Trump airs familiar grievances, charts MAGA plan in address before bitterly divided Congress
Sen. Elissa Slotkin delivered the Democratic response to Trump's address.
President Donald Trump addressed a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night, six weeks into his historic return to the White House.
During the speech, Trump said "America is back" and defended the tariffs on key U.S. trading partners. He touched on immigration and the mineral deal with Ukraine, but neglected to go into detail on his economic plan. The speech was also met with protests and disruptions from Democrats.
Key headlines:
- Slotkin encourages concerned Americans not to despair and organize
- Slotkin: Reagan 'rolling in his grave' over Trump's foreign policy approach
- Slotkin slams DOGE, Trump over mass firings of federal workers
- Slotkin criticizes Musk's power in government
- Slotkin starts with economy, says Trump talked a 'big game'
Melania Trump receives standing applause
First lady Melania Trump has entered the chamber to a standing ovation. Her guests tonight include freed American Marc Fogel, the family of Corey Comperatore and the mother of Laken Riley.
FBI director arrives
In a rare move, the FBI director is in attendance at the president's speech tonight.
Director Kash Patel has arrived to the House chamber.
-ABC News' Pierre Thomas
Members of Congress wear blue and yellow for Ukraine
In support of Ukraine, members of Congress sport blue and yellow attire, including ties and scarves.
Four sitting members of SCOTUS attend address
Four sitting members of the U.S. Supreme Court are in attendance for Trump's address tonight: Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice Elena Kagan, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, and Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Retired Justice Anthony Kennedy is also present.
This is a slightly smaller showing from the court compared with recent presidential addresses to Congress as six attended in 2024, five attended in 2023, and five attended in 2022.
During Trump's first term, however, only four justices ever attended each of Trump's addresses before Congress.
Trump will shake hands with and speak before members of the Supreme Court at a time when his administration is seeking its emergency intervention in two pending cases related to his executive actions -- one involving his power to fire any employee of the executive branch for any reason, and the other involving his power to freeze foreign aid that Congress has authorized for specific programs.
To date, the Supreme Court has not yet weighed in in any meaningful way on Trump's asserted presidential powers during his second term.
– ABC News’ Devin Dwyer