President Trump will address the joint meeting of Congress at 9 p.m. Tuesday, and is expected to develop a positive agenda for re-forming the federal government and changing U.S. foreign policy in his first prime-time speech on his second term.
Mr. Trump is expected to talk about full-scale shooting that affects nearly every corner of the federal government. He is also likely to resolve tensions with Ukraine after the Oval Office exploded last week with the country’s leaders as he tried to improve ties with Russia as he dealt with key minerals in Ukraine.
The president may mention the government’s crackdown on illegal border crossings, which is linked to a decrease in immigration across the southern border, and his legislative push on tax and spending cuts that could increase the federal deficit by hundreds of billions of dollars.
This is what you need to know.
Where can I see it?
The New York Times will conduct on-site analysis through reporters on NYTIMES.com. The speech will also be conducted on the main TV network and cables.
Who will respond?
Democrats chose Elissa Slotkin, the first Democratic Senator from Michigan, to respond to Mr. Trump’s speech. Ms. Slotkin, 48, nearly won her Senate seat in November at the swingman brought by Mr. Trump. She was first elected to the House of Representatives with other centrist Democratic women who have backgrounds in military or intelligence and were recruited as a counterweight for Mr. Trump. Ms. Slotkin served as a CIA analyst and held national security positions for Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
Adriano Espaillat, the representative of the New York Democrat, whose Hispanic majority, including Upper Manhattan and parts of the Bronx, will respond in Spanish to Mr. Trump’s speech. He was the first Dominican American and the first immigrant to have not proven to serve in Congress before. As a state legislator, Mr. Espaillat strongly supports the New York policy, which allows undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver’s license. The Trump administration has sued the state for national policies.
Progressive Democrats chose California’s representative Latefah Simon, who was elected as an open seat in the East Bay area in November in response. Ms. Simon, the first member of Congress to be born blind, will provide a response from the Working Family Party.
Who will participate?
The president and the first lady usually invite guests to sit in the first lady’s box during speeches.
First lady Melania Trump invited Elliston Berry, a teenage victim of AI-generated pornography, as well as Ms. Berry’s mother and stepfather. Legislators from both sides have been pushing for a bill that criminalizes the conduct of explicitly published images without consent and requires social media platforms to delete them.
Speaker Mike Johnson invited Mr. Trump to the White House “Border Tsar” Tom Homan, Olivia Hayes’ husband Wesley Hayes, in a car accident involving an undocumented immigrant who drove under the influence of alcohol. Sen. Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, said she plans to invite Sarah Root’s father, Scott Root, who was killed in 2016 by a drunk driver who was illegally in the country.
In a State of the Union address by President Joseph R. Biden last year, Republicans wore pins and T-shirts to portray Laken Riley, the nursing student killed by an undocumented Venezuelan immigrant, in support of Mr. Trump’s immigration agenda.
Democratic lawmakers invite those fired by quick and indistinguishable federal employees from the Trump administration. Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat in Minnesota, will welcome Kate Severson, one of about 1,000 National Park Service employees who were suddenly fired on February 14. Illinois representative Brad Schneider will bring 20 years of Army veteran Adam Mulvey.
