Democrats tap Spanberger and Padilla to respond to State of the Union : NPR
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger speaks after being sworn in at the Virginia State Capitol on January 17 in Richmond. Spanberger is the first woman elected to the highest office in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
Alex Wong/Getty Images
New Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.
Spanberger, who served in Congress for six years, became Virginia’s first woman elected governor in November, switching control of the office from Republican to Democrat. Prior to her career on Capitol Hill, she served in the CIA.
“We are at a defining moment in our nation’s history,” Spanberger said in a statement before his speech. “Virginians and Americans across the country are facing rising costs, chaos in their communities and a real fear of what each day could bring.”
His run for governor was in the national spotlight as one of the first major indicators of voters’ political orientation during the second Trump administration. Spanberger focused his campaign on affordability, a message that Democrats continue to embrace as the upcoming election approaches. midterm elections.
Top Democrats in Congress have presented Spanberger as a clear contrast to President Trump. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said she has “always put service before politics.”
“Governor Spanberger will chart a clear path forward: reducing everyday costs, protecting health care, and defending the freedoms that define who we are as a nation,” he said in a statement announcing Spanberger’s selection as the party’s official addressee.
A president’s State of the Union rebuttal is considered an honor, given the high-profile nature of the speech. The selection tends to reflect what party leaders view as the top policy priorities and which rising star they view as the best spokesperson to convey that message to the public.
Democrats are eager to replicate Spanberger’s political success this election cycle. She was part of a blue wave of Democrats in 2018 that flipped control of the House. She is seen as a more moderate voice within the party, which has outperformed in a purple state.
She also faces growing criticism from conservatives who accuse her of moving to the left after running a more centrist campaign.
But the work of rebuttal itself, which involves speaking to a usually empty room, can be difficult.
Take then-Sen. Marco Rubio (now Secretary of State), who responded in English and Spanish in 2013. His speech is mainly remembered for a singular moment when he left the camera to get a bottle of water.
Most recently, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., was mocked for the intense tone of her speech and choice to respond in the context of her cooking.
Sen. Alex Padilla, Democrat of California, speaks during the ICE Out for Good protest at U.S. Customs and Border Protection January 13 in Washington, DC.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn Civic Action
hide caption
toggle caption
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn Civic Action
California Sen. Alex Padilla will give Spanish response to Democrats
Padilla, the first Latino elected to represent California in the Senate, was first appointed to the Senate in 2021 to fill the seat vacated by Kamala Harris.
“Americans don’t need another speech from Donald Trump pretending everything is fine while their bills are too high, their wages are too low, and masked, militarized federal agents roam our communities violating constitutional rights every day,” Padilla said in a statement.
The son of Mexican immigrants, Padilla was forcibly removed from a news conference last summer by federal agents after he tried to ask DHS Secretary Kristi Noem a question about the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics in California.
A video of the experience was widely distributed, and Padilla later recounted the details of the event during a speech on the Senate floor.
“While Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and MAGA extremists have attempted to silence the voices of our Latino brothers and sisters, Sen. Alex Padilla has consistently fought back and proven that Democrats will not bow to this out-of-control administration,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “House Democrats are proud to see Senator Padilla leading the way as we connect with Spanish-speaking households across the country.”
Trump’s State of the Union address comes as the Department of Homeland Security remains closed. Congressional Democrats have demanded policy changes on immigration enforcement, fueled by the killing of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota by immigration agents.
As has been the case in Trump’s previous speeches to Congress, some Democrats are choosing to skip the speech altogether and engage in counterprogramming, including a rally called “The People’s State of the Union.”
Follow for more coverage:
📧 NPR Politics Newsletter: Breaking down the big stories and why they matter
🎧 NPR Politics podcast: Our experts provide insight into what’s happening
