Overview
- President Donald Trump is scheduled to speak Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET in the House chamber, marking the first State of the Union delivered during a federal funding lapse as DHS agencies including TSA and FEMA remain unfunded.
- Facing sagging approval ratings, Trump has signaled a lengthy address focused on arguing he has lowered living costs and on resetting his economic message ahead of the midterms.
- The Supreme Court struck down many of Trump’s emergency tariffs in a ruling warning against presidential overreach, and reporting says he has invoked a separate authority to impose a 15% across-the-board tariff for 150 days unless Congress extends it.
- Democrats are mounting boycotts, silent protests, and counter-events on the National Mall, with Gov. Abigail Spanberger delivering the party’s official rebuttal and Sen. Alex Padilla offering a Spanish-language response.
- The speech occurs as Democrats demand guardrails on immigration enforcement after two U.S. citizens were killed by federal agents during protests, a dispute that has fueled the DHS funding standoff and energized organized demonstrations.