Trump to address Congress tonight: What time, where to watch and what to expect

Hours after imposing sweeping new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, President Trump will deliver a nationally broadcast speech tonight to a joint session of Congress, the first such address of his second term.

In the speech, the president is expected to talk about the actions his administration has taken so far to dramatically shrink the size of the federal government, impose a series of tariffs on foreign imports, begin the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and to recast traditional U.S. alliances with allies and foes alike.

Trump, some of whose Cabinet nominees have yet to be confirmed by the Senate, will also be laying out his governing agenda.

When asked in a Fox News interview on Sunday what he expected from Trump’s speech, House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, responded, “Fireworks.”

When is the speech and how can one watch it?

Trump’s speech is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. ET tonight.

Several networks and websites are planning to air it live, including ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox News, CNNm MSNBC and Newsmax. The speech will also be broadcast live on YouTube.

Not a State of the Union address

Despite the fact that his remarks will be delivered to a joint session of Congress and Trump was invited to speak by Johnson, tonight's speech is not technically a State of the Union address. That’s because Trump was only sworn in again two months ago.

“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,” Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, wrote to the president in January.

The U.S. Constitution calls for presidents to “give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” Those addresses typically take place close to the beginning of a calendar year, however, after a president has been in office for roughly a year.

Rebuttal speech from Democrats

As for a State of the Union address, the opposing party will offer a rebuttal speech on Tuesday. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan will have the honors and will use her time to highlight how Trump’s policies are impacting ordinary Americans.

"The public expects leaders to level with them on what’s actually happening in our country," Slotkin said in a statement. "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."

Democratic no-shows, special guests and protests

Some high-ranking Democrats have announced they won’t be attending Tuesday’s speech. Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii will deliver their own rebuttal, which will be livestreamed as Trump is speaking.

"I think Donald Trump is going to spew a series of lies about his alignment with Russia, about what he's trying to do to allow Elon Musk to essentially monetize the American government to enrich Musk and his billionaire crowd," Murphy told CNN. "And I'm just not going to be a part of that."

Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon has announced that he will hold a town hall meeting with constituents rather than attend Trump’s speech to Congress.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York said in a social media post on Tuesday that she will not be attending Trump’s speech. Instead, she plans to communicate with her 1.9 million followers on BlueSky during the address, before hosting a live event on Instagram, where she has 8.7 million followers.

Rep. Don Beyer of Virginia told Politico that he would also miss the speech.

"The notion of half my colleagues rising and standing and enormous clapping for … things that I think are terrible for the American people every couple minutes will not be funny," Beyer said. "I don’t see that I’ll contribute anything to the event."

But the majority of Democrats believe that it is important that the party be represented in the House chamber when Trump speaks. Time reported Tuesday that dozens of Democratic congresswomen are planning to wear pink in protest of the president's policies. Many are also planning to bring along fired federal workers as invited guests, The Hill reported. Those include Rep. Brad Schneider of Illinois, who invited Adam Mulvey, an Army veteran who was fired last month from a federal health center in Chicago. Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York will bring Nancy Bolan, a federal health worker formerly with USAID who was also terminated last month in Trump’s push to cut back the federal workforce.

Designated survivor

The designated survivor for tonight's speech, who will watch it from a secure location outside the Capitol, is Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins.