TEXAS \u2014 Outgoing Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Austin, will attend his 32nd and final State of the Union tonight.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe State of the Union is an opportunity for the President to work to try to bring the country together until Trump,\u201d Doggett said. \u201cWhat\u2019s most memorable is how very different Trump is from any president or Republican or Democrat that we have had in the past.\u201d<\/p>\n
Doggett was first sworn into Congress in 1995, attending former President Bill Clinton\u2019s address to the nation later that year. As Texas\u2019 longest-serving member and dean of the state\u2019s congressional delegation, he has been in the audience for speeches from five U.S. presidents.<\/p>\n
He says the tradition of the State of the Union, the address presidents give to Congress, has changed dramatically under President Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s taken it to a new low,\u201d Doggett said. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t seem to be ever focused on bringing our country together, only on insisting that Republicans remain united in providing him unqualified and unquestioned support.\u201d<\/p>\n
In recent years, disruptions and protests during the State of the Union have become common. Last year, Rep. Al Green, D-Houston, was escorted from the chamber and later censured after causing a disturbance during the speech. This year, several Democrats, including Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, and Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-El Paso, are choosing to boycott the address and instead attend the \u201cPeople\u2019s State of the Union\u201d on the National Mall.<\/p>\n
\u201cAmericans don\u2019t need a rambling, two hour lecture from Trump,” Casar\u00a0said<\/a>\u00a0in a statement. “We need our money back. He owes us: $1,700 in illegal tariffs per family, $4 billion he\u2019s profited off the presidency, and $1 trillion he stole in tax breaks for the ultra-rich. Spare us the speech. Pay up or shut up.”<\/p>\n Doggett explained why he decided to attend Trump\u2019s address this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI believe it\u2019s important not to yield the floor of the people\u2019s house to Trump and his enablers for essentially a campaign rally,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n