'Livelihoods destroyed': Dem lawmaker comes out firing at Trump ahead of big speech

A Virginia Democrat issued a broadside against Donald Trump ahead of his address to a joint session of Congress.

The president will highlight his executive orders and dramatic overhaul of the federal bureaucracy that has cast thousands of federal workers out of jobs, and Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) posted a YouTube Short explaining the cost paid for those actions.

"This evening president Trump will address a co-equal branch of government for which he has shown total contempt and disregard," Beyer said. "When he looks at Congress Trump only sees supplicants or enemies who write the laws he refuses to follow."

The speech is not an official State of the Union address because Trump was just sworn in as president six weeks ago, with Republican majorities in the House and Senate that have refused to stand up to him and his campaign donor-turned-adviser Elon Musk, who is leading efforts to slash government spending.

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"In his speech he will preen and gloat about his return to power and his abuses of that power," Beyer said. "I represent a district in northern Virginia that is one of the prime targets of Trumpian contempt. My constituents are seeing their livelihoods destroyed, often illegally, by Trump and Musk based on utterly false accusations of wrongdoing or of poor performance. These are people who've devoted their lives to curing diseases, to keeping us safe from natural disasters and to feeding the hungry and housing the homeless. These are our neighbors and our friends, and they're not just here in Virginia, but around the country. They represent the very best of America."

"The joint address is a great tradition of American democracy, but like most of our traditions, President Trump respects them only so far as they can serve his ego or his personal agenda," Beyer added. "What he is doing is not normal, it is not acceptable and I won't be attending."

Watch the video below or at this link.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com