2020 Dem hopefuls

2020 Dem hopefuls take digs at Trump with their SOTU guests

By KATIE GALIOTO

More than a handful of those sitting in the House chamber Tuesday evening to hear President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address hope to replace him in two years' time. And these Democratic 2020 hopefuls are making statements of their own by who will be joining them for the primetime event.

One is bringing a transgender military commander, and others are bringing federal employees who were furloughed during the government shutdown driven by Trump's demands for a border wall. Each member of Congress is allowed one guest at the annual event, an opportunity that over time has transformed into a means of highlighting issues and taking jabs at the opposition.

Sen. Kamala Harris, for instance, invited Trisha Pesiri-Dybvik, an air traffic control specialist who was furloughed for more than a month during the government shutdown after losing her home in a California wildfire in 2017. Since officially announcing her bid for president last month, Harris has been gaining ground with Democratic voters, according to a recent POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.

Another federal worker furloughed during the shutdown will travel to Washington from the Boston area to attend the address as the guest of Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the first major Democratic contender to announce an exploratory presidential bid last month. Sajid Shahriar, an employee of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, will join the Massachusetts senator.

In a more pointed dig at Trump, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) — who joined the White House race in mid-January — invited transgender Navy Lieutenant Commander Blake Dremann, an act of protest against the president’s ban on transgender military service.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who is mulling a bid, will bring a constituent whose son died because he was unable to afford insulin, stirring discussions of affordable healthcare. Fellow Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), also weighing a run, criticized the Trump administration’s immigration policy in a press releasing naming his guests — a Guatemalan mother and her 12-year-old daughter who were separated by border patrol agents when they entered the country last spring.

A pension advocate from Ohio will join Sen. Sherrod Brown, and a local union president from the same state will join Rep. Tim Ryan. Both Ohioans are considering jumping into the already crowded Democratic race. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) is likewise positioning himself for a potential run and invited Cameron Kasky, a survivor of the Parkland shooting.