Senate Democrats weigh skipping Trump State of the Union address
Same show, different day.
EXCLUSIVE — Senate Democrats are grappling with whether to leave their chairs empty later this month when President Donald Trump travels to the Capitol to deliver the first State of the Union address of his second term.
Senior Democrats have been having “general discussions” about whether to skip the address on Feb. 24, according to Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who, along with several other senators, is undecided on whether to go. There have been individual conversations within the caucus, but Durbin and other committee leaders discussed the topic for the first time formally on Wednesday at their lunch, according to multiple senators who attended.
“Virtually everyone is thinking about it. It’s a tough call,” Durbin told the Washington Examiner.
In the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) had a similar meeting with his whip team on Wednesday, according to Axios, discussing how to tamp down the jeers and protest signs Democrats brought at last year’s joint address to Congress, which came weeks into Trump’s presidency.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who attended the Senate lunch, said theirs focused on attendance, not conduct. He is publicly undecided on whether to go and believes Democratic leadership will take a hand-off approach to that decision.
“I think the general feeling is every senator should make their own decision,” Blumenthal said.
SLOTKIN MOCKS ‘GOOD BOY’ MIKE JOHNSON AFTER FAILED DOJ INDICTMENT: ‘TAKE A BEAT’
The deliberations are a sign of just how bitter relations have become between Trump and congressional Democrats, who are locked in a widening set of disputes, including a failed attempt this week to indict six of their members over a video urging service members to refuse illegal orders.
Two of those members, Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), told the Washington Examiner that they still plan to attend the State of the Union, as do a number of centrists who feel their attendance is about respecting the office of the presidency. However, the hostility has prompted even long-attending members to reconsider their commitment to the event.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), who said he has never skipped a State of the Union since he entered Congress in 1991, predicted that he would “probably” attend but was weighing that decision against the president’s “behavior.” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) called Trump’s joint address last March “strikingly unpleasant” and said, at this point, he is undecided.
“My gut …
Same show, different day.
EXCLUSIVE — Senate Democrats are grappling with whether to leave their chairs empty later this month when President Donald Trump travels to the Capitol to deliver the first State of the Union address of his second term.
Senior Democrats have been having “general discussions” about whether to skip the address on Feb. 24, according to Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who, along with several other senators, is undecided on whether to go. There have been individual conversations within the caucus, but Durbin and other committee leaders discussed the topic for the first time formally on Wednesday at their lunch, according to multiple senators who attended.
“Virtually everyone is thinking about it. It’s a tough call,” Durbin told the Washington Examiner.
In the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) had a similar meeting with his whip team on Wednesday, according to Axios, discussing how to tamp down the jeers and protest signs Democrats brought at last year’s joint address to Congress, which came weeks into Trump’s presidency.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who attended the Senate lunch, said theirs focused on attendance, not conduct. He is publicly undecided on whether to go and believes Democratic leadership will take a hand-off approach to that decision.
“I think the general feeling is every senator should make their own decision,” Blumenthal said.
SLOTKIN MOCKS ‘GOOD BOY’ MIKE JOHNSON AFTER FAILED DOJ INDICTMENT: ‘TAKE A BEAT’
The deliberations are a sign of just how bitter relations have become between Trump and congressional Democrats, who are locked in a widening set of disputes, including a failed attempt this week to indict six of their members over a video urging service members to refuse illegal orders.
Two of those members, Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), told the Washington Examiner that they still plan to attend the State of the Union, as do a number of centrists who feel their attendance is about respecting the office of the presidency. However, the hostility has prompted even long-attending members to reconsider their commitment to the event.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), who said he has never skipped a State of the Union since he entered Congress in 1991, predicted that he would “probably” attend but was weighing that decision against the president’s “behavior.” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) called Trump’s joint address last March “strikingly unpleasant” and said, at this point, he is undecided.
“My gut …
Senate Democrats weigh skipping Trump State of the Union address
Same show, different day.
EXCLUSIVE — Senate Democrats are grappling with whether to leave their chairs empty later this month when President Donald Trump travels to the Capitol to deliver the first State of the Union address of his second term.
Senior Democrats have been having “general discussions” about whether to skip the address on Feb. 24, according to Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), who, along with several other senators, is undecided on whether to go. There have been individual conversations within the caucus, but Durbin and other committee leaders discussed the topic for the first time formally on Wednesday at their lunch, according to multiple senators who attended.
“Virtually everyone is thinking about it. It’s a tough call,” Durbin told the Washington Examiner.
In the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) had a similar meeting with his whip team on Wednesday, according to Axios, discussing how to tamp down the jeers and protest signs Democrats brought at last year’s joint address to Congress, which came weeks into Trump’s presidency.
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), who attended the Senate lunch, said theirs focused on attendance, not conduct. He is publicly undecided on whether to go and believes Democratic leadership will take a hand-off approach to that decision.
“I think the general feeling is every senator should make their own decision,” Blumenthal said.
SLOTKIN MOCKS ‘GOOD BOY’ MIKE JOHNSON AFTER FAILED DOJ INDICTMENT: ‘TAKE A BEAT’
The deliberations are a sign of just how bitter relations have become between Trump and congressional Democrats, who are locked in a widening set of disputes, including a failed attempt this week to indict six of their members over a video urging service members to refuse illegal orders.
Two of those members, Sens. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), told the Washington Examiner that they still plan to attend the State of the Union, as do a number of centrists who feel their attendance is about respecting the office of the presidency. However, the hostility has prompted even long-attending members to reconsider their commitment to the event.
Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), who said he has never skipped a State of the Union since he entered Congress in 1991, predicted that he would “probably” attend but was weighing that decision against the president’s “behavior.” Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) called Trump’s joint address last March “strikingly unpleasant” and said, at this point, he is undecided.
“My gut …
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