Who’s attending, skipping the Trump speech to Congress

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — When President Trump makes his speech Tuesday evening to a joint session of Congress, most of the 535 lawmakers from the House and Senate will be in attendance.

But not all.

Democratic Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Patty Murray of Washington are among the lawmakers who will not attend the speech. Wyden, instead, will hold a virtual town hall at that time.

“Donald Trump campaigned on the premise that he would lower costs on day one of his presidency,” Wyden said. “But just a month in, all Trump has managed to do is gut the agencies in charge of protecting consumers, and going after predatory corporations, and land us in trade wars that drive up the cost of goods that people use every day.”

The latest CBS News/YouGov poll shows Americans believe the president should be most concerned about the economy and inflation while they believe Trump’s actual priorities are the border and reducing the size of the federal workforce.

That’s why freshman Congresswoman Janelle Bynum is bringing Liz Crandall of Bend — a fired forest service ranger — to the speech.

“It’s not about us. It’s about people like Liz, it’s about people who are experiencing job loss,” Bynum said. “It’s about people who are experiencing the potential loss of their benefits.”

Another freshman in Congress, Maxine Dexter, will also bring local federal employees fired in the DOGE reductions.

The only Republican in Oregon’s congressional delegation, Cliff Bentz, will attend the address as a supporter of Trump’s actions in the White House.

Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley will also be at the speech. He is slated to bring Isabella Isaksen who was recently fired from her job as a public affairs officer with the US Forest Service in Oregon.

This speech, coming on the same day Trump’s tariffs against Canada, Mexico and China took effect, is technically not a State of the Union speech since it is his first address to Congress in his new term.