Newly Elected WFP Champion to Respond to Trump and Musk’s Attacks on Working People

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Working Families Party announced that Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (CA-12) will deliver its eighth annual response to the President’s address to Congress on March 4th.

“Working people are looking for leaders who will fight for them, and Rep. Lateefah Simon was born to lead in this moment,” said Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party. “As a working mom who has struggled with the crushing weight of medical debt, Rep. Simon understands what Trump’s attacks on Medicare and Medicaid will mean to millions of families in our country. She knows that every family, no matter their circumstances, deserves the best possible health care.”

“I’m honored to speak on behalf of the Working Families Party,” said Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (CA-12). “We need a government that is run by and for working people, not billionaires—and that’s what the WFP is fighting for. When I see what’s happening in our country right now, it’s essential that we—as Members of Congress—are showing up for our communities and reminding people that it doesn’t have to be this way. We can build a country where everyone has quality health care, a good job, and housing they can afford.”

Past Working Families Party speakers responding to a president’s joint address include Rep. Ayanna Pressley (2020), former Rep. Jamaal Bowman (2021), Rep. Rashida Tlaib (2022), Rep. Delia Ramirez (2023), and Philadelphia City Councilmember Nicholas O’Rourke (2024).

Congresswoman Simon started her career at the Young Women’s Freedom Center, where her work was recognized with a MacArthur Fellowship. Later, she headed the Back on Track program, a nationally recognized initiative that offered first-time, nonviolent offenders alternatives to incarceration. 

In Congress, Rep. Simon is focused on addressing the housing affordability crisis, tackling the mental health and homelessness epidemic, and lowering everyday costs for working families from groceries to prescription drugs.

Congresswoman Simon serves as a Deputy Whip for Policy, a Vice Chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, and a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Democratic Women’s Caucus, Congressional Asian American Pacific Caucus, Reproductive Rights Caucus, Labor Caucus, and Equality Caucus.

The Working Families Party proudly endorsed Rep. Simon in 2024, in the seat previously held by Rep. Barbara Lee. She joins existing WFP champions in Congress, including Rep. Greg Casar (TX-35), Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12), Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-3), Rep. Maxwell Frost (FL-10), and Rep. Becca Balint (VT).

During the early weeks of the new administration, the party has been organizing mass phonebanks, rallies, and in-district actions to push back against the most extreme overreaches of Donald Trump and Elon Musk.

(Photo Credit: Ethan Wong)