When President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, he is expected to outline his policy agenda with a focus on three pressing challenges: the war in Ukraine, tariffs, and a potential government shutdown.
This will be Trump’s first address to Congress since his 2020 State of the Union address, less than two months before the pandemic upended his first administration’s priorities. Trump’s talk will mark the only time a president has given a post-inaugural address to Congress after a five-year gap.
“Tomorrow will be big,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform March 3.
“I will tell it like it is!”
The 47th president’s address will begin at 9 p.m. EST.
As Emel Akan and Travis Gilmore detail below , via The Epoch Times, the circumstances are vastly different from when he last spoke to Congress, when he was facing impeachment proceedings. During his 2020 State of the Union address, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) sat behind the president and ripped her copy of his remarks in half in a dramatic scene at the conclusion.
After Republicans gained control of both chambers of Congress in the 2024 election, the party now holds a federal government trifecta. House Speaker Rep. Mike Johnson (R-La.) will be seated next to Vice President JD Vance behind Trump, with the tone now markedly in favor of the president’s agenda.
Security has been ramped up ahead of Trump’s speech. Capitol police announced about two dozen road closures in effect in the area around the Capitol, and tour buses will be redirected away from the complex.
A temporary, 7-foot steel security fence–which is theoretically non-scalable– completely surrounding the grounds was installed in the days before the talk to counter protesters potentially intent on disrupting the proceedings.
The theme of the address will be “Renewal of the American Dream,” according to a White House official.
The speech will consist of four main sections, the official told The Epoch Times: his achievements since taking office, his actions to reduce inflation, the need for additional border security funding, and his plans for global peace.
President Donald Trump delivers the State of the Union address as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Vice President Mike Pence look on in the chamber of the House of Representatives on Feb. 4, 2020. Mark Wilson/Getty Images
Ukraine War, Funding Crisis, and New Tariffs
Trump is facing a trio of challenges.
His address to the joint session of Congress follows a tense meeting at the White House on Feb. 28 between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, which led to the collapse of a minerals deal between the United States and Ukraine. During his speech, Trump is expected to share his plans to end the war in Ukraine.
“I think it takes two to tango, and you’re going to have to make a deal with Russia, and you’re going to have to make a deal with Ukraine,” Trump said at the White House on March 3. “I think everybody has to get into a room, so to speak, and we have to make a deal, and the deal can be made very fast.”
After his comments, the Trump administration announced that it would pause aid to Ukraine.
“The president has been clear that he is focused on peace. We need our partners to be committed to that goal as well,” a White House official said in a statement. “We are pausing and reviewing our aid to ensure that it is contributing to a solution.”
Trump also faces a domestic crisis as government funding is set to expire in 10 days unless a budget agreement is reached.
Since December 2024, the government has been operating under a continuing resolution (CR), and Trump recently urged Congress to pass a temporary funding bill to cover the rest of the 2025 fiscal year.
“We are working very hard with the House and Senate to pass a clean, temporary government funding bill (CR) to the end of September. Let’s get it done!” Trump said in a Truth Social post on Feb. 27.
Yet Democratic votes will be necessary to pass any funding bill to avert a government shutdown on March 14. Republicans, who have 53 members in the Senate, will need the support of at least seven Democratic senators to pass the funding, which could prove challenging.
Democrats want to insert language in the funding bill to ensure that the money will be spent and not withheld, a reaction to Elon Musk’s effort to shrink the government.
Trump’s speech will also occur against the backdrop of ongoing tariff disputes, as the president is set to announce tariffs on Mexico and Canada the same day.
The president already doubled the additional 10 percent tariff on Chinese imports on March 3.
Trump revealed his plans last week, stating that fentanyl, supplied by China, continues to be smuggled into the United States through the northern and southern borders at “unacceptable levels.”
During his speech, Trump is expected to make the case for high tariffs, referring to them as “the most beautiful word,” a phrase he has been using frequently in recent speeches.
He is also expected to talk about his plans to impose reciprocal tariffs on all nations on April 2.
Many Democrats have argued that the proposed tariffs will drive up inflation, putting additional strain on household budgets.
President Donald Trump and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meet in the Oval Office on Feb. 28, 2025. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
Trump to Tout Accomplishments
The president is also expected to tout his achievements after a whirlwind first six weeks of his second term, which included 75 executive orders signed as of March 3.
After prioritizing border security during his campaign, Trump signed 10 orders clamping down on illegal immigration and instructing federal law enforcement agencies to immediately begin rounding up and deporting criminal illegal aliens, first focusing on those with violent backgrounds.
Since initiating the change, illegal border crossings have plummeted 94 percent, according to Border Patrol Chief Mike Banks.
In his address, the president will urge Congress to approve additional funding for border security, including funds for deportations and the ongoing construction of the wall along the southern border, according to the White House.
Much fanfare has been made about Trump’s establishment of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), overseen by special government employee Elon Musk, tasked with cutting what the president has repeatedly described as illegitimate expenditures.
As part of a process to streamline government, DOGE has eliminated contracts and leases worth about $105 billion so far, with a stated goal of cutting $2 trillion worth of federal spending.
While some critics are decrying Musk as an “unelected bureaucrat” and questioning his role, the president has persistently defended the tech leader. During his speech, Trump is expected to continue defending DOGE’s efforts and Musk’s leadership.
Trump is focused on taming inflation and bringing down prices to alleviate financial burdens on millions of Americans after four years of rapidly increasing consumer goods costs. In his address, he is expected to outline his plans to reduce inflation, revitalize U.S. manufacturing, and boost economic growth.
Another priority for the president is to extend and perhaps expand the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which became law during his first term and is set to expire at the end of this year. He has also proposed eliminating taxes on tips and Social Security benefits.
The president is looking to secure passage of bills advancing his agenda, but Republicans hold only a slim three-seat majority in the House and Democrats have been staunch opponents.
Across the nation, Democratic attorneys general are challenging Trump’s executive orders, with at least 80 lawsuits already filed targeting the president’s move to end birthright citizenship, among other things.
Dems Plot Disruptions
Meanwhile, Axios reports that Democratic lawmakers are planning to protest during Trump's speech - "including through outright disruption" (because they've obviously accepted the results of the election?).
"The part that we all agree on is that this is not business as usual and we would like to find a way — productively — to express our outrage," one House Democrat told the outlet.
More via Axios:
What we're hearing: Some members have told colleagues they may walk out of the chamber when Trump says specific lines they find objectionable, lawmakers told Axios.
- Criticism of transgender kids was brought up as a line in the sand that could trigger members to storm out, according to a House Democrat.
A wide array of props — including noisemakers — has also been floated:
- Signs with anti-Trump or anti-DOGE messages — just as Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) held up a sign during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech last year that said "war criminal."
- Eggs or empty egg cartons to highlight how inflation is driving up the price of eggs.
- Pocket constitutions to make the case that Trump has been violating the Constitution by shutting down congressionally authorized agencies.
- Hand clappers, red cards and various other props have also been discussed, multiple sources said.
The intrigue: In closed-door meetings and on the House floor Monday night, lawmakers were specifically discouraged from using props, two House Democrats told Axios.
