democratic lawmakers will boycott Donald Trump’s State of the Union address tonight. Instead, many will rally on the National Mall.
So far, at least 30 Democratic members of Congress will skip the State of the Union. These include senators Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, and Adam Schiff of California, as well as progressive representatives Pramila Jayapal, Maxwell Frost, and Greg Casar.
The event, dubbed the “People’s State of the Union”, is being coordinated by progressive media network MeidasTouch and the liberal advocacy group MoveOn. Attorney and commentator Katie Phang and former anchor Joy Reid will co-host the rally. The event’s organizers say it will spotlight federal workers, immigrants and Americans affected by the Trump administration’s policies.
In a statement, Van Hollen said that he would not attend the address. “Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy,” he said. “This cannot be business as usual.”
My colleagues will covering the latest developments from the counter-protests.
Key events
Epstein survivors attending State of the Union as guests of Democratic lawmakers
Many Democratic members of Congress have invited several of Jeffrey Epstein’s survivors to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
The House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries announced that one of his guests tonight is Marina Lacerda, who said that she was groomed and abused by Jeffrey Epstein when she was a teenager. Jeffries’ counterpart, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer has invited Dani Bensky, who said she met Epstein when she was 17. “Dani has turned unimaginable pain into unrelenting advocacy,” Schumer said. “Survivors deserve justice. Trump must end the cover‑up and release the full Epstein files – NOW.”
While several Democrats are skipping the address, many are attending with survivors to intensify their calls for the justice department to release additional documents related to Epstein, after the latest tranche of files did little to quiet frustration with the Trump administration.
Ro Khanna, the Democratic congressman who co‑authored legislation compelling the justice department to release the Epstein files, will bring another survivor, Haley Robson, who has said she was trafficked by Epstein at age 16.
Democrats also chose Senator Alex Padilla, to deliver the party’s Spanish-language response.
In a statement, the 52-year-old senator said he planned to discuss “a federal government that weaponizes enforcement agencies against immigrants and US citizens alike”, as well as the Trump administration’s “failed economic agenda” and its effort to restrict voting access.
“Americans don’t need another speech from Donald Trump pretending everything is fine when their bills are too high, paychecks are too low, and masked and militarized federal agents are roaming our communities violating constitutional rights on a daily basis,” Padilla said in a statement.
Padilla, the son of Mexican immigrants and the first Latino to represent California in the Senate, was tackled to the ground by federal agents and handcuffed after attempting to ask the homeland security secretary, Kristi Noem, a question at a news conference in Los Angeles during the administration’s immigration crackdown in the city last summer.
Virginia governor to deliver the Democratic response
Lauren Gambino
Virginia’s governor, Abigail Spanberger, will deliver the Democratic response to Donald Trump’s State of the Union address, after tonight’s speech wraps up.
Spanberger, a former undercover CIA officer who served three terms in Congress, became Virginia’s first female governor earlier this year, resoundingly winning an office previously held by a Republican. She won the race by a double-digit margin, campaigning on affordability and lowering costs for families.
Spanberger said she planns to use her rebuttal to address Americans’ concerns with “rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring”.
“I look forward to laying out what these Americans expect and deserve – leaders who are working hard to deliver for them,” she added.
In choosing Spanberger, 46, Democratic leaders are handing the spotlight to a battleground-tested moderate with national security credentials and a reputation for message discipline, particularly on economic issues and highlighting the impact of federal policies on everyday Virginians. Her 15-point victory in a purple state last November, alongside Mikie Sherrill in the New Jersey’s governor’s race, provided a jolt of optimism for Democrats still searching for an effective response to counter a president who dominates the political national conservation.
Several Democrats to boycott Trump’s address
Several Democratic lawmakers will boycott Donald Trump’s State of the Union address tonight. Instead, many will rally on the National Mall.
So far, at least 30 Democratic members of Congress will skip the State of the Union. These include senators Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Ruben Gallego of Arizona, and Adam Schiff of California, as well as progressive representatives Pramila Jayapal, Maxwell Frost, and Greg Casar.
The event, dubbed the “People’s State of the Union”, is being coordinated by progressive media network MeidasTouch and the liberal advocacy group MoveOn. Attorney and commentator Katie Phang and former anchor Joy Reid will co-host the rally. The event’s organizers say it will spotlight federal workers, immigrants and Americans affected by the Trump administration’s policies.
In a statement, Van Hollen said that he would not attend the address. “Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy,” he said. “This cannot be business as usual.”
My colleagues will covering the latest developments from the counter-protests.
Welcome to our coverage of the State of the Union address
Welcome to our live coverage of Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address of his second term. We’ll bring you the very latest from Washington and beyond, as my colleagues and I cover the main event, the counter-programming and the responses to the president’s speech.
Trump telegraphed that he’s not particularly concerned about the length of tonight’s address, which will begin at 9pm ET. “It’s going to be a long speech because we have so much to talk about,” he told reporters at a White House event on Monday.
Last year, the president spoke for a record-breaking 100 minutes. As that was Trump’s first year back in office, it was considered an address to a joint session of Congress, as opposed to a State of the Union speech. This year’s address doubles as his pitch to voters to keep Republicans in control of both chambers.
Trump’s frequent press appearances mean that we’re expecting many of his greatest hits, as he touts what he sees as the primary achievements of his second administration. We can expect to hear several jabs about Joe Biden’s presidency, mass deportation numbers, the state of the economy, the president’s perceived diplomatic victories and the number of “wars” he’s settled. Throughout the night, we’ll also be factchecking the president’s comments.
Earlier, top Democrats predicted Trump’s speech would be “long, painful and tedious”. At a press conference on Capitol Hill, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer slammed Trump’s address, just hours before it was set to begin. “Never in our lifetime have we gone into a State of the Union where the president’s rhetoric and the country’s reality are so far apart,” Schumer said.