Politics

Pa. lawmaker to deliver progressive response to Trump’s State of the Union

US House Rep. Summer Lee was first elected to Congress in 2022 and is expected to discuss affordability, rising housing prices, healthcare and more.

Congresswoman Summer Lee passes bill to help plug Pennsylvania's abandoned gas wells
Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., arrives for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro's Inauguration, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2023, at the state Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)

US House Rep. Summer Lee was first elected to Congress in 2022 and is expected to discuss affordability, rising housing prices, healthcare and more.

Progressive “Squad” member and Western Pennsylvania lawmaker, US House Rep. Summer Lee (D-Allegheny), has been tapped to deliver the Working Families Party’s response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday. 

“I’m going to elevate the voices of the people in my district and across the country who are angry, scared, and fed up with an administration that’s done nothing to help and a lot to hurt everyday people,” Lee said in a statement.  

With the support of the Working Families Party, Lee became the first Black woman from Pennsylvania ever elected to the US House in 2022, and then defended her seat from conservative billionaires in the 2024 primary election. 

During her response to Trump’s address, Lee intends to lift up the Working Families Party, which is a progressive third party that helps elect left-leaning Democrats to local, state, and federal offices across the country while holding Trump and corporations accountable. 

I’m going to say what too many politicians won’t: the system is rigged, the obscenely wealthy are profiting from it, and working people deserve more than scraps,” Lee said.

“Now more than ever, we need a political home for people who are ready to fight back against Trump’s corruption and cruelty, and the corporate politics that made him possible.”

During her first term, Lee helped secure over $1 billion in investments for the Pittsburgh area, and more recently, she was able to force a vote on releasing the Epstein Files while sitting on the US House Oversight Committee.

“Congresswoman Summer Lee is the kind of leader this moment demands. She’s fearless, rooted in working-class communities, and unafraid to take on both MAGA extremism and corporate power,” Working Families Party National Director Maurice Mitchell said in a statement.

At a time when voters are losing faith in the two-party status quo, the Working Families Party is building a disciplined, independent political force that can defeat Trump and actually deliver on jobs, wages, healthcare, and more.”

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Patrick Berkery
Patrick Berkery Senior Newsletter Editor
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