Rep. Joe Kennedy to deliver Dem response to Trump’s State of the Union

Rep. Joseph Kennedy (D-Mass.) has been selected to deliver the Democratic Party’s response to President Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night, party leaders announced.

Kennedy, the great-nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, is a 37-year-old rising star in the Democratic Party and is currently serving his third term as a Massachusetts congressman.

“Congressman Kennedy is a relentless fighter for working Americans,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement.

“While President Trump has consistently broken his promises to the middle class, Congressman Kennedy profoundly understands the challenges facing hard-working men and women across the country,” she added.

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“His leadership has been vital in educating a next-generation workforce, in creating good-paying manufacturing jobs and in expanding opportunities for the middle class.”

Democrats also announced that Virginia state Del. Elizabeth Guzman (D) would deliver the party’s Spanish-language response. Guzman is the first Hispanic female immigrant elected to the Virginia House of Delegates.

Pelosi called Guzman “a respected advocate and community leader who represents the best of our nation’s ideals.”

“Driven by her faith and her belief in the promise of the American Dream, Elizabeth has been a vital, relentless leader for the voiceless,” Pelosi said.

Democrats had faced a hard choice on whom they might select to deliver their response to Trump’s first State of the Union address.

Party leaders were forced to balance a host of competing egos and complex political factors in making the decision.

Trump is set to deliver his State of the Union speech to Congress on Tuesday, and is reported to be planning to roll out the White House’s immigration plan in an official announcement either during his speech or in the surrounding days, following through on a major campaign promise to address infrastructure reform.

Updated: 10:10 p.m.