WASHINGTON — Days before President Donald Trump is set to deliver his first official State of the Union address of his second term, some Democratic members of Congress are starting to announce they will boycott the event. 

What You Need To Know

  • Some Democratic members of Congress are starting to announce they will boycott Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday

  • At least a dozen Democrats in the House and Senate are slated to instead attend a rally on the National Mall put on by liberal groups MeidasTouch and MoveOn and intended to counterprogram the speech, the organizers announced this week while other Democrats are individually starting to pledge their absence

  • Big, traditional events in Washington, such as a president’s inauguration or State of the Union address are often taken as a potential opportunity for the party not in control of the White House to make clear its opposition to the administration in charge or coming in

  • The Democratic leader in the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, said he plans to attend and said other Democrats who go should display "silent defiance"

At least a dozen Democrats in the House and Senate are slated to instead attend a rally on the National Mall put on by liberal groups MeidasTouch and MoveOn and intended to counterprogram the speech, the organizers announced this week. 

The Democrats listed include Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, Chris Murphy of Connecticut, Tina Smith of Minnesota and Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, as well as Reps. Yassamin Ansari of Arizona, Becca Balint of Vermont, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Delia Ramirez of Illinois, Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey, and Greg Casar of Texas and Veronica Escobar, both of Texas.

“Next week, Trump will deliver his State of the Union address. I won't be there,” Van Hollen wrote in a post on X. “Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy.”

Other Democrats are individually starting to pledge their absence as well, such as Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who announced her intent to skip the speech Thursday in a post on X in which she referred to Trump as “easily the most corrupt President in American history by a long shot.”

“I'm not attending his State of the Union to listen to him ramble and lie,” Murray wrote. “Instead, I'll be sharing the ways he's hurting hardworking Americans.”

California Democratic Rep. Ami Bera, meanwhile, declared at the start of the week that he will not give Trump “the dignity of having my presence at the State of the Union.”

“President Trump continues to run roughshod over the Constitution, display utter disregard for Congress, and openly engage in corruption to enrich himself and tarnish the country I love,” Bera wrote on X. 

In a statement in response, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson slammed Democrats for not supporting the tax cuts in Trump's and Republicans' signature legislation signed this summer, as well as voting against “securing the border and deporting criminal illegals” and “modernizing our military.”

“The list goes on,” Jackson added. “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.”

Big, traditional events in Washington, such as a president’s inauguration or State of the Union address, are often taken as a potential opportunity for the party not in control of the White House to make clear its opposition to the administration in charge or coming in.

The Democratic leader in the House, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, told reporters at the Capitol on Wednesday that he plans to attend the speech, which takes place in the lower chamber, noting the president is coming to “our house.”

“It is my view that you don’t let anyone ever run you off of your block,” Jeffries said. 

But he added that Democrats have “two options” in front of them, one of which is to skip in protest, although he said those attending should do so in “silent defiance.”

“Either attend with silent defiance or to not attend and send a message to Donald Trump in that fashion, which will include participation in a variety of different alternate programming that is going to take place in and around the Capitol complex,” Jeffries said. 

At least one House Democrat, Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, for instance, indicated he plans to attend the speech but will bring as his guest a farmer from his state who is “being squeezed by rising costs driven by Trump’s tariffs."

Ahead of Trump’s speech in front of both chambers of Congress last year — which was technically not a State of the Union because it was in the first year of his second term — Jeffries noted the choice of whether or not to attend was a “personal one” but said it was important to have a “strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber,” in a letter to colleagues. 

While several chose to boycott that one as well, it also saw one House Democrat, Rep. Al Green of Texas, removed from the room after shouting while the president was speaking while several other lawmakers in the party walked out in protest.

State of the Union addresses have appeared to become increasingly rowdy in recent years. Former Democratic President Joe Biden sparred with Republican lawmakers during his speech in his last year in office in 2024. 

Lawmakers in the party opposite the president have also displayed messages during such addresses on signs or clothing.

Democratic members of Congress also skipped Trump’s two inaugurations in protest. 

This year’s State of the Union is likely to take place amid a partial shutdown. The Department of Homeland Security has been without full funding for nearly a week as the White House and Democrats try to find an agreement on reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement and immigration enforcement actions more broadly, something Democrats are demanding in the wake of the fatal shootings of two people in Minnesota by federal agents. Neither side has publicly shown any sign that a deal is close. 

“The administration is ultimately going to have to make the decision as to whether it's appropriate optically to come up to Capitol Hill in the middle of Republicans deciding to shut down the Department of Homeland Security,” Jeffries said about the timing of the address.