Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) will give the Democrats’ response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union, House and Senate Democratic leaders announced on Thursday.
Spanberger, who served in the House from 2019 to 2025, became governor in mid-January after her resounding victory against former Republican Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears last November. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said in a statement that Spanberger is a “champion” for lowering costs and saving healthcare.
“She stands in stark contrast to Donald Trump, who will lie, deflect and blame everyone but himself for his failed presidency on Tuesday evening,” Jeffries said. “As our nation marks its 250th anniversary this summer, Governor Spanberger embodies the best of America as a mother, community leader and dedicated public servant.”
Spanberger said in a statement she plans to lay out what Americans “expect and deserve — leaders who are working hard to deliver for them” on things such as rising costs and “chaos in their communities.”
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-AZ) will deliver the Spanish response to the speech. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said in a statement that, as the son of immigrants, Padilla “knows firsthand what opportunity in America can mean — and he’s spent his career fighting to keep that promise alive.”
“From lowering costs to defending our democracy, he’s delivered for working families,” Schumer added. “His message will stand in sharp contrast to President Trump’s chaos and self-dealing.”
Padilla said Trump’s speech will be “pretending everything’s fine,” while his will highlight a “better path.”
“Americans demand and deserve accountability, stability, and a government that works for them,” the senator said. “That’s what I’ll be discussing on Tuesday.”
The news comes as Democrats prepare for Trump’s second joint address before Congress since beginning his second term in the White House. Jeffries has encouraged his members to sit in “silent defiance” or not attend at all, and instead engage in alternate programming.
A number of House and Senate Democrats have said they will not attend Trump’s State of the Union, electing to either attend a counter-rally held by progressives on the National Mall or to watch from home.
Jeffries’s ground rules for the State of the Union come after a number of public displays by Democrats during the president’s joint address last year. Rep. Al Green (D-TX) was removed and later censured by the House for interrupting Trump’s speech and waving his cane at him. Other Democrats got up in the middle of his address and left the chamber.
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The speech is expected to be a bully pulpit for the midterm elections, as Republicans face an uphill battle to maintain their thin majority in the House. Democrats are projected to take back the chamber this fall, and there is a path, albeit narrow, for the party to regain the majority in the Senate.
A breakup of the GOP trifecta would be a significant blow to Trump and his agenda for the remaining two years of his term, but Republicans have expressed confidence they will maintain the gavels in both chambers.