President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address at 9 p.m. ET is likely to be a test run of the message Republicans will give to voters in November’s elections for control of the House and the Senate.
The president and his party appear vulnerable, with polls showing much of America distrusts how Trump has managed the government in his first year back in office. In addition, the Supreme Court last week struck down one of the chief levers of his economic and foreign policy by ruling he lacked the power to impose many of his sweeping tariffs.
Though Trump is expected to focus on domestic issues, his intensifying threats about launching military strikes on Iran over its nuclear program cast a shadow over the address.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will give the Democratic Party response following Trump’s speech. California Sen. Alex Padilla, who made national headlines last year after being forced to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents, will deliver the party’s response in Spanish.
The Latest:
“Incomes are rising fast, the roaring economy is roaring like never before.”
After-tax incomes, adjusted for inflation, rose just 0.9% in 2025, down from 2.2% in 2024. That is the smallest annual gain since 2022, when inflation soared and caused Americans’ inflation-adjusted income to drop.
Wages and salaries are the largest component of incomes, and their growth has slowed as companies have sharply slowed hiring. Workers typically command smaller wage gains in such an environment.
The House Sergeant at Arms approached and escorted Green, who stood as Trump began speaking with a sign reading “Black People Aren’t Apes!” from the chamber barely two minutes into the address.
Two Trump allies, Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas and Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, had approached the area where Green was sitting before Capitol Police escorted him out.
Before Green exited, some Republicans began chanting “USA.”
“When I last spoke in this chamber 12 months ago, I had just inherited a nation in crisis, with a stagnant economy.”
Not quite.
Voters were unhappy with high inflation in the 2024 election, but the U.S. economy was far from stagnant.
U.S. gross domestic product rose 2.8% in 2024 after adjusting for inflation. That’s a stronger pace of growth than the 2.2% achieved last year during the start of Trump’s second term.
The president briefly greeted the four Supreme Court justices, shaking their hands before quickly moving on.
Representing the court were Chief Justice John Roberts, Elena Kagan and two of Trump’s appointees, Brett Kavanaugh and Elena Kagan.
The greetings were notable because Trump angrily lashed out at the court after the justices in a 6-3 opinion Friday struck down his tariffs, a signature element of his economic policy.
Roberts, Coney Barrett and another Trump appointee, Neil Gorsuch, joined the court’s three liberal justices in voting down the tariffs.
Although Trump’s overall presidential approval has remained largely steady in his first year, he’s lost support on his handling of immigration. An AP-NORC poll conducted in early February found that about 4 in 10 U.S. adults approve of the way he’s handling immigration, down from 49% last March.
That shift means that immigration is no longer a strength for Trump. In his first few months, his approval on immigration exceeded his overall approval, but now they’re indistinguishable.
The February poll suggested that political independents, in particular, are increasingly uncomfortable with the president’s aggressive immigration enforcement tactics.
“Our nation is back — bigger, better, richer and stronger than ever before.”
Trump opened with a triumphant assessment of his first year back in the White House, declaring, “this is the golden age of America.”
“USA!” chants erupted in the chamber after House Speaker Mike Johnson introduced the president.
The president immediately acknowledged first lady Melania Trump and second lady Usha Vance, who both received standing ovations from Republicans.
The congressman stood in silence as Trump walked past him after he unfurled the sign.
It appeared to refer to a video the president posted that spread false claims about the 2020 election and included a racist caricature of former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama depicted as apes.
The president received a standing ovation from across the chamber. Congressional Republicans, Supreme Court justices and the Joint Chiefs of Staff all clapped, and cheers could be heard from the crowd and gallery overlooking the House floor.
Most members of the Cabinet chatted with lawmakers. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Attorney General Pam Bondi shook hands with legislators, Supreme Court Justices and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff before taking their seats.
Hegseth chatted and laughed with generals. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick mingled with senators. Transportation Secretary Scott Duffy enthusiastically shook the hand of Rep. Al Green, a frequent Trump critic, approaching and speaking with a group of Democratic senators.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Scott Turner struck up conversations with lawmakers.
Republicans and attendees in the gallery overlooking the House floor cheered and whistled for the first lady as she waved to her fellow attendees.
Democrats stood, but few clapped.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Associate Justices Elena Kagan, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett took their seats directly in front of the dais where the president is set to speak.
Trump last week called justices “disloyal” after the high court delivered a ruling that struck down his tariff regime on imported goods.
“I couldn’t care less if they come,” he later said on whether the justices should attend tonight’s address.
Jon Favreau was lead writer for several Barack Obama addresses. He says the whole thing is relatively pointless.
“It’s become a relic of a speech that barely matters,” Favreau said on the social platform X. He argued that “the people who are paying attention tend to be politically engaged types who’ve already made up their minds.”
There is little political effect“ when the speech is a success” and “when it’s a disaster,” Favreau said.
There are rare occasions, of course, when it matters.
Democrat Joe Biden used his 2024 speech to calm his party’s concerns about his age as he sought reelection — only to have a disastrous debate performance months later that led to him dropping out.
Republicans are hoping Trump can achieve the same kind of stabilizing effect ahead of the November elections. And since it’s a midterm year, there’s no debate stage later for him to give voters another look.
Members of Congress from both parties shook hands with the nation’s top military brass, including Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The president left the White House at 8:33 p.m. and arrived at the Capitol at 8:41 p.m. His address is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m.
As lawmakers sit in the House chamber, the Department of Homeland Security remains shuttered, with its funding having run out Jan. 30.
Trump will use his address to blame the shutdown on Democrats, who have been insisting on changes to law enforcement practices by federal immigration agents before agreeing to fund the agency.
“As we speak, Democrats in this chamber have cut off all funding for the Department of Homeland Security. They have closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorists and murderers,” Trump will say in his address, according to excerpts released by the White House. “Tonight, I am demanding the full and immediate restoration of all funding for the border security and homeland security of the United States.”
White House officials have been trading policy offers with top Democratic leaders, but both sides have indicated they are not close to an agreement on ending the shutdown.
Vance and Senate Majority Leader John Thune shook hands with lawmakers as they entered.
Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer followed alongside the rest of the senators in attendance.
The gallery broke out into applause at the senators’ arrivals.
In 2024, House Speaker Mike Johnson instructed the House Sergeant of Arms to remove Green from the chamber after a verbal altercation with the president over the Trump administration’s early policies.
A Texas Democrat who last year twice mounted unsuccessful impeachment efforts, Green has been an ardent critic of Trump since the president’s first term.
On Tuesday night, he spoke on the floor with several lawmakers, including Rep. Shri Thanedar, a Michigan Democrat who also proposed failed impeachment legislation last year.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina made a provocative choice for a guest: David Ellison, the CEO of Paramount who is making a play to buy Warner Bros. Discovery.
Ellison and his tech billionaire father, Larry Ellison, have endeared themselves with Trump’s political movement.
The scion and Hollywood mogul is locked in a contest against Netflix to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery, and his presence at the address might serve as a signal for Republicans’ preferences regarding the deal.
“It’s a huge night for President Trump, and the stakes could not be higher,” anchor Anderson Cooper said at the open of CNN’s coverage Tuesday night.
“Can he convince the American public that his policies are working?” co-anchor Jake Tapper asked.
The cable news networks had hourlong pregame shows, and each started with different approaches.
“The State of the Union is always a big night, no matter who the president is,” Rachel Maddow said at the top on MS NOW, formerly MSNBC. “Tonight it definitely feels a little bit uniquely unpredictable.”
On Fox News Channel, Jesse Watters began his show with a focus on heroes, noting the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team visited the White House in the wake of its gold medal. Watters called it one of the most exciting, patriotic and unifying moments for the country in decades.
“Left or right, we’re all on the same team,” Watters said.
But he quickly pivoted to a political attack, criticizing some Democrats who announced they would not be attending.
Trump is delivering the speech, but his audience sitting in the House chamber has a big role, too. When Trump delivered his 2020 State of the Union, then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi theatrically ripped up a copy of the speech afterward, overshadowing much of what Trump said.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York has said in a letter to colleagues “it is important to have a strong, determined and dignified Democratic presence in the chamber,” indicating some members might choose not to attend in protest to Trump. But there’s also the possibility of Democrats razzing Trump as Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, did in 2025, leading him to be removed from the chamber.
“The Dream that has inspired generations of Americans and immigrants will remain long after Trump is gone.”
California Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla will outline a “better path” forward for the country in his Spanish-language response to the State of the Union address, according to excerpts released ahead of the speech.
“The truth is that the State of our Union does not feel strong for everyone,” Padilla plans to say.
Padilla’s remarks come after a high-profile confrontation last year in which he was shoved to the ground and briefly handcuffed by federal agents after confronting Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem during a Los Angeles news conference.
“They may have knocked me down for a moment, but I got right back up,” Padilla plans to say.
An hour before the president’s address was set to start, dozens of Republican and Democratic House members were already seated and trickling into the chamber.
Per usual, lawmakers generally stuck to their side of the chamber’s partisan divide, though some Democrats and Republicans could be seen mingling as it filled up. Some Democrats posed for photos with colleagues.
At least one senator, Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, was seated before any colleagues from her side of the Capitol arrived.
Few Americans, 29%, think the country is heading in the right direction, according to the most recent AP-NORC poll. Most, 69%, believe things are heading in the wrong direction.
That pessimism is higher than it was when Trump took office last year. Last March, about 6 in 10 Americans said the country was heading in the wrong direction.
That’s partially because Republicans’ mood grew much darker last fall, after the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Republicans are now more optimistic than they were a few months ago, but only about 6 in 10 say the country is heading in the right direction, down from about 7 in 10 last March.
Several Democratic members of Congress have invited guests to the State of the Union who they say highlight the cruelty and chaos of the president’s clampdown on immigration.
Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York has invited the mother of a New York City school student who is being held by immigration authorities, while Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado is bringing a college student who was arrested during a traffic stop and then detained in an ICE facility for more than two weeks.
U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas has invited a pediatric critical care specialist who has repeatedly called attention to the poor medical care that children and mothers can face in immigration detention. And guests of U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota include four people who were affected by the recent immigration crackdown in the Minneapolis area.
Lisa Phillips, who was invited by Democratic U.S. Rep. Maxine Dexter of Oregon to attend in her place, said she was “just hoping for some type of acknowledgment” from the president during his address.
Phillips said she is “really close” with the other Epstein survivors who are attending, and while she felt a bit overwhelmed before her first State of the Union, it is always empowering to “stand here with my survivor sisters.”
“We’re not stopping until all the files are released,” she said.
Here are some recent averages:
— Joe Biden: 1:07:22
— Barack Obama: 1:02:45
— George W. Bush: 52:35
— Lyndon Johnson: 50:38
— George H.W. Bush: 45:32
— Gerald Ford: 45:31
— Ronald Reagan: 40 minutes (approx.)
— Jimmy Carter: 36:53
— Richard Nixon: 35:26
Measured in words, the brevity award goes to George Washington for his first speech. On Jan. 8, 1790, he spoke 1,089 words.
The president will be entering a Capitol where lawmakers are at an impasse over funding the Department of Homeland Security as Democrats demand changes to how federal immigration agents conduct raids.
Legislation to fund the department failed to advance in the Senate yet again Tuesday evening as every Democrat present except Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against it. There has been little sign of movement toward an agreement to reopen DHS since it shut down 10 days ago.
At 11 years old, Everest Nevraumont has three regional history bee titles and her own TEDx talk. On Tuesday she’ll add another honor: guest to the first lady at the State of the Union.
“Like everybody in the entire world is watching it, and I’m right there in the same room,” Everest said in a Tuesday interview.
The first lady champions the use of artificial intelligence — one of Everest’s passions. Her TEDx talk explores how she uses AI to learn, and she’s a student at the Alpha School in Austin, Texas, where learning is powered by AI.
Everest said she’s been using AI tools to study the history of the State of the Union. She was thrilled to get a tour of the White House (she loved the paintings and the “poofy” furniture).
Being chosen to sit with the first lady reflects AI’s growing national importance, she said, and also that “academic achievements like the history bee actually really pay off.”
Speaking at a news conference with Senate Democrats, Dani Bensky said she and other victims want the Department of Justice to release “every single file,” to investigate those “who caused harm to so many victims” and to properly redact their information when files are released.
Bensky has said she was sexually abused by Epstein two decades ago. She said Tuesday that she felt victimized again when her information was exposed in a recent release of Epstein’s case files.
Schumer said “the American people deserve the truth and survivors deserve accountability.”
Democratic leaders say negotiations with the White House over reopening the Department of Homeland Security are at a stalemate as they demand changes to federal immigration enforcement.
The department’s funding expired Jan. 30. Schumer said Tuesday that Democrats “have heard crickets” from the White House since they sent a proposal to end the shutdown last week.
He said the White House “has not budged on the key issues” like requiring agents to take off masks and obtain warrants before entering homes. Federal agents shot and killed two protesters in Minneapolis last month.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that “until that changes, the DHS funding bill is not going to move forward.”
“There hasn’t been any real, recent communication with the White House,” Jeffries said.
Leavitt said Tuesday that Trump will call on Democrats to reopen the department in his State of the Union speech Tuesday evening.
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver Tuesday night’s Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union from Colonial Williamsburg, invoking the historic backdrop as she frames her message.
Colonial Williamsburg, a living history museum with restored 18th-century buildings and interpreters, is seen as the center of Virginia’s early opposition to British rule. Spanberger’s team says she plans to draw on that legacy and connect it to the country’s current political moment.
In her brief rebuttal, Spanberger is also expected to emphasize affordability — the message her team credits with helping her secure a double-digit victory in flipping a previously Republican-held office.
Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., arrive before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., arrive before President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump, walk out of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, to travel to the U.S. Capitol where he will deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Shown is the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, ahead of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Shown is the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, ahead of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Shown is the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, ahead of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Containers are stacked at the Port of Long Beach Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)
Allyson Phillips, the mother of Laken Riley, is hugged by President Donald Trump, during an event to proclaim "Angel Family Day" in the East Room of the White House, Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Shown is the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026, ahead of President Donald Trump's State of the Union address Tuesday. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
