WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Patty Murray will skip President Donald Trump’s speech before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, saying in a statement he is “spitting in the face of the law.”
Murray, a member of Senate Democratic leadership, is the highest-ranking member of Congress to announce she’ll skip the president’s address, his first before Congress in his second term.
Murray said she instead plans to meet with constituents harmed by the Trump administration’s actions, including the firings of thousands of federal workers and the halting of federal funding.
She said in a statement that “the state of the union might be great for corrupt billionaires like Elon Musk as Trump guts our foremost consumer protection agency, and even for dictators like Putin, who are cheering on the dismantling of USAID and the betrayal of our allies.
“But the rest of the country is in a state of emergency as Elon fires the experts responding to bird flu or managing our nuclear weapons stockpile, all while Republicans sprint to tear apart Medicaid and kick families off their health care to pass massive tax giveaways for billionaires,” Murray continued.
In his first six weeks in office, Trump has moved to drastically widen the power of the executive branch, drawing alarm bells from Democrats who argue his actions are unconstitutional and numerous court injunctions. The dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development and Trump’s alignment with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Russia’s war with Ukraine are among the causes for concern Murray alluded to.
Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy and Virginia Rep. Don Beyer are two other Democrats passing on the speech.
Other lawmakers hope to make a statement with their invited guests. Some are bringing fired federal workers or those affected by funding cuts Trump has proposed.
Dr. Paul Lange, a urologist who founded the Institute for Prostate Cancer Research at the University of Washington, will accompany Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell.
His invite is meant to speak to the importance of maintaining federal dollars for the National Institutes of Health. Trump wants to cut what are called “indirect costs” that help institutions pay for facilities and other behind-the-scenes work that supports research.
Cantwell’s office attributed declining prostate cancer death rates to the early detection tests he helped develop with the aid of federal funding.
Lange said a cure for prostate cancer is now “within reach.”
“But cuts to federal support for medical research would delay lifesaving advancements for all medical diseases including all forms of cancer,” Lange said in a statement. “Specifically, if President Trump’s administration cuts research funding for prostate cancer, the world’s dream of a cure will be impeded. There are men currently in their 20s and 30s — men who could be saved by this cure — who will die instead.”
Rep. Emily Randall, D-Bremerton, is bringing Ashley Jones, the president of the Washington Association of Birth Centers. Randall, who represents the 6th Congressional District, said in a statement they would “make it clear to the President: keep your hands off our health care.”
“Ashley and her team provide a vital resource to the people of Washington’s 6th, often serving as a bridge between our most rural neighbors and the vital pre- and postnatal health care they need,” Randall continued. “I will continue to fight back against this administration’s chaotic and cruel attacks on Washingtonians’ access to health care.”
Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Sunnyside, will be joined by a Yakima County commissioner, Amanda McKinney. Rep. Michael Baumgartner, R-Spokane, is bringing a local teacher. Rep. Suzan DelBene, D-Medina, will attend without a guest.
Other members of Washington’s delegation were expected to make announcements about their guests by Tuesday morning.
Trump’s speech, the first before Congress in his second term, is set for 6 p.m. Pacific Time on Tuesday.
This story first appeared on Washington State Standard.
