Congressman Don Beyer is skipping President Donald Trump’s address to Congress tonight (Tuesday, March 4).
Beyer, who represents Virginia’s 8th Congressional District (Alexandria, Arlington, Falls Church, and parts of Fairfax County) in the House, first announced his decision during a telephone town hall meeting with constituents on Monday night.
This morning, he posted a video on X, announcing his decision publicly.
“This evening, President Trump will address a coequal branch of government for which he has shown total contempt and disregard. When he looks at Congress, Trump only sees supplicants or enemies who write the laws he refuses to follow,” Beyer says in the video.
The congressman claims Trump and Elon Musk are unfairly ruining his constituents’ careers based on false accusations of misconduct or poor performance.
“My constituents are seeing their livelihoods destroyed, often illegally, by Trump and Musk, based on utterly false accusations of wrongdoing or of poor performance. These are people who devoted their lives to curing diseases, to keeping us safe from natural disasters and to feeding the hungry and to housing the homeless,” Beyer says.
Beyer continues, “The Joint Address is a great tradition of American democracy, but like most of our traditions, President Trump respects them only so far as they can serve his ego or his personal agenda. What he is doing is not normal, it is not acceptable. And I won’t be attending”.
Instead of attending the speech, Beyer said he plans to spend the week supporting federal workers and holding events for his constituents.
“I’m spending this week rallying with my constituents, supporting federal workers, in person, talking to you at a telephone town hall, and in person at Wakefield High School on Saturday, where I’ll host a resource fair for the feds and the contractors who have been targeted,” Beyer says.
Beyer’s office confirmed his decision in an email to ALXnow.
President Trump’s speech is set to begin at 9 p.m.
This evening President Trump will address a coequal branch of government for which he has shown total contempt and disregard.
Meanwhile my constituents are seeing their livelihoods destroyed, often illegally.
What he is doing is not normal, it is not acceptable, and I won’t be… pic.twitter.com/mUN7IqoUdF
— Rep. Don Beyer (@RepDonBeyer) March 4, 2025
Photo via Rep. Don Beyer on X.
