7 House Democrats To Boycott Trump's State of the Union as Impeachment Falters
At least seven House Democrats planned to boycott President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday night, as the Senate is expected to vote to acquit the commander in chief in his impeachment trial the next day.
The seven include Reps. Al Green of Texas, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, Steve Cohen of Tennessee, Earl Blumenauer of Oregon, Hank Johnson of Georgia and Frederica Wilson of Florida, The Hill reported.
“Because of an impeached, reckless, ruthless, lawless, shameless, corrupt, & unapologetically bigoted president – who is still engaging in a coverup, the state of the House, the state of the Senate, and the #StateOfTheUnion are divided. I will NOT attend #SOTU2020,” Green tweeted Tuesday morning.
Because of an impeached, reckless, ruthless, lawless, shameless, corrupt, & unapologetically bigoted president – who is still engaging in a coverup, the state of the House, the state of the Senate, and the #StateOfTheUnion are divided.
I will NOT attend #SOTU2020.
— Congressman Al Green (@RepAlGreen) February 4, 2020
On Tuesday afternoon, Ocasio-Cortez wrote, “After much deliberation, I have decided that I will not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump’s lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution.
“None of this is normal, and I will not legitimize it. Consequently, I will not be attending the State of the Union.”
After much deliberation, I have decided that I will not use my presence at a state ceremony to normalize Trump’s lawless conduct & subversion of the Constitution.
None of this is normal, and I will not legitimize it.
Consequently, I will not be attending the State of the Union.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 4, 2020
Green has been one of Trump’s most outspoken critics and was the first member of Congress to offer a resolution calling for the president’s impeachment in December 2017, over a year before special counsel Robert Mueller completed his Russia investigation or a whistleblower filed a complaint regarding Trump’s call with Ukraine’s president last summer.
The Texas Democrat accused Trump of “associating the majesty and dignity of the presidency with causes rooted in white supremacy, bigotry, racism, anti-Semitism, white nationalism, or neo-Nazism on one or more of the following occasions.”
Green offered further impeachment resolutions in January 2018 and July 2019.
In May 2019, following the release of the Mueller report, the Texas Democrat said, “I’m concerned if we don’t impeach this president, he will get re-elected.”
THERE IT IS: Democrat Al Green admits his party is worried that if they don’t impeach Trump, he’ll get re-elected. pic.twitter.com/IRCowRUIPY
— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) May 7, 2019
Johnson tweeted on Monday regarding his decision to skip the State of the Union, “During normal times, I would consider it my duty to attend and hear the President’s agenda for the upcoming year. Unfortunately, these are not normal times.”
The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday to acquit Trump of the two impeachment articles brought by the House.
Then-President Bill Clinton delivered his 1999 State of Union address while the Senate continued to conduct its impeachment trial against him.
The Associated Press reported at the time that a handful of Republican lawmakers chose not to attend the speech in light of the impeachment proceedings.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told The New York Times that she and her fellow Democrats attending the speech Tuesday night would treat Trump “as a guest in our House — and we hope he will behave as a guest in our House.”
“But we never have that expectation,” she added.
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