At least a dozen congressional Democrats announced Wednesday they will boycott President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address scheduled for Tuesday and will instead hold their own Washington, D.C. rally.
The lawmakers — including five senators and seven House members — along with other “other soon-to-be announced elected officials, leaders, and advocates,” will gather at the National Mall near the Capitol for the “People’s State of the Union,” on the same night as Trump’s speech to Congress, according to a Wednesday press release from left-wing group MoveOn. The press release described the planned event — which will be hosted by MoveOn Civic Action and MediasTouch — as a “rally counterprogramming President Trump’s night full of lies.”
Left-wing political commentators Joy Reid and Katie Phang will serve as hosts for the event, according to MoveOn’s press release.
“I will not normalize Donald Trump’s march toward fascism by attending his state of the union address. We cannot pretend this is business as usual,” Democratic Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who is skipping Trump’s speech to attend the rally, said via the press release. “I look forward to joining real patriots who are standing up and speaking out against Trump’s lawless agenda.”
“Last year, I walked out of President Trump’s State of the Union because I refused to normalize the most corrupt and authoritarian administration in American history,” said Democratic Arizona Rep. Yassamin Ansari, who will also be attending the rally, per the release.
Both Van Hollen and Ansari made headlines in 2025 for taking taxpayer-funded trips to El Salvador on behalf of reputedMS-13 gangbanger and alleged human smuggler Kilmar Abrego Garcia.
Also listed as attending the rally are Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal and Vermont Rep. Becca Balint, who both notably claim the Department of Justice (DOJ) tracked their search history of the Epstein files to use as “ammunition” against them.
Murphy argued attending the State of the Union “puts a veneer of legitimacy on the corruption and lawlessness that defined [Trump’s] second term,” per the release.
Other Democrats listed as boycotting Trump’s State of the Union in the press release include Sens. Ed Markey of Massachusetts, Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and Tina Smith of Minnesota, as well as Reps. Greg Casar and Veronica Escobar of Texas, Pramila Jayapal of Washington, Delia Ramirez of Illinois and Bonnie Watson Coleman of New Jersey.
It’s unclear how many more lawmakers may join the rally.
“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,” Sara Haghdoosti, MoveOn Chief of Program said via the press release. “Trump wants the attention and the ratings, but we cannot treat this year’s State of the Union like business as usual.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave strict instructions for members to not repeat the protest debacles that upset House Democratic leadership the previous year. Then, some members were harshly reprimanded following their constant heckling at Trump’s March 2025 address to Congress.
Democratic Texas Rep. Al Green raised his cane and shouted at Trump, resulting in him being ejected from the House floor. Other Reps. including Jasmine Crockett of Texas, Maxwell Frost of Florida and Maxine Dexter of Oregon were all called into a so-called “come to Jesus” meeting following their disruptions at the address, Axios reported at the time.
“People don’t want to be gaslit and belittled by a president who covers up the Epstein files and sends masked agents to kidnap and kill them. So the MeidasTouch Network has made the easy programming decision not to stream the State of the Union live,” Ben Measles of MeidasTouch Network, a left-wing media company co-hosting the rally, said. “Instead, it will be the exclusive streaming partner with MoveOn for the People’s State of the Union, where our viewers can watch lawmakers who support democracy discuss thoughtful policies and how best to resist Trump’s fascism.”
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