For the first time in five years, President Donald Trump will deliver an address to both houses of Congress tonight.
The upcoming speech follows weeks of his administration moving at breakneck speed, substantially reshaping the role of the executive branch after signing more than 100 executive actions in 42 days.
Both the Senate and House of Representatives, with Republicans holding a slim majority in each, will be critical in passing legislation to fund many of the president’s key campaign promises, including another round of sweeping tax cuts.
Meanwhile, various groups and nonprofits have filed more than 100 lawsuits challenging many of Trump’s executive actions since retaking office, and Democrats in Washington have accused his administration of creating a “constitutional crisis” and sidestepping Congress in unraveling certain agencies and freezing congressionally appropriated funds.
The president will also be speaking just days after a contentious meeting with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in the Oval Office that left an economic deal in limbo. Trump said he'd address his position on the minerals deal during the speech tonight.
Just last night, Trump paused military aid to Ukraine in a bid to pressure Zelenskyy to come to the negotiating table for peace talks.
The speech is at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Multiple radio stations and television broadcast networks will air Trump’s address live.
Viewers can also watch the speech on NTD, The Epoch Times’ sister media outlet, which will also stream the address live online in addition to cable and satellite feeds.
The evening will give Trump a chance to go over his agenda and the many sweeping policy changes he has enacted since his second inauguration last month.
The speech also follows a Feb. 28 White House meeting where the president and vice president clashed with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, throwing into doubt a potential cease-fire deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war.
While Zelenskyy has said he is ready to sign an economic proposal that would trade access to his nation’s rare earth minerals for U.S. military aid, the Trump administration is saying the deal is off the table, for now, following the Oval Office argument.
Trump is also expected to champion his government restructuring efforts through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which is tasked with auditing federal agencies to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse.
DOGE has worked closely with various agency heads to recommend steep cuts and mass firings throughout the federal bureaucracy, spurring a barrage of lawsuits from a growing list of groups, unions, and nonprofit organizations.
Tariffs will also likely come into play during Tuesday night’s speech.
25 percent tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports took effect today, after a one month delay. The tariffs were imposed over the countries’ roles in the flow of illegal immigrants and fentanyl into the United States.
Tariffs on China also increased to 20 percent today.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), who won her first term last year while Trump simultaneously carried Michigan by more than 80,000 votes, will give the Democrat response to the president’s address at 10 p.m. Eastern.
Slotkin’s ascension was also a victory for the Democrats in an election that saw them lose their Senate majority.
Democrats will likely reiterate their disagreement with Musk’s role in both DOGE and the federal government at large, while also hammering the Trump administration on prices and inflation.
—Jacob Burg
BOOKMARKS
Donald Trump has announced that the U.S will partner with a Taiwanese company to boost American microchip manufacturing. The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) plans to invest more than $100 billion to build factories in America over the next three years.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is demanding its employees reply to a March 3 email from the Trump administration asking them to summarize their recent accomplishments. The email asks employees for five bulleted points describing their recent work, but asks them to omit any sensitive information.
New York state is hoping to scoop up federal workers who have recently been laid off as part of government workforce cuts. The “federal government might say, ‘You’re fired’—but here in New York, we say, ‘You’re hired,’” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said recently.
U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is advocating for measles immunizations, following a recent outbreak in West Texas. “We must engage with communities to understand their concerns, provide culturally competent education, and make vaccines readily accessible for all those who want them,” Kennedy said.
—Stacy Robinson
