Congresswoman Schrier’s Statement on Attending President Trump’s Address to a Joint Session of Congress Tonight

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Congresswoman Kim Schrier, M.D. (WA-08) released the following statement ahead of attending tonight's State of the Union address by President Donald Trump:

"Attending tonight's address to Congress was not an easy decision. While I make bipartisanship a priority in my work, I cannot ignore the harm this administration is inflicting on the people I represent in Washington's Eighth District. My presence is not an endorsement of this administration or its actions. My presence is a commitment to not backing down from the long fight ahead on behalf of my constituents, who I came here to serve. We need to preserve wildfire prevention and firefighting efforts which this administration jeopardized by firing critical Forest Service workers. We need to protect Veterans' health care which this administration put at risk by mass firings at the VA. We must protect family farmers from the economic damage wrought by heavy tariffs that closed multigenerational farms that were imposed during the last Trump Administration. I am here to stand up for my constituents and to remind those in power that these reckless actions have real consequences for my constituents and our communities.

I hear from federal employees forced to leave important work managing our forests to prevent catastrophic fires, from government-funded programs like the Bonney Lake Food Bank that rely on federal food programs to feed hungry community members, from rural hospitals in jeopardy if Republicans follow through with cuts to Medicaid, and from parents of students with disabilities who may lose access to public school services. They paid their taxes and are being left without the resources they count on."