Thompson attends State of the Union Address, issues response to president’s speech
- Lake County News reports
- Posted On
One of Lake County’s members of Congress was critical of President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech on Wednesday night, faulting the president for not mentioning key national concerns.
Rep. Mike Thompson (CA-05) was present for the address, and took as his guest Dr. Joseph V. Sakran, assistant professor of surgery, associate chief of the division of acute care surgery, and director of emergency general surgery at The Johns Hopkins Hospital.
Dr. Sakran was nearly killed by a gunshot wound as a teenager and has spent his life working to care for trauma victims, including those injured by gun violence.
Thompson is chaif of the Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, and said Sakran’s presence “will send a message that Congress will act to help prevent gun violence and to honor those victims like Dr. Sakran and his patients.”
In response to the address, Thompson said Tuesday night, “Tonight’s address was what we have come to expect from this president – empty rhetoric aimed at fulfilling useless campaign promises and calls for unity that are not reflected with action. I was disappointed the president did not even mention gun violence prevention or efforts to combat climate change. I was also disappointed with continued discussion of the wall on our southern border. I have said before and will say again – there is no need for a border wall that is just a seventh century solution to a 21st century problem. Democrats are ready to work to fund smart, effective and technologically-advanced security solutions to keep our nation safe, just not a useless wall.
“The president discussed several areas where he would like to work in a bipartisan manner – including health care, infrastructure and growing our middle class – issues I have long worked on in Congress. While I welcome his ideas and participation, our new majority is not waiting around. In fact, we have already started, and we will continue to work to make health care more affordable and accessible, and modernize our infrastructure for the 21st century, no matter what the president tweets about tomorrow,” he said.
“As with anything this president does, the proof is in his action and not just his words. It remains to be seen what action he will take. I said after the election and I say again tonight – I will always work with anyone, regardless of party, who has ideas to help our district and our nation. Regardless of what was said tonight, I will keep working to advance policies that put our community first and help our district move forward,” Thompson said.
Thompson represents California’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes all or part of Contra Costa, Lake, Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties.