Progressives are naming California Rep. Lateefah Simon, a rising Democratic star, to deliver their response to President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress next week, according to a statement provided first to POLITICO.
“I’m honored to speak on behalf of the Working Families Party,” Simon said in a statement. “We need a government that is run by and for working people, not billionaires — and that’s what the WFP is fighting for.”
Simon, who is serving her first term and represents a district centered around Oakland, California, is expected to focus on the impact of Trump and Elon Musk’s dramatic overhaul of the federal government, according to a spokesperson. She is also likely to talk about her recent visit to labs at the University of California, Berkeley and the effects of cuts at the National Institutes of Health on disease research.
The Working Families Party response to the State of the Union or the president’s joint address has generally given the party’s left flank an opportunity to provide counter-programming apart from Democrats’ main rebuttal speech. The progressive organization also gave rebuttal speeches to former President Joe Biden’s joint addresses, causing some controversy among Democrats who chafed at the left-flank pressure.
Philadelphia City Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke gave the rebuttal speech to Biden last year, and progressive “Squad” member Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) gave the last progressive response to Trump in 2020.
“Working people are looking for leaders who will fight for them, and Rep. Lateefah Simon was born to lead in this moment,” said Maurice Mitchell, national director of the Working Families Party.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this report misspelled Nicolas O’Rourke’s name.
