Rep. Brown Announces Decision to Not Attend State of the Union

Washington, DC – Congresswoman Shontel Brown (OH-11) will not attend President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday February 24. This week, Brown asked for feedback from constituents on the issue, with a majority of over 2,500 responses recommending that she not attend due to Trump’s attacks on people’s well-being, our rule of law, and democratic constitutional government. 

Congresswoman Brown releases the following statement on her decision: 

I have attended every State of the Union address since I’ve been a member of the House of Representatives. Just last year, I took my seat in the chamber for President Trump’s Joint Address to Congress because the people I represent deserve to have their voice present in moments of national importance.

This year is different.

This week, I asked my constituents how they felt about the year’s State of the Union. After hearing from thousands of constituents, the majority view is clear: do not attend. Do not treat this moment as normal. Do not help create the appearance of unity and legitimacy where neither exists. I agree.

From the lying and lawlessness to the cruelty and corruption, President Donald Trump has consistently abused his office and put his own interests ahead of our country’s. 

Attending his speech would suggest that what we are seeing now is just another chapter in the routine back-and-forth of American politics. It is not. It is a sustained pattern of division, dishonesty, and disregard for constitutional guardrails.

Trump’s speeches are always the same: lies, self-congratulation and smears. There’s no effort to outline serious plans or speak to the entire country. Worse still, he is in complete denial about the real state of our union. 

In my State of the District address, I spoke about what Northeast Ohioans are experiencing: deep health care cuts, reductions in food assistance, and rising costs. I detailed how federal benefits have been frozen, how student aid and workforce programs have been slashed, and how local education and clean energy investments have been terminated. I outlined President Trump’s union-busting and attacks on civil rights. And I described how the weaponization of ICE has spread fear, chaos, and abuse in our communities.

Every day, we are seeing the consequences of policy choices that favor the wealthy, while working families get stuck with the bill. 

Even more alarming, Trump’s White House has ignored Congressional oversight, defied the judiciary, and raided election offices. Corruption has been embraced and the Constitution has been ignored. From slapping his name on the Kennedy Center to invading foreign countries without Congressional consent, Trump has shown he doesn’t believe the rules apply to him. And thousands of ICE agents have mirrored that approach – with tragic consequences. 

At event after event, my constituents have made it clear that they aren’t just upset by a far-right agenda, they’re worried about something much deeper: can our democracy endure if the President of the United States doesn’t want it to.  

While I respect and support each decision my colleagues make, I believe that showing up and sitting through a speech built on a mountain of falsehoods and fear is not in the best interest of Ohio’s Eleventh Congressional District. 

Participation can provide a veneer of respectability to conduct that does not deserve it. There are moments when presence signals respect. And then there are moments when absence signals conscience.

Instead of attending, I will spend that time with constituents, lifting up the stories of people harmed by these policies — seniors facing coverage loss, families navigating benefit cuts, workers affected by funding freezes, and small businesses squeezed by tariffs. And I will continue building support for my new bill to repeal ICE’s slush fund and put that money back into feeding our neighbors. 

Representation is not measured merely by being present for a speech. It is measured by whether you are willing to tell the truth about what is happening in moments that will define our future and fight to change it.

This is not an ordinary time – and I believe pretending that it is would be a disservice to the Northeast Ohioans I represent.

###