Virginia Gov. Spanberger Tapped to Deliver Democratic Response to Trump’s State of the Union

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Feb. 24, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced on Feb. 19.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) will deliver a Spanish-language response immediately following Spanberger’s remarks.

Spanberger, a former CIA officer and three-term congresswoman, was elected Virginia’s 75th governor in November 2025—becoming the first woman to lead the Commonwealth.

“In November, she won the Governorship in Virginia by the largest margin for a Democratic candidate in six decades,” Jeffries said in a statement.

“As our nation marks its 250th anniversary this summer, Governor Spanberger embodies the best of America as a mother, community leader, and dedicated public servant.”

The selection comes as Democratic leaders look to build a national contrast ahead of the midterms, centering their message on kitchen-table affordability issues rather than Washington-centric politics.

In a statement, Spanberger said Americans are contending with “rising costs, chaos in their communities, and a real fear of what each day might bring.”

“Next week, I look forward to laying out what these Americans expect and deserve—leaders who are working hard to deliver for them,” she said.

Padilla, the first Latino elected to represent California in the U.S. Senate, was chosen to deliver the Spanish-language response as Democrats look to rebuild standing with Latino voters following the party’s losses in that demographic in the 2024 elections.

“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.

Schumer said that Spanberger “has always put service over politics” and would lay out “a clear path forward: lower everyday costs, protect healthcare, and defend the freedoms that define who we are as a nation.”

Trump is scheduled to deliver the address before a joint session of Congress at 9 p.m. EST on Feb. 24. At least 12 Democratic lawmakers have announced that they will boycott the speech entirely and instead will attend a competing “People’s State of the Union” rally organized by progressive groups on the National Mall.

When asked about members skipping the president’s address, Jeffries said on Feb. 18 that, in his view, they have two options: to either “attend with silent defiance” or “to not attend and send a message to Donald Trump in that fashion.”

As far as the second option, he said that there is a “variety of different alternate programming that is going to take place in and around the Capitol complex.”

During Trump’s address to Congress last year, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was kicked out for heckling the president and later censured by the House, with 10 Democrats joining Republicans in the vote. During the address, he stood up, raised his cane, and repeatedly interrupted Trump before he was ejected from the House chamber at the direction of House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).