Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced Monday that San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulin Cruz, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, will accompany her to the State of The Union address Tuesday.
Gillibrand, a 2020 presidential hopeful who has called for Trump’s resignation, is one of a number of Democratic senators using their State of The Union plus ones to make a political statement. Sen. Kamala Harris of California is bringing Deana Joseph, an illegal immigrant formerly shielded from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.
I hope Mayor Cruz’s presence at #SOTU will remind the president and my colleagues in Congress of our urgent responsibility to help Puerto Rico fully recover and rebuild. Our fellow citizens must not be forgotten or left behind.
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) January 29, 2018
Cruz became a reliable critic of the Trump administration’s response to Hurricane Maria, which ravaged Puerto Rico in September, after the president said she was “nasty” toward him and said she displayed “poor leadership ability.” (RELATED: Inside The State Of The Union: Former White House Speechwriter Explains The Address And How It’s Changed)
Cruz responded by labelling Trump “Hater in Chief” and accusing his administration of “killing [Puerto Ricans] with efficiency.” She even wore a shirt that read “Help Us, We Are Dying” during one cable interview.
The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority estimates its restored power to roughly 1 million homes, but roughly half a million Puerto Ricans remain without power, according to CNN.
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