Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, President Donald Trump will deliver his State of the Union address, which political observers expect will preview the messaging Republicans plan to use when appealing to voters in this November’s congressional elections.
The commander-in-chief and his political party face challenges heading into the midterms, with polling data indicating significant portions of the American public have concerns about Trump’s governance during his initial year back in the White House. Adding to these difficulties, the Supreme Court recently eliminated a major component of his economic and international policy approach by determining he did not have authority to enact numerous broad tariff measures.
While Trump is anticipated to concentrate on issues affecting Americans at home, his escalating warnings about potential military action against Iran regarding its nuclear activities loom over tonight’s remarks.
Following Trump’s address, Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger will present the Democratic Party’s official response. California Senator Alex Padilla, who gained national attention last year when federal officers forced him to the ground and placed him in handcuffs, will provide the party’s Spanish-language reply.
Several Minnesota congressional representatives are using their guest invitation privileges for Trump’s State of the Union to demonstrate opposition to his administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
Representative Ilhan Omar from Minneapolis has invited four individuals affected by Operation Metro Surge, including Aliya Rahman, a disabled American citizen who was recorded being removed from her vehicle by ICE agents while traveling to a medical appointment, and Mary Granlund, Columbia Heights School Board chair who advocated for 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, an Ecuadorian child detained with his father and transported to a Texas detention facility.
However, Republican Representative Pete Stauber from northeastern Minnesota invited two conservative YouTube content creators — Nick Shirley and David Hoch — whose investigation claiming fraud at Minnesota childcare facilities gained Trump’s notice and helped justify the enforcement surge.
Those seeking insights into the current status of key administration officials should observe Attorney General Pam Bondi, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and FBI Director Kash Patel during the address.
While Trump has publicly supported all three officials, each faces public examination. Noem weathered changes within Trump’s immigration enforcement approach but did not appear before DHS congressional hearings following the deaths of two citizen protesters in Minneapolis. Bondi supported the president during congressional proceedings regarding the Jeffrey Epstein case files but has faced criticism from some Republicans about her management of the issue. Patel, who also received scrutiny over the Epstein files, is drawing renewed attention after his Milan Olympics trip while previously criticizing Democratic officials for using government resources for travel.
Notably, Trump did not recognize either Noem or Bondi during his most recent Cabinet meeting where agency leaders praised the president.
Press Secretary Leavitt announced on X that Charlie Kirk’s widow will attend as one of the president’s guests. “The president will call on Congress to ‘firmly reject political violence against our fellow citizens’ with Charlie Kirk’s widow in the chamber,” Leavitt posted.
During Kirk’s Arizona memorial service where Trump spoke, Erika Kirk expressed forgiveness toward her husband’s assassin “because it was what Christ did. And is what Charlie would do.” The president shared a different perspective during the service: “That’s where I disagreed with Charlie. I hate my opponent, and I don’t want the best for them. I’m sorry. I am sorry, Erika.”
According to the White House, guests joining the first lady in the House gallery will include ten-year-old Everest Nevraumont, a student at Austin, Texas’s Alpha School where artificial intelligence powers learning. Everest advocates for AI education and delivered a TEDx presentation about incorporating the technology into her studies. The first lady promotes AI use and created the Presidential AI Challenge, a White House-sponsored student competition.
Also attending will be Sierra Burns, 24, from Greenville, South Carolina, a foster care advocate who experienced foster care herself and benefited from the first lady’s Foster Youth to Independence Program. Last year, Melania Trump secured $30 million in funding to assist young people transitioning from foster care.
Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger will present Tuesday evening’s Democratic response to President Trump’s State of the Union from Colonial Williamsburg, using the historic setting to frame her message. Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum featuring restored 18th-century structures and interpreters, represents the center of Virginia’s early resistance to British authority. Spanberger’s team indicates she plans to connect that heritage to today’s political climate.
In her response, Spanberger is also expected to highlight affordability concerns — the theme her team credits with helping secure her double-digit victory in winning a previously Republican-held position.
Members of the House Democratic Women’s Caucus and their guests, including several survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, will wear all white during tonight’s address, modeling themselves after early 20th-century women who fought for voting rights and other freedoms.
“Tonight, when Donald Trump looks out into the chamber, he will see a wall of white,” said Democratic Representative Jill Tokuda of Hawaii. Some lawmakers will also wear pins expressing support for Epstein survivors and demanding release of case files on Epstein without redacting information about his associates.
“We are standing here in solidarity so that we are not forgotten,” said Sharlene Rochard, one of the survivors.
House Speaker Johnson criticized Democrats for protesting everything from the president’s joint address to the administration’s immigration enforcement actions. “It’s shameful,” Johnson stated. He said Democrats offer nothing except their “TDS agenda” — what the president’s supporters term “Trump Derangement Syndrome” among those opposing presidential policies.
Johnson revealed Trump contacted him Sunday night requesting changes. “‘We need some more guests,’” the speaker recalled Trump saying. The visitors’ gallery was already at capacity with waiting lists for tickets. “‘Mr. President, how many people are you talking about?’” the speaker asked. “The whole team,” he said Trump responded.
Johnson explained they are working out logistics to “squeeze in” the gold-medal winning hockey players, calling it “a great moment.” The gold-medal winning women’s Olympic team declined Trump’s invitation to attend.
Senator Alex Padilla will deliver the Democratic Party’s Spanish-language response to President Trump’s State of the Union Tuesday night, highlighting a California Democrat who gained national recognition last year after federal agents forced him to the ground and handcuffed him.
Padilla had confronted Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a Los Angeles news conference, attempting to speak about immigration raids that triggered protests in California and nationwide. The son of Mexican immigrants, Padilla stated his response will focus on “a better path — one that lowers costs, safeguards our democracy, and reins in rogue federal agencies.”
The Spanish-language response occurs as Democrats attempt to regain support among Latino voters before the midterms, following Trump’s increased Latino support in 2024 compared to 2020.
Trump speaks following the Supreme Court’s invalidation of his tariffs imposed as national emergency measures, prompting him to reimpose levies under different statutes.
Woodrow Wilson, who revived in-person congressional addresses, spoke to lawmakers about tariffs weeks after taking office in 1913. While not his official annual message, Wilson, like Trump, wanted to influence Congress and public opinion. Unlike Trump, Wilson sought income taxes on wealthy Americans to reduce tariffs imposed by Republican predecessors, including Trump favorite William McKinley.
Wilson encouraged the U.S. to “build up trade” while trusting “the whetting of American wits by contest with the wits of the rest of the world.” In 1917, Wilson asked Congress in person to declare war on Germany. Trump is considering military action against Iran and has taken action in Venezuela without seeking congressional approval for either.
From John Adams’ presidency ending in 1801 through Woodrow Wilson’s beginning in 1913, the State of the Union was simply a letter delivered down Pennsylvania Avenue. Adams’ successor, Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence, preferred writing to speaking and sought to avoid spectacles he associated with monarchy rather than democratic republic.
To satisfy the Constitution’s requirement that the president “shall from time to time” inform Congress about “the State of the Union,” the third president wrote to lawmakers instead of addressing them personally. This began a century-plus tradition of written presidential messages read on Capitol Hill by congressional clerks.
Wilson changed that tradition, viewing in-person congressional speeches as valuable presidential tools to shape public opinion and congressional action. Every president since has addressed joint congressional sessions.
“He will call on Democrats in Congress to reopen the Department of Homeland Security,” Leavitt told reporters, blaming Democrats for the department’s shutdown and calling the situation “despicable.” She said Federal Emergency Management Agency personnel are working without pay in the Northeast following the shutdown to help authorities restore power to hundreds of thousands after the blizzard.
DHS funding expired January 30 as Democrats demanded federal immigration enforcement changes. The shutdown affects several department agencies, including the Coast Guard, Secret Service, and Transportation Security Administration.
The White House and Democrats have negotiated potential changes to ICE and other immigration enforcement agencies after federal agents fatally shot two protesters in Minnesota. However, the sides appear deadlocked after the White House rejected Democrats’ latest offer last week.
Democrats are attempting to counter Trump’s anticipated celebration of lower crime rates during his State of the Union speech. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said the decrease results from local initiatives, not aggressive White House measures.
“While mayors would welcome a federal partner who works with them, and not against them, the Trump Administration has done nothing to help,” Lucas stated. “In fact, it has actively made our cities less safe.” Lucas, who leads the Democratic Mayors Association, said the administration has “recklessly attacked our cities, undermining them at every turn.”
The president criticized the three Republican-appointed Supreme Court justices who opposed his tariffs. He will almost certainly have them seated before him Tuesday night. Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett regularly attend the State of the Union.
When reporters asked Trump about his appointees, Gorsuch and Barrett, he declared their tariff votes “an embarrassment to their families.” Trump has been similarly personal during campaign debates but historically avoids conflict with rivals when they are present. He was particularly friendly with New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani in the Oval Office after previously calling him a communist.
President Barack Obama notably criticized the court during a joint address following its Citizens United decision expanding big money in politics. Roberts shook his head, visibly disturbed by Obama’s critique.
Representative Hakeem Jeffries said House Democrats intend to continue the late Reverend Jesse Jackson’s legacy. The Brooklyn congressman also invited Vonetta Rougier, a bus operator and family caregiver from his district who is “picking up extra shifts just to keep up with the skyrocketing price of housing, food and healthcare.” He is also welcoming Marina Lacerda, among the Epstein survivors attending as Democratic Women’s Caucus guests.
Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen are preparing for Artemis II, NASA’s first crewed mission in over half a century to travel around the moon. They will join the House speaker’s guests at the speech.
Representative Mike Johnson is also hosting other guests, including Claire Lai, daughter of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon sentenced to 20 years in prison for criticizing Beijing. Johnson is co-hosting her visit with Representative Chris Smith, a longtime family champion.
The president will have multiple House gallery guests, including some creating touching moments, according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt. “You’re going to hear the President share the stories of everyday Americans who have benefited from his policies,” Leavitt told reporters. “You’re gunna hear the president share tear-jerking stories of American heroes past and present who really exemplify what it means to be a patriotic American.”
Trump’s guests will include a worker benefiting from new tax exemptions on tip and overtime income and a woman saving money on infertility treatments. “He’ll be sharing these stories again of every day Americans who are benefiting from his policies,” Leavitt said on Fox & Friends.
As lawmakers listen to Trump’s yearly agenda in the House chamber, the moment represents an existential point for Congress, which has essentially been marginalized by his expansive reach, with the Republican president bypassing his narrow GOP majority to accumulate enormous personal power.
The GOP-led Congress has largely remained silent as Trump dramatically consolidated power through hundreds of executive actions, many facing court challenges, and willingness to do whatever necessary to implement his agenda.
“It’s crazy,” said Nancy Henderson Korpi, a northern Minnesota retiree who joined an Indivisible protest group and plans to watch the speech from home. “But what is disturbing more to me is that Congress has essentially just handed over their power.” She added, “We could make some sound decisions and changes if Congress would do their job.”
The State of the Union address derives its name directly from the U.S. Constitution. Article II, establishing the presidency and its powers and duties, states partly: “He shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
However, until World War II years, presidents fulfilled that duty with an “Annual Message,” whether written (from Thomas Jefferson through William Howard Taft) or in person (George Washington, John Adams and every president from Woodrow Wilson to Trump).
Franklin Roosevelt’s Annual Message began being called colloquially his “state of the Union” message in 1942. Harry Truman’s 1947 speech, according to the Congressional Research Service, was the first annual address officially recognized as a “State of the Union” message and the first televised.
Leavitt said one mission Trump will discuss during the speech is last summer’s Operation Midnight Hammer, in which the U.S. bombed several Iranian nuclear sites. Trump, who says those sites were “obliterated,” is again threatening Iran with military action and flooding the region with U.S. military assets if Iran fails to reach a nuclear program agreement with the U.S. Another negotiation round is scheduled Thursday in Switzerland.
“You’ll hear the president proudly and rightfully say that the United States military is the strongest and most lethal fighting force in the world,” Leavitt said at the White House. “And you will hear him talk about the threats that remain abroad” and “what the United States is doing to ensure that not only America is the safest country in the world, but remains the strongest country in the world.”
“You’re going to hear a speech that’s a celebration of 250 years of our nation and our nation’s independence,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Trump will tell stories about “everyday Americans who have benefited from his policies” and share “tear-jerking stories of American heroes, past and present, who really exemplify what it means to be a patriotic American,” she said. The United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.
