1. United States
2. Mich.
3. Letter

I am writing to urge you not to attend the State of the Union address on February 24. This is not about partisan opposition. It is about defending Congress as an institution when its constitutional authority over taxation is being dismissed. The Supreme Court recently ruled that the President exceeded statutory authority in imposing sweeping tariffs. Rather than showing restraint, the administration responded with escalation, invoking alternate authorities, raising tariffs further, and intensifying rhetoric. This pattern of judicial constraint followed by public defiance and expanded assertion is a direct challenge to both the Court and Congress. Tariffs are constitutionally significant because they function as taxes, and Article I clearly states that taxation originates in Congress. When a President uses emergency or trade authorities to impose economic burdens and then dismisses judicial limitations, it simultaneously undermines the judiciary and diminishes the legislative branch. Your constituents are feeling this directly. Manufacturers, farmers, small businesses, and consumers in your district are bearing the economic burden of these tariffs, creating pressure that intersects with fundamental constitutional boundaries. Attendance at the State of the Union is ceremonial, not constitutionally required. For much of American history, Presidents delivered written reports. A visibly thinner chamber, especially including members of the President's own party, would signal that Congress is not merely a backdrop and that judicial rulings are not optional. This is not obstruction. It is a signal that institutional boundaries matter. If you believe the President's conduct respects Congress's constitutional role in taxation, then attend. If not, attendance becomes normalization of overreach. I ask that you hold a town hall in our district instead on February 24, demonstrating that representing constituents takes priority over serving as an audience for spectacle. This may seem like a small action, but preventing the gradual erosion of congressional power requires establishing boundaries now, while the cost of doing so remains low.