Massachusetts US Rep. Ayanna Pressley walks out during Trump speech in protest
Updated: 11:10 PM EST Mar 4, 2025
Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley walked out of the House chamber during President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress Tuesday night, issuing a statement shortly after that the move was “in protest.”Pressley, who was one of dozens of congressmembers who walked out during Trump’s speech, was accompanied by Claire Bergstresser, an Everett resident who was recently fired from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) mass layoffs of federal workers.“I attended this joint session tonight to honor my guest Claire, a former HUD employee who was unjustly terminated as part of Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s unprecedented and unlawful attacks on our federal workers. Federal workers like her make our communities stronger, and I was proud to uplift their experiences by having Claire as my distinguished guest tonight,” Pressley said in a statement after she walked out of the House chamber. “However, I could not in good conscience sit through this speech and give an audience to someone who operates with lawless disregard for Congress and the people of this nation. Donald Trump has used his bully pulpit to spread lies, demonize vulnerable communities, and double down on the hurt, hate, and harm in his first 43 days in office.”In addition to her statement, Pressley released a video on social media, in which she said, “I could not tolerate one more second. This man who pardoned Jan. 6 insurrectionists, who desecrated this very chamber, this man who does not respect Congress as a co-equal branch of government, who has put us into a constitutional crisis. There was no way I could stay there for this address. It adds insult to injury.”Pressley, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump since he was reelected, has said she will advocate for the rights and protections of federal workers “amid the Musk-Trump Administration’s unlawful onslaught on federal agencies.”
WASHINGTON —Massachusetts U.S. Rep. Ayanna Pressley walked out of the House chamber during President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress Tuesday night, issuing a statement shortly after that the move was “in protest.”
Pressley, who was one of dozens of congressmembers who walked out during Trump’s speech, was accompanied by Claire Bergstresser, an Everett resident who was recently fired from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as part of the U.S. Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) mass layoffs of federal workers.
“I attended this joint session tonight to honor my guest Claire, a former HUD employee who was unjustly terminated as part of Elon Musk and Donald Trump’s unprecedented and unlawful attacks on our federal workers. Federal workers like her make our communities stronger, and I was proud to uplift their experiences by having Claire as my distinguished guest tonight,” Pressley said in a statement after she walked out of the House chamber.
“However, I could not in good conscience sit through this speech and give an audience to someone who operates with lawless disregard for Congress and the people of this nation. Donald Trump has used his bully pulpit to spread lies, demonize vulnerable communities, and double down on the hurt, hate, and harm in his first 43 days in office.”
In addition to her statement, Pressley released a video on social media, in which she said, “I could not tolerate one more second. This man who pardoned Jan. 6 insurrectionists, who desecrated this very chamber, this man who does not respect Congress as a co-equal branch of government, who has put us into a constitutional crisis. There was no way I could stay there for this address. It adds insult to injury.”
Pressley, who has been an outspoken critic of Trump since he was reelected, has said she will advocate for the rights and protections of federal workers “amid the Musk-Trump Administration’s unlawful onslaught on federal agencies.”
