President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. Connecticut’s senators and representatives are bringing various guests, including the state’s teacher of the year and a community health CEO.
Tuesday’s address won’t be called a “State of the Union” because Trump just took office — but the pomp and circumstance will be the same. Expect loud cheers from supporters and protests from dissidents.
U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) is skipping the event in favor of a virtual event to “mobilize the opposition” with MoveOn Civic Action. He’ll give a pre-buttal to Trump’s speech and provide commentary throughout, according to a press release from his office.
Here’s who the other members of the delegation are bringing:
U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) guest is former inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs, Michael Missal, who was fired by Trump after serving nearly 10 years in the role. Missal was born and raised in Bristol.
“Missal was uncovering waste, fraud, and abuse at VA – now Elon Musk is corrupting the Department and burning taxpayer dollars with no check. I am grateful to host Mike on Tuesday and to continue to speak out about the important work of all independent government watchdogs,” Blumenthal said.
Rep. John Larson (D-CT-1) is bringing Kara Satalino, the mother of a child with Cystic Fibrosis.
“I thought of her family when I learned of Trump-Musk’s shameful attempts to cut funding for the FDA and NIH. Trump and Musk will not lose a minute of sleep over the damage they are attempting, but it would have devastating consequences for Americans like Kara and her family,” Larson said. “We will continue to stand up to these reckless cuts and ensure the voices of millions of Americans who rely on these programs for their health care are heard.”
Rep. Joe Courtney (D-CT-2) has chosen Marine veteran and recently laid-off IRS project manager Gabriel D’Alatri, from Vernon.
“His experience as a veteran, a new father, and a top-performing federal worker at the IRS who was unjustly fired screamed out for action,” Courtney said. “His presence here in Washington is living proof of the feckless, indiscriminate harm that President Trump and Elon Musk’s mismanaged ‘DOGE’ has inflicted on high-performing, patriotic public servants like Gabriel.”
U.S. Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) is bringing Connecticut 2025 teacher of the year Julia Miller, a civics teacher from the Metropolitan Business Academy in New Haven.
“I invited her because I'm deeply, deeply alarmed by the attacks against our public schools and our education system,” DeLauro said. “I think that public education is really at risk.”
Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT-4) will host Southwest Community Health Center CEO Mollie Melbourne, who oversees the care of nearly 30,000 people in Bridgeport.
“Those programs are at risk as Trump and Musk continue to cudgel their way through our federal support systems at the expense of the elderly, the disabled, and the disadvantaged,” Himes said. “Leaders like Mollie Melbourne see firsthand the casualties of this Administration’s attack on Medicaid and other federal funding, and I am proud to have her alongside me in this fight to protect Connecticut’s most vulnerable communities.”
U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5) is attending but is not bringing a guest.
