Live updates: Trump delivers State of the Union address

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump will stand before Congress on Tuesday night to deliver the annual State of the Union address to a suddenly transformed nation.

One year back in office, Trump has emerged as a president defying conventional expectations. He has executed a head-spinning agenda, upending priorities at home, shattering alliances abroad and challenging the nation’s foundational system of checks and balances. Two Americans were killed by federal agents while protesting the Trump administration’s immigration raids and mass deportations.

Here is the latest news:

Trump announces ‘war on fraud’

The president said he’s appointing Vance to run the effort, a familiar theme.

Trump and his administration have been talking about fraud for months in several government programs, saying it’s far worse than previous government reports have found. It has not detailed data showing that to be the case.

The administration has already tried to cut off funding for child care subsidies, cash assistance and job training for low-income families and other social programs for five states where it says there was "reason to believe" benefits were going to people in the country illegally.

So far courts have sided with the states and the money has continued to flow.

Trump quips about a third term

Trump made the aside during a discussion of health care when he began to talk about creating the Trump RX web site "in the first year of my second term – it should be my third term. But strange things happen."

There was a lot going on in that aside. Trump is, of course, limited to two presidential terms but has repeatedly mused about seeking a third. He also continues to claim he didn’t really lose the 2020 election – but, of course he did.

So far, in the first hour of his speech, it was the closest Trump’s come to mentioning his longtime obsession about explaining away his 2020 loss.

Trump pitches savings plan for workers without retirement accounts

"I’m announcing that next year my administration will give these often forgotten American workers great people, the people that built our country access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker. We will match your contribution with up to $1,000 each year, as we ensure that all Americans can profit from a rising stock market."

Roughly 56 million Americans lack access to a retirement plan through their employer, according to the AARP.

Lawmakers have proposed several pieces of federal legislation intended to improve retirement security for American workers, including the bipartisan Retirement Savings for Americans Act and the Automatic IRA Act.

Trump touts his health care proposal

Trump is referring to a health care proposal he pitched to congressional Republicans in January, in hopes that they would turn it into legislation to make health care more affordable. No such legislation has gotten enough momentum to pass yet.

His pitch, a general outline of ideas he wants turned into law, calls for sending money directly to Americans in health savings accounts so they can handle health costs as they see fit.

Democrats have rejected the idea as a paltry substitute for Affordable Care Act tax credits that had helped lower monthly premiums for many people before the Republican-led Congress let them expire in the new year.

Trump promises to allow migrants who ‘love our country’

Trump has actually taken steps to restrict who can emigrate to the U.S. often in the name of protecting national security.

He suspended the refugee program on his first day in office and in October resumed the program but only in limited numbers for white South Africans.

Trump has also placed restrictions on who can travel or emigrate to the U.S. from nearly 40 countries around the world. Many of those countries are in Africa.

Trump touts falling fentanyl seizures as sign of policy success

Trump appears to be referring to fentanyl seizures, not the amount of fentanyl that got through undetected, which is unknown.

Fentanyl seizures at U.S. land borders and airports started dropping in 2023 and have continued to fall during Trump’s first year in office. Fentanyl seizures on the Mexican border dropped at 50% annual clip in October and at a 22% annual clip in January, the latest data available.

Monthly seizures were regularly above a half-ton before Trump took office but fell below that mark for 10 of his first 12 months as president. Trump has heavily pressured Mexico to increase enforcement but it’s unclear what is driving the decline.

Trump says US has received over 80 million barrels of Venezuelan oil

The president said the U.S. has received more than 80 million barrels of oil from its "new friend and partner, Venezuela."

That exceeds what his administration had initially projected in the days after the U.S. military carried out a stunning raid in Venezuela’s capital last month and captured then-President Nicolás Maduro.

Venezuela’s oil industry produces roughly 1 million barrels a day. The country has the world’s largest proven oil reserves.

Trump vowed to turn around Venezuela’s crippling oil industry after Maduro was captured and taken to New York to face drug trafficking charges.

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US Men’s Olympic Hockey team receives standing ovation and chants of ‘USA’ 

Trump announced that he will award the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Team USA hockey goalie Connor Hellebuyck. Trump said the award has been given to "many athletes over the years."

Hellebuyck made 41 saves, many of them spectacular, during the United States’ 2-1 victory over Canada for the gold medal at the Milan Cortina Games.

In his first term, Trump honored athletes including golfer Tiger Woods and football players Alan Page and Roger Staubach with the Medal of Freedom. He also awarded it posthumously to baseball great Babe Ruth.

Trump says the economy is doing great. Most Americans disagree

Trump has praised the U.S. economy tonight, but AP-NORC polling shows that most Americans don’t think the country is doing well economically.

About two-thirds of U.S. adults continue to say the country’s economy is "poor." That’s unchanged from recent months, and it’s broadly in line with views throughout Biden’s last year in office.

Republicans are the exception. About 6 in 10 say the economy is good. But even within Trump’s own party, a significant share — about 4 in 10 — describe it as poor.

Rep. Al Green is escorted from the chamber as Republicans chant ‘USA’

The House Sergeant at Arms approached and escorted Green, who stood as Trump began speaking with a sign reading "Black People Aren’t Apes!" from the chamber barely two minutes into the address.

Two Trump allies, Rep. Troy Nehls of Texas and Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, had approached the area where Green was sitting before Capitol Police escorted him out.

Before Green exited, some Republicans began chanted "USA."

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Trump declares "Golden Age of America"

In his remarks, President Donald Trump declared that America has entered a "golden age," celebrating what he described as a dramatic national revival. Reflecting on the upcoming 250th anniversary of American independence, he praised the country as stronger and more prosperous than ever. 

Trump contrasted the current moment with what he called a nation in crisis a year ago, citing economic stagnation, inflation, border security issues, and global instability. 

He asserted that his administration has since secured the border, reduced inflation, strengthened the economy, rebuilt the military and law enforcement, and restored global respect for the United States, calling the shift a historic "turnaround for the ages."

Trump arrives at the State of the Union

President Trump entered the chamber for the State of the Union address to a standing ovation. Lawmakers rose to their feet as applause echoed throughout the room, with Congressional Republicans, Supreme Court justices, and members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff joining in. Cheers also rang out from spectators seated in the gallery above the House floor.

Trump arrives at the Capitol

The president departed the White House at 8:33 p.m. and reached the Capitol at 8:41 p.m. His address is set to begin at 9 p.m.

Vice President JD Vance and senators make their entrances

Vance and Senate Majority Leader John Thune greeted lawmakers with handshakes as they walked in.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer followed with the rest of the attending senators.

Applause rippled through the gallery as they arrived.

Erika Kirk attends State of the Union as Trump’s guest

Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, attended the State of the Union on Tuesday night as President Donald Trump’s guest.

Trump says to expect a lengthy State of the Union

By one measure, he’s already the most talkative president since Lyndon B. Johnson. Data from the University of California, Santa Barbara’s American Presidency Project show that Trump’s joint addresses and State of the Union speeches during his first term averaged 80 minutes and 20 seconds.

Last year, his joint address stretched past 99 minutes — longer than any recorded State of the Union speech. Only Bill Clinton, whose addresses averaged just under 75 minutes, regularly came close to Trump’s speaking time.

Who will give the Democratic response?

The other side:

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response to Trump’s State of the Union address, just months after resoundingly winning an office previously held by a Republican.

Spanberger, who served three terms in the U.S. House, became Virginia’s first female governor earlier this year. She won by a double-digit margin, campaigning on affordability and lowering costs for families — a message Democrats are now elevating as they seek to win back the House and Senate in this year’s midterm elections.

Donald J. TrumpPolitics