President Donald Trump is hours away from delivering his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill on Tuesday at 9pm ET, and the president is eager to show the results of his economic promises.
The speech comes at a perilous time for Trump, with polls showing him faltering on issues such as the economy with midterm elections less than nine months away. These elections threaten to change Republican control of Washington.
President Trump is scheduled to speak as he awaits a new ruling from the high court on how much power he has over the Federal Reserve, days after the Supreme Court overturned the tariffs that underpinned much of his economic policy. President Trump is also considering military action in Iran to counter the prolonged Department of Homeland Security shutdown spurred by Democratic concerns about law enforcement overreach at the department.
Democrats are grilling President Trump and incumbent Republicans on affordability, a tactic that worked well in off-year elections in 2025 after Republicans used affordability to their advantage in 2024. White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt told CNBC that Trump will offer an “ambitious agenda to continue restoring the American dream to working people,” and the president’s speech is expected to focus on the economy.
As is customary during the first year of a presidential term, Tuesday night will be Trump’s first official State of the Union address in his second term since he delivered a joint address to Congress last year.
The State of the Union address is both a constitutional obligation and an opportunity for the president to express his political agenda to Congress and the nation. The speech is typically attended by members of both chambers of Congress, Supreme Court justices, military leaders and the president’s cabinet, but some Democratic lawmakers are boycotting it and planning to hold an alternative event outside the Capitol.
Democratic Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger plans to deliver a Democratic rebuttal immediately after President Trump’s speech. Mr. Spanberger easily won the Virginia Executive Mansion in 2025 with a message focused on affordability. Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) retorts in Spanish.
