President Donald Trump is ready to deal with a joint session of Congress on Tuesday — his first speech to Congress of his second time period.
His speech shall be his fifth public tackle earlier than a joint session of Congress, and comes at a time when Republicans maintain a trifecta with a GOP president and majorities in each the Home and the Senate.
This is what you’ll want to know in regards to the speech and the right way to watch.
President Donald Trump delivers a State of the Union tackle to a joint session of Congress on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2020.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures
When is it?
Trump will tackle a joint session of Congress on the Capitol on Tuesday, March 4, at 9 p.m. ET (8 p.m. CT; 6 p.m. PT).
Home Speaker Mike Johnson invited Trump to ship the joint tackle to Congress final month in order that Trump may share his “America First imaginative and prescient for our legislative future,” the speaker wrote in his invitation.
Speaker of the Home Mike Johnson delivers remarks after the Home handed the Republican’s funds decision on the spending invoice on February 25, 2025 on the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC.
Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Pictures
How can I watch and stream?
ABC Information could have particular protection of Trump’s speech from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on ABC and ABC Information Reside, which streams on Disney+, Hulu and different digital platforms as effectively.
“World Information Tonight” anchor and managing editor David Muir will lead the protection and be joined by ABC Information Reside “Prime” anchor and “World Information Tonight” Sunday anchor Linsey Davis, chief Washington correspondent and “This Week” co-anchor Jonathan Karl, chief world affairs correspondent and “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz, chief White Home correspondent Mary Bruce, chief justice correspondent Pierre Thomas, chief enterprise, economics and know-how correspondent Rebecca Jarvis, senior political correspondent Rachel Scott, nationwide correspondent Mireya Villarreal and multiplatform reporter Jay O’Brien.
ABC Information Digital could have wall-to-wall protection, together with a stay weblog with up-to-the-minute commentary on the most important themes of the tackle and response from ABC Information’ staff of specialists, notable moments and key takeaways from the night, and a reality verify. 538 could have data-driven previews and reactions to the tackle, too.
What’s an tackle to the joint session of Congress?
Since this speech shall be Trump’s first throughout his second time period, it isn’t known as a “State of the Union” — though each the tackle to the joint session and State of the Union are successfully the identical.
The tackle known as the State of the Union for the years that do not embrace the president’s inauguration.
The speech is a presidential duty mandated in the Constitution, which requires the president “sometimes to present to the Congress Data of the State of the Union.”
What’s Trump anticipated to say?
Trump, like different presidents, will take the chance to debate his agenda.
Since taking workplace, Trump has been aggressive in pushing his priorities, which embrace curbing what he sees as wasteful authorities spending by federal job cuts.
He’ll probably talk about these efforts in addition to his targets with immigration, overseas coverage and the financial system.
Who shall be there?
Trump’s speech will deliver all branches of presidency collectively as he’s joined by members of Congress and Supreme Court docket justices.
The speaker of the Home and the vp sit behind the president whereas he speaks. This speech will mark the primary time Vice President JD Vance shall be seated behind Trump for the tackle. Throughout his earlier administration, former Vice President Mike Pence was seated behind him.
Throughout his final State of the Union tackle in 2020, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi memorably ripped up a replica of Trump’s speech simply as he completed.
Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi rips up papers after President Donald Trump delivers a State of the Union tackle to a joint session of Congress on the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Feb. 4, 2020.
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg by way of Getty Pictures
Invited friends additionally attend the occasion. The White Home and members of Congress sometimes invite friends with particular backgrounds and tales which can be necessary to them each personally and politically — individuals they wish to thank, to honor and even to spotlight a specific problem.
The White Home has not but launched its listing of invited friends.
Who’s talking for the Democratic Get together?
Every year, the opposing occasion has a televised response to the president’s message. This 12 months, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin will ship the Democratic response following Trump’s tackle to Congress.
“The general public expects leaders to degree with them on what’s truly taking place in our nation. From our financial safety to our nationwide safety, we have got to chart a approach ahead that truly improves individuals’s lives within the nation all of us love, and I am trying ahead to laying that out,” Slotkin, a freshman senator, stated in an announcement.
Slotkin is a political survivor who gained her Senate seat in November by lower than 20,000 votes, although Trump carried the state on the presidential degree.
The previous CIA analyst and Pentagon official additionally served two phrases within the Home, after flipping a suburban Detroit seat in 2018. Trump gained her district by 4 factors in 2016 and misplaced it by .5 factors in 2020.
Democratic Rep. Adriano Espaillat, the chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, will ship the Spanish language response to Trump. He is the primary Dominican American — and previously undocumented immigrant — to serve in Congress.
ABC Information’ Benjamin Siegel contributed to this report.
