President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night. More than half of Connecticut’s federal delegation won’t be there.
The annual update on the country's general affairs is required by the Constitution, though it need not be delivered orally.
Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) and Representatives John Larson (D-CT-1) and Jim Himes (D-CT-4) will skip the speech and instead attend a counter rally on the National Mall. Representative Jahana Hayes (D-CT-5) is skipping, too.
Representative Joe Courtney (D-CT-2) is going with Lee Burdette Williams, who saw major healthcare cost increases this year when the Affordable Care Act premiums weren’t extended.
“Everybody's got to make their own decision about what they're going to do this evening,” Courtney said. “But again, I think, you know, having real-life Americans who can, in very explicit, concrete terms, rebut the notion that this administration is fixing affordability, I think, is critically important.”
Still, Courtney said he doesn't have high expectations for the speech. Trump has said it’s going to be “long.”
“I was in the room a year ago when he addressed a joint session, and it was this very kind of almost incoherent set of remarks that just sort of drifted from one topic to another, riddled with misinformation,” Courtney said. “And I mean, honestly, that's what I'm expecting this evening.”
Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is going and bringing Nicole Russo, the CEO of Microboard Processing.
“Trump’s tariffs were a disaster for business owners like Nicole, who faced strong headwinds and deep uncertainty over the last year. My colleagues need to hear her company’s story — one of American innovation and ingenuity,” Blumenthal said.
Representative Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-3) will attend with her husband.
The State of the Union is scheduled to begin at 9:00 p.m. EST. WSHU will have coverage.
