For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill. Watch a livestream of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address starting on Tuesday at 9 p.m.
Some D.C.-area Democratic members of Congress said they will not attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening, electing instead to attend separate events in the District.
The lawmakers have said their decision is a protest to Trump’s policies on a wide range of issues.
“These are not normal times, and they demand a new response,” Rep. April McClain Delaney, who represents Maryland’s 6th District, said in a statement Monday.
She criticized his administration’s treatment of federal workers and legal immigrants.
“I am also deeply disgusted by the personal attacks on Gov. Wes Moore, who has worked tirelessly to ensure no Marylander is left behind amid sweeping federal cuts that are jeopardizing health care and food security,” she added.
McClain Delaney and Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland plan to attend an event on the National Mall on Tuesday, billed as “The People’s State of the Union.”
Van Hollen will be one of the lawmakers speaking at the rally.
“Trump is marching America toward fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution and democracy,” he said in a recent X post.
Rep. Don Beyer, who represents Virginia’s 8th District, has also said he will not attend the State of the Union.
Democrats are also attending an event at the National Press Club on Tuesday, called “State of the Swamp.” Organizers said it is not a protest, but a “live, public rebuttal” to the president’s address.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the televised Democratic response to the State of the Union address from Colonial Williamsburg.
“On Tuesday, I look forward to joining Virginians in this historic place to lay out the next chapter of our story — a clear vision for a stronger, safer, and more affordable future for every American who calls our nation home,” she said in a statement.
Other forms of protest: guests and ‘silent defiance’
Rep. Eugene Vindman, who represents Virginia’s 7th District, plans to bring his brother Alexander as his guest to the State of the Union. Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, a retired U.S. Army officer, testified before Congress during the first impeachment proceedings involving Trump.
“Bringing Alex as my guest is about honoring the principle that no one is above the law,” Eugene Vindman said in a statement.
Rep. Jamie Raskin, who represents Maryland’s 8th District, and Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, who represents Virginia’s 10th District, plan to bring Sky Roberts and his wife Amanda to the State of the Union.
Sky Roberts is the brother of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, who said she was sexually assaulted by Jeffrey Epstein as a teenager. Giuffre died by suicide last year and has been credited with helping to draw attention to the allegations against Epstein.
Raskin praised Sky and Amanda Roberts for continuing to demand “truth and justice.”
Democrats who are in the U.S. House Chamber will sit in “silent defiance,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
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