NC Rep. Foushee will boycott State of the Union for second straight year

Rep. Valerie Foushee announced Monday evening that she will not attend the State of the Union address Tuesday night.

This will be the second State of the Union that Foushee has boycotted and the second President Donald Trump has given since taking back his office.

“While the president prepares to describe a vision of national strength and prosperity, the real state of the union is measured by families crushed by rising costs, by attacks on voting rights and civil liberties, and by immigrant communities who are being vilified, detained and deported under policies rooted in cruelty rather than humanity,” Foushee, a Democrat from Hillsborough, said in a news release. “It is also measured by an administration that continues to evade accountability, resist transparency, and undermine the very checks and balances that hold our democracy together.”

“I will not lend my presence to a speech that ignores the lived realities of millions,” she added.

Foushee is in her second term representing the 4th Congressional District, which includes Durham and Orange and parts of Chatham and Wake counties.

She’s facing a tough primary on March 3 that includes a rematch with Durham County Commissioner Nida Allam.

“Until this administration confronts the harm caused by extreme policies that deepen inequalities, sow division, target vulnerable communities and sidestep responsibility to the American people, I will continue to stand in firm opposition and fight for a vision of this nation rooted in equity, justice, compassion, and opportunity,” Foushee said.

North Carolina is represented in Congress by three other Democrats: Reps. Don Davis, Deborah Ross and Alma Adams.

Davis, of Snow Hill, announced he would bring 17-year-old Nathaniel Simmons, an eighth generation farmer, and Ross, of Raleigh, is bringing state Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls.

Matt Van Swol, a right-wing social media influencer from Western North Carolina, said that he is the guest of Rep. Pat Harrigan, a Republican from Hickory.

Trump’s speech is expected to begin at 9 p.m.

This story was originally published February 23, 2026 at 5:47 PM.