Some Democratic lawmakers set to boycott President Donald Trump’s State of the Union — as well as the group co-hosting their counter-rally — have a history of receiving funds connected to left-wing billionaire George Soros.
At least a dozen House and Senate Democrats are set to skip the president’s Tuesday night speech and instead attend the “People’s State of the Union,” a rally taking place near the Capitol hosted by left-wing organizations MoveOn Civic Action and MediasTouch. Some of the congressional Democrats planning to take part in the anti-Trump State of the Union rally have previously taken campaign contributions from either members of the Soros family or Soros-backed groups.
MoveOn.org Civic Action has notably received $3,424,995 in grants between 2016 and 2024 from the Open Society Foundations (OSF), which Soros, a Democratic megadonor founded, according to OSF’s website. In 2003, Soros gave $2.5 million in personal contributions to MoveOn, according to Discover the Networks.
In 2023, OSF also awarded a $3,000,000 grant to the Indivisible Project “to support the grantee’s social welfare activities,” according to the group’s website. OSF, Indivisible and MoveOn each did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Democrats attending the rally that received Soros-linked campaign funds 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. 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.
None of the lawmakers’ offices responded to the DCNF’s request for comment.
Markey previously took $5,000 from Indivisible Action, $10,000 from MoveOn Political Action and $2,305 from MoveOn, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data. Meanwhile, Merkley previously received $5,000 in contributions from Indivisible and $11,022.83 from MoveOn, per FEC data.
Murphy has taken $40,291.44 in total contributions from MoveOn, as well as $32,000 in total from members of the Soros family, including George, Alexander and Jennifer Allan Soros, according to data from the FEC.
FEC data shows that Smith had previously taken $46,800 from Soros family members, including George, Alexander, Jennifer Allan, Andrea and Jonathan Soros. Moreover, Van Hollen’s Senate campaign received $12,200 in contributions from Soros family members between 2016 to 2021, including George Soros, Alexander Soros and Jonathan Soros, according to FEC data.
FEC data shows that Balint took $5,000 in contributions from MoveOn in 2023 and $1,000 from Indivisible in 2022.
Casar had received $5,000 in contributions from MoveOn in 2022, $5,000 from Indivisible in 2022 and $2,900 from George Soros in 2021, per the FEC’s data.
Between 2018 to 2022, Escobar’s congressional campaign recieved $12,000 in total contributions from MoveOn. According to data from the FEC, Jayapal has previously taken $33,700 from Indivisible, $32,000 from MoveOn and $56,000 from George, Alex and Andrea Soros.
In June 2025, Ramirez’s campaign took $2,500 from MoveOn, according to FEC data. Coleman’s campaign secured$2,500 in donations from MoveOn in September 2018, and also notched $3,700 in total contributions from Alexander Soros between 2016 to 2018, according to data compiled by the FEC.
The event is aiming to counter “President Trump’s night full of lies,” per a Feb. 18 press release from MoveOn.
Soros and his network of political spending outfits have notably doled out hundreds of millions in support of Democratic efforts in recent years, including reportedly dishing out $10 million in 2025 to boost Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s redistricting push in the state.
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