Some Democrats have found a powerful way to protest without simply staying home.
Several lawmakers plan to boycott the State of the Union in a symbolic gesture. Others are choosing a more visible form of dissent: bringing survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s abuse — and their family members — as their official guests. The message is unmistakable. If the President won’t address the Epstein files, they will make sure the issue is sitting in the room.
Representatives Jamie Raskin and Suhas Subramanyam will attend alongside Sky and Amanda Roberts, relatives of Virginia Roberts Giuffre, one of Epstein’s most well-known victims, who died by suicide last year. In the past, Trump acknowledged that Epstein “stole” Giuffre from Mar-a-Lago — a comment critics argue underscores how much he knew about Epstein’s conduct during their long association.
“The Trump administration is resisting transparency at every turn,” Subramanyam said. “It’s an honor to bring Virginia Roberts Giuffre’s family as our guests so the President sees that we are not backing down from the demand for justice.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have also invited survivors. Representatives Teresa Leger Fernández, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, Emily Randall, and James Walkinshaw are expected to do the same.
Khanna, one of the loudest voices pressing for full release of the Epstein records, will bring Haley Robson, who says she was trafficked by Epstein as a minor. Robson voted for Trump in 2024 but has since become one of his sharpest critics after he dismissed renewed focus on the files as a “hoax.”
“Haley’s courage shows this isn’t partisan,” Khanna said. “It’s about confronting a justice system that too often protects the powerful while survivors wait for accountability.”
For Democrats, the strategy is clear: keep the Epstein scandal impossible to ignore. Many of the documents remain sealed or heavily redacted, fueling ongoing demands for full transparency. The fight now isn’t just about what happened years ago — it’s about whether the full truth will ever be made public.
And judging by the guest list, that pressure isn’t going away anytime soon.
About the Author
I want JUSTICE for the victims and ACCOUNTABILITY for all. These brave women deserve to be respected and I’m very proud of them! Whether Democrats are present or not is sending a message to the Drumph and his cult of sycophantic followers that the majority of people, in this country, are not ideologically aligned with his way of destroying our country. We The People…are holding the thin blue lines of our democracy!