Why Democratic Congresswomen Wore White to Trump’s State of the Union Again
#State of the Union#SAVE America Act#Voter ID#Democratic Women's Caucus#Suffragists##MeToo#Political symbolism#Nancy Pelosi
📌 Key Takeaways
Democratic women wore white to protest the SAVE America Act voter ID bill
The bill requires proof of citizenship for voter registration, potentially disenfranchising millions
This continues a tradition of coordinated color statements by Democratic women
Dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotted the event entirely
Previous color protests included white for women's rights, black for #MeToo, and pink in 2023
📖 Full Retelling
Democratic congresswomen wore white to President Trump's State of the Union address in Washington on Tuesday night, February 24, 2026, to signal their opposition to the SAVE America Act, a strict voter identification bill that critics claim would disenfranchise millions of voters. The choice of white marked a continuation of a tradition for Democratic women in Congress, who first wore the color during Trump's 2017 address to support women's rights, echoing the suffragists. During his speech on Tuesday, Trump urged Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, calling it 'country-saving' and claiming Democrats 'want to cheat' by opposing it. The bill, which has already passed the Republican-led House, would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, potentially affecting women whose married names don't match their identification documents. Along with the white attire, dozens of Democratic lawmakers boycotted the event entirely, with some attending alternative rallies and Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut stating, 'I'm not going to show up and pretend everything's normal.' The white protest was not an isolated incident in recent political demonstrations. In 2018, female lawmakers wore black to show solidarity with the #MeToo movement, while in 2019, they returned to white following a record number of women being elected to Congress. Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who helped popularize the white pantsuit, notably wore the color during the 2020 State of the Union, where she famously ripped up a copy of Trump's speech after it concluded. Last year, about three dozen Democratic Women's Caucus members wore pink to a joint session. Chair of the Democratic Women's Caucus, Representative Teresa Leger Fernández of New Mexico, explained that color choices 'depend on where we're at in the moment,' though she herself did not attend the address, joining other Democrats in skipping the event.
Annual report by the president of the United States
The State of the Union address (sometimes abbreviated to SOTU) is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condition of the nation. The speech generally includes reports...
A voter identification law is a law that requires a person to show some form of identification to vote. In some jurisdictions requiring photo IDs, voters who do not have photo ID often must have their identity verified by someone else (such as in Sweden) or sign a Challenged Voter Affidavit (such as...
The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, also known as the SAVE Act, is a proposed United States law that would amend the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 to require "documentary proof of United States citizenship" to register to vote.
Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vote is called active suffrage, as distinct from passive su...
Advertisement SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Supported by SKIP ADVERTISEMENT Why Democratic Congresswomen Wore White to the State of the Union — This Time It’s not the first time some Democratic women have displayed unity by wearing the same color, but this time it was in part to signal opposition to the SAVE America Act. Listen to this article · 3:36 min Learn more Share full article 2 By Jesse McKinley Feb. 24, 2026 Updated 10:51 p.m. ET The message might be different, but the color was once again white for some Democratic women in the House on Tuesday night. Nearly a decade after they first wore white to President’s Trump address to a joint session of Congress in 2017, a clutch of Democratic congresswomen donned the same color for the president’s State of the Union address, while dozens of other Democrats boycotted the event. In 2017, the choice of white was made to support women’s rights , an echo of suffragists. This time around, it was meant, in part, to signal opposition to the SAVE America Act , a strict voter identification bill that would mandate proof of citizenship from people when they register to vote. Critics of the bill , which has passed the Republican-led House, say such a law could disenfranchise millions of voters, including women whose married names don’t match their passports or birth certificates. The president asked Congress to pass the bill on Tuesday night during his speech, calling it “country-saving,” and saying legislators should take it up “before anything else happens” and accusing Democrats of “wanting to cheat.” Other colors have also been seen at State of the Union addresses during Trump’s two presidencies; in 2018, some female lawmakers wore black to signal solidarity with the #MeToo movement. A year later, it was back to white in the wake of a record number of women — including many Democrats — being elected to Congress . Last year, about three dozen members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus wore pink to a joint session of Congress, in various...
