Name: Trump to Address Joint Session of Congress Tonight—What to Know
Uploaded: 2025-03-05T01:58:15.000Z
Description: President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. The speech will mark the first congressional address of Trump’s second White House term.

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President Donald Trump is set to deliver remarks to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. The speech will mark the first congressional address of Trump’s second White House term.

The commander-in-chief will address lawmakers in a packed House chamber on March 4 at 9 p.m. ET.

Here's what to know about Trump's speech to the joint session of Congress:
<h2>Why Is Trump Addressing Congress?</h2>
A joint session is a gathering of members from the two chambers of the U.S. Congress: the House of Representatives and the Senate.

Earlier this year, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) invited Trump to share his America First vision for the legislative session of the 119th Congress, an invitation that is a time-honored tradition with every president.

“America’s Golden Age has begun,” Johnson <a href="https://www.speaker.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/1.25.25-Letter-to-POTUS-re-Joint-Session.pdf">wrote</a> in his Jan. 25 invitation. “Thanks to your strong leadership and bold action in the first days of your presidency, the United States is already experiencing a resurgence of patriotism, unity, and hope for the future."

"Your administration and the 119th Congress working together have the chance to make these next four years some of the most consequential in our nation’s history. To that end, it is my distinct honor and great privilege to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, to share your America First vision for our legislative future.”

Joint sessions are typically held in the Chamber of the House of Representatives and traditionally presided over by the speaker of the House. Vice President JD Vance is not expected to speak, although he will be positioned next to House Speaker Mike Johnson behind the president as Trump delivers his address at the center dais.

The speech is not considered a State of the Union address—which normally happens in the following three years of a president's term—but it will strike a similar tone and allow Trump to share his priorities for his second term.
<h2>What Will Trump Discuss?</h2>
The president weighed in on his speech in a Truth Social Post on Monday.

"TOMORROW NIGHT WILL BE BIG," <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114098542644386176">Trump wrote</a>. "I WILL TELL IT LIKE IT IS!"

Trump's speech will likely be very different from his <a href="https://trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov/briefings-statements/remarks-president-trump-joint-address-congress/">previous remarks</a> at his 2017 joint session of Congress, as the political landscape has changed drastically.

It comes on the heels of Trump's <a href="https://www.ntd.com/zelenskyy-needs-to-come-to-his-senses-or-be-replaced-johnson-says_1051117.html">explosive conversation</a> with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy about bringing an end to the ongoing war with Russia and a proposed agreement that would have allowed the United States greater access to Ukraine’s rare earth minerals as a way for the country to compensate U.S. aid.  The Oval Office blowup garnered global attention and prompted speculation about the future of U.S. assistance amid the war between Ukraine and Russia.

The speech also comes as Trump and his administration implement sweeping changes to restructure the federal government, spearheaded by advice from the rebranded Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). The advisory panel, led by Elon Musk, has been tasked by Trump to weed out waste and fraud in the federal government. Since its inception, DOGE has targeted various departments and federal agencies, slashed contracts, and cut down the federal workforce.

Trump will likely also discuss the dozens of executive orders he signed shortly after his return to power, including his crackdown on illegal immigration. Ending federal diversity initiatives across all departments and federal agencies will also likely be a topic of the president's speech.
<h2>How Will Congress Respond?</h2>
Republicans will likely stand and applaud the president's remarks. Democrats, however, could sit in silence as a sign of protest against the president or even choose to express their thoughts out loud.

In <a href="https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-nancy-pelosi-ap-top-news-michael-pence-politics-f8edd0389a1a8ba41322e0e34098aafb">2020</a>, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up Trump's printed speech as he wrapped up his State of the Union address, later calling it a "manifesto of mistruths."

During Trump's State of the Union address in <a href="https://apnews.com/article/7f9b2e08d8e64ac6be91b5c81e7851ba">2019,</a> the women in the House wore white, the color for suffragists, as a nod to their achievement of having more women than ever in the lower chamber.

However, in a more formal manner, it is typical for the other party to issue an official response to a president's address to the joint session of Congress.

This time around, Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) was chosen by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) to deliver the Democrat response to Trump's address.

“I'm looking forward to speaking directly to the American people next week," Slotkin said in a <a href="https://x.com/SenatorSlotkin/status/1895169202656550959">statement</a> on social media platform X. "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."

Notably, Slotkin unseated a Republican to win her House seat in 2018 during Trump's first term in office and won her current Senate seat in November 2024, even as Trump <a href="https://apnews.com/projects/election-results-2024/michigan/?r=0">won</a> the swing state of Michigan.

Slotkin's rebuttal will offer Democrats a chance to lay out their alternative vision to Trump's agenda. Democrats have been trying to position themselves against Trump’s legislative priorities but it has been an uphill battle since the GOP has a majority of both chambers of Congress. Republicans have moved aggressively to implement the president's agenda after the GOP won a trifecta in the 2024 election, controlling the House, Senate, and presidency.

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