House Dem Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he plans to attend Trump’s speech: ‘dignified Democratic presence’

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has noted that he plans to attend President Donald Trump’s Tuesday night address before a joint session of Congress.

“Given my responsibilities in the House, I plan to attend the speech, along with other members of the Democratic leadership, to make clear to the nation that there is a strong opposition party ready, willing and able to serve as a check and balance on the excesses of the administration,” Jeffries said in a message to colleagues.

Trump’s speech will come less than two months into his second presidential term.

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Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, speaks during a news conference at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The decision to attend the Joint Session is a personal one and we understand that members will come to different conclusions,” Jeffries noted. 

“However, it is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber. The House as an institution belongs to the American people, and as their representatives we will not be run off the block or bullied,” he continued.

Some Democratic lawmakers have announced that they will skip the event.

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President Donald Trump waits to greet UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer for a meeting at the White House on Feb. 27, 2025 in Washington, D.C.  (Carl Court – Pool/Getty Images)

“The State of the Union is that the President is spitting in the face of the law,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., asserted in a Monday post on X. “He is letting an unelected billionaire fire cancer researchers and wreck federal agencies like the Social Security Administration at will. I won’t be attending tomorrow’s Joint Address.”

Then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi famously ripped up pages of Trump’s speech in 2020 after the president delivered his State of the Union address.

THEME OF TRUMP’S ADDRESS TO CONGRESS REVEALED

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“Our focus remains on driving down the high cost of living for everyday Americans and pushing back against the far-right extremism that Republicans have unleashed on the country,” Jeffries said. “Thank you all for your continued leadership on behalf of the people and in defense of the American way of life.”