Trump to lay out second-term vision in address to Congress
Donald Trump will deliver his first address to Congress since returning to the White House, where he is expected to lay out his second-term vision after a radical start that has dramatically reshaped both domestic and foreign policy.
Trump’s address, which will begin at 9pm ET from the chamber of the House of Representatives, marks his first major speech six weeks into a presidency that has seen the president empowering Elon Musk to dramatically downsize the federal workforce, threatening American’s allies with tariffs and coddling longtime American foes.
His administration has initiated sweeping mass layoffs of federal employees, mobilized officers from nearly every federal law enforcement agency and the US military to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations, and rattled Europe with his pursuit of a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine on terms preferential to Moscow.
Trump is also preparing to announce a minerals deal with Ukraine in his address this evening, according to a report, despite his advisers cautioning that a deal has yet to be signed and that the situation could be changed.
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One in three Americans approve of Donald Trump’s handling of the cost of living, a sign of unease as he enacts steep tariffs on imports that are stoking inflation worries, according to a new survey.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll showed Trump’s approval ratings below 40% on a range of issues, including the economy, foreign policy and corruption. The notable exception was his 49% approval rating on immigration policy.
The poll showed that 31% of Americans approve of Trump’s handling of the cost of living, a marginal three percentage point decline from 34% in a previous poll.
On Trump’s plan to condition Washington’s support for Kyiv on a US-Ukraine minerals deal, 46% of respondents supported conditioning US aid on minerals wealth, compared to 50% who opposed the idea.
Despite Trump appearing to blame Ukraine for starting the war, 70% of respondents - including three-quarters of Democrats and two-thirds of Republicans - agreed that Russia was more to blame than Ukraine for starting the war.
Some 59% of respondents said they supported the idea of downsizing the federal government, although only 40% of poll respondents said they backed firing tens of thousands of federal workers.
Democrats to bring fired federal workers to Trump speech
Joseph Gedeon
Democrats have invited several workers who were fired in Donald Trump’s mass purge of the federal government to attend, in an attempt to embarrass Trump over the unbridled assault on the federal bureaucracy.
Fired federal workers will include Alissa Ellman, a disabled veteran recently dismissed from the Buffalo veterans affairs office, who will attend as Senate leader Chuck Schumer’s guest.
Michael Missal, the former inspector general for the Department of Veterans Affairs, was invited by Connecticut senator Richard Blumenthal.
Jason King, a disabled veteran fired from the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety division, will be a guest of Senator Tim Kaine.
Andrew Lennox, a Marine veteran removed from a VA hospital administration role, was invited by Senator Elissa Slotkin.
Elissa Slotkin, the newly-elected Michigan senator, will give the Democratic party’s rebuttal to Donald Trump’s address to Congress.
It’s a high-profile platform for the 48-year-old former CIA analyst, who won a competitive Senate seat in November.
Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said Slotkin will “offer a bold vision of hope, unity, and a brighter future for everyone, not just the wealthy few at the top”.
In a social media post, Slotkin said she was “looking forward to speaking directly to the American people next week”.
The public expects leaders to level with them on what’s actually happening in our country. From our economic security to our national security, we’ve got to chart a way forward that actually improves people’s lives in the country we all love, and I’m looking forward to laying that out.
Several Democratic lawmakers to boycott Trump's speech
Several Democrats in both chambers of Congress are planning to boycott Donald Trump’s address tonight.
Senator Patty Murray from Washington, one of the most senior Democratic senators, will not attend Trump’s speech. Oregon senator Ron Wyden plans to instead host an online town hall.
Senator Martin Heinrich from New Mexico also said he would be boycotting Trump’s speech. “This White House, this president, is so radically out of bounds for what is normal that I felt it was important to make that point,” Heinrich said.
New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she will also not be attending, as has two lawmakers representing Virginia, congressmen Gerry Connolly and Don Beyer.
Kweisi Mfume, a Democratic congressman from Maryland, said Donald Trump and Elon Musk are “destroying the state of the union.”
“I don’t need to be there to watch him claim otherwise,” Mfume said.
According to Axios, some Democratic lawmakers are considering walking out during specific moments of the speech, particularly during comments about transgender children, while others plan more subtle demonstrations – from wearing coordinated colors like pink or black to sitting stone-faced and refusing to applaud.
Who is on Trump's guest list?
Mike Johnson, the Republican House speaker, will preside over the joint session, alongside vice-president JD Vance, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.
The carefully curated guest list, assembled by the White House and congressional leaders, appears like a roadmap for a competing cultural vision, touching on everything from transgender athletes, immigration and the federal worker purge – each with a story to tell.
The first lady, Melania Trump, will host Allyson and Lauren Phillips, mother and sister of Laken Riley, a college student allegedly murdered by a Venezuelan migrant.
Alongside them will sit Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter was killed by undocumented immigrants last June.
Two guests will underscore the administration’s hard line on transgender issues: Payton McNabb, a high school volleyball player who claims to have sustained a concussion from a transgender athlete, and January Littlejohn, a parent who sued a school board over gender identity transitions.
Johnson has invited rightwing commentators Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh, alongside Riley Gaines, an activist who has campaigned against transgender participation in women’s sports.
The House oversight committee chairman James Comer and the judiciary committee chairman Jim Jordan will host IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler.
But the biggest name coming out of Trump’s camp is so-called “department of government efficiency” leader Elon Musk, who has become more and more unpopular by the week. He will be in the House chamber as a living emblem of the administration’s most aggressive governance strategy that has the potential to cut hundreds of thousands of federal jobs across the country.
The theme of Donald Trump’s address to Congress will be the “renewal of the American dream”, the White House said.
House speaker Mike Johnson formally invited Trump to speak to Congress in January.
In his letter, Johnson invited the president to share his “America First vision for our legislative future”.
Stephen Miller, the White House’s deputy chief of staff, said:
It’s an opportunity for President Trump, as only he can, to lay out the last month of record-setting, record-breaking, unprecedented achievements and accomplishments.
How to watch Trump's address to Congress
Donald Trump’s address to Congress will begin at 9pm ET on Tuesday 4 March in Washington DC.
He will deliver remarks from the chamber of the House of Representatives.
Major news networks are likely to broadcast the address live. PBS will carry a live stream on its YouTube page.
Trump to lay out second-term vision in address to Congress
Donald Trump will deliver his first address to Congress since returning to the White House, where he is expected to lay out his second-term vision after a radical start that has dramatically reshaped both domestic and foreign policy.
Trump’s address, which will begin at 9pm ET from the chamber of the House of Representatives, marks his first major speech six weeks into a presidency that has seen the president empowering Elon Musk to dramatically downsize the federal workforce, threatening American’s allies with tariffs and coddling longtime American foes.
His administration has initiated sweeping mass layoffs of federal employees, mobilized officers from nearly every federal law enforcement agency and the US military to carry out his campaign promise of mass deportations, and rattled Europe with his pursuit of a peace deal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine on terms preferential to Moscow.
Trump is also preparing to announce a minerals deal with Ukraine in his address this evening, according to a report, despite his advisers cautioning that a deal has yet to be signed and that the situation could be changed.
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