Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger speaks after being sworn into office at the Virginia State Capitol on Jan. 17 in Richmond. Spanberger is the first woman elected to the Commonwealth of Virginia’s highest office.
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Newly sworn in Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday evening.
Spanberger, who previously served in Congress for six years, became the first woman elected governor of Virginia in November, flipping 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 ahead of her address. “Virginians and Americans across the country are contending with rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring.”
Her gubernatorial race was under the national spotlight as one of the first major indicators of voters’ political leaning during the second Trump administration. Spanberger focused her campaign on affordability, a message Democrats continue to embrace ahead of the upcoming midterm elections.
Top Democrats in Congress framed Spanberger as a clear contrast to President Trump. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said she has “always put service over politics.”
“Gov. Spanberger will lay out a clear path forward: lower everyday costs, protect healthcare, and defend the freedoms that define who we are as a nation,” he said in a statement announcing the selection of Spanberger as the party’s official respondent to the speech.
The rebuttal to a president’s State of the Union is considered an honor, given the high-profile nature of the speech. The selection tends to reflect what party leaders see as top policy priorities and which rising star they regard as the best spokesperson to deliver that message to the public.
Democrats are eager to replicate Spanberger’s political success during this election cycle. She was part of a blue wave of Democrats in 2018 who flipped control of the House. She’s considered a more moderate voice within the party, who outperformed in a purple state.
She’s also faced increasing criticism from conservatives who allege she is veering left after leading a more centrist campaign.
But the rebuttal gig itself, which involves speaking to a typically empty room, can be tough.
Take then-Sen. Marco Rubio (now secretary of state), who delivered a response in both English and Spanish in 2013. His speech is mainly remembered by a singular moment when he went off camera to get a water bottle.
More recently, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., was mocked for her speech’s intense tone and the choice to deliver the response against the backdrop of her kitchen.
Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., speaks during the ICE Out for Good protest at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection office on Jan. 13 in Washington, D.C.
Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn Civic Action
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Jemal Countess/Getty Images for MoveOn Civic Action
California Sen. Alex Padilla to deliver Spanish language response for 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 when their bills are too high, paychecks are too low, and masked and militarized federal agents are roaming our communities violating Constitutional rights on a daily basis,” Padilla said in a statement.
The son of Mexican immigrants, Padilla was forcibly removed from a news conference last summer by federal agents after trying 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 circulated and Padilla later recounted details of the event during an address on the Senate floor.
“As Donald Trump, Kristi Noem and MAGA extremists have tried to silence the voices of our Latino brothers and sisters, Senator Alex Padilla has consistently fought back and proven Democrats will not bend the knee to this out-of-control administration,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in a statement. “House Democrats are proud to have Senator Padilla leading the way as we communicate to Spanish-speaking households across the nation.”
Trump’s State of the Union address comes as the Department of Homeland Security remains shut down. 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 during previous Trump addresses to Congress, some Democrats are choosing to skip the speech entirely and engage in counterprogramming, including a rally called the “People’s State of the Union.”
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