President Trump to lay out his midterm agenda with State of the Union Address

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, March 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Ben Curtis)

President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address tonight at 8PM CST is likely to be a test run of the message Republicans will give to voters in November’s elections for control of the House and the Senate.

The president and his party appear vulnerable, with polls showing much of America disapproves of how Trump has managed the government in his first year back in office. In addition, the Supreme Court last week struck down one of the chief levers of his economic and foreign policy by ruling he lacked the power to impose many of his sweeping tariffs.

Though Trump is expected to focus on domestic issues, his intensifying threats about launching military strikes on Iran over its nuclear program could become a bigger issue.

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will give the Democratic Party response following Trump’s speech. California Sen. Alex Padilla, who made national headlines last year after being forced to the ground and handcuffed by federal agents, will deliver the party’s response in Spanish.

Some Democrats in Minnesota’s congressional delegation are using their privilege of inviting guests to President Donald Trump’s State of the Union speech to protest his administration’s immigration crackdown.

Rep. Ilhan Omar, of Minneapolis, invited four people impacted by Operation Metro Surge. They include Aliya Rahman, a disabled U.S. citizen who was filmed being pulled from her car by ICE officers on her way to a medical appointment; and Mary Granlund, chair of the Columbia Heights School Board, who championed 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, an Ecuadorian boy who was detained with his father and sent to a detention center in Texas.

But GOP Rep. Pete Stauber, from northeastern Minnesota, invited two conservative YouTubers — Nick Shirley and David Hoch — whose report alleging fraud at Minnesota child care centers caught Trump’s attention and provided an impetus for the surge.

Erika Kirk will be among Trump’s guests in the House chamber, press secretary says. Charlie Kirk’s widow will be one of the president’s guests.

The White House says the guests who will sit with the first lady in the House gallery during the speech include:

Ten-year-old Everest Nevraumont, a student at the Alpha School in Austin, Texas, where learning is powered by artificial intelligence. Everest is a public speaker and advocate for AI education who gave a TEDx talk on how she uses the technology in her learning.

The first lady champions the use of AI and launched the Presidential AI Challenge, a White House-sponsored contest for students.

Foster care advocate Sierra Burns, 24, of Greenville, South Carolina. Burns grew up in foster care and benefited from the first lady’s Foster Youth to Independence Program. Last year, Melania Trump secured $30 million in funding to help young people transition out of foster care.

The women of the House Democratic Women’s Caucus and their guests, including a number of survivors of Jeffrey Epstein’s sexual abuse, are dressing in all white for the address this evening, modeling themselves after the early 20th-century women who pressed for the right to vote and other rights.

“Tonight, when Donald Trump looks out into the chamber, he will see a wall of white,” said Democratic Rep. Jill Tokuda of Hawaii.

The House speaker said Democrats protest everything, from the president’s joint address to the administration’s immigration enforcement crackdown.

“It’s shameful,” Johnson said.

He said the Democrats have nothing to offer but their “TDS agenda” — what the president’s supporters call “Trump Derangement Syndrome” by those opposed to the president’s policies.

The president will have multiple guests in the House gallery, including some who will make for touching moments, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

“You’re going to hear the President share the stories of everyday Americans who have benefited from his policies,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House. “You’re gunna hear the president share tear-jerking stories of American heroes past and present who really exemplify what it means to be a patriotic American.”

Trump’s guests will include a worker who is benefitting from a new tax exemption on tip and overtime income and a woman who is saving money on infertility treatments.

“He’ll be sharing these stories again of every day Americans who are benefiting from his policies,” Leavitt said on Fox & Friends.

“You’re going to hear a speech that’s a celebration of 250 years of our nation and our nation’s independence,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters at the White House.

Trump will tell stories about “everyday Americans who have benefited from his policies” and also share “tear-jerking stories of American heroes, past and present, who really exemplify what it means to be a patriotic American,” she said.

The United States will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence on July 4.

(Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Click here for more local news.