Trump airs familiar grievances, charts MAGA plan in address before bitterly divided Congress

The State of the Union -- and similar joint addresses -- are important because they serve as the most public expression of the president's aims, allowing them to highlight key challenges and measures to counter those challenges for both Congress and the public. Tonight's event comes just ahead of a key federal funding deadline on March 14; Trump has called for the GOP-led Congress to adopt a stopgap funding measure to keep the government open, which could be his leading legislative request.

Yet Trump's focus since retaking office has been not on legislation but on a flurry of executive activity that his supporters broadly back as a necessary shake-up of government -- and his critics oppose as constitutional overreach -- so a speech light on legislative asks wouldn't be too surprising from him.

In fact, Trump already has a history of making fewer such asks than other modern presidents. During his first term, his addresses never surpassed 24 requests for congressional action, according to data collected by political scientists Donna Hoffman and Alison Howard. That mark ranked below the median of 31 asks per speech among all presidential addresses from 1965 to 2024.

By comparison, Obama made at least 31 appeals for congressional action in half of his eight addresses, while President Joe Biden regularly surpassed that figure during his four years. President George W. Bush, the last Republican to hold the office before Trump, made at least 31 requests five times in eight tries.

Granted, making a request doesn't mean Congress took action -- especially if the other party held power, based on Hoffman and Howard's research. Since Lyndon Johnson made the first evening State of the Union address in 1965, presidents have achieved full or partial success on about 2 in 5 of congressional requests when their party had full control of government, while they've only seen success on around 1 in 3 requests under divided government.

-Geoffrey Skelley, 538

According to our analysis of 50 political polls released since the start of Trump's second term, much of the president's agenda is not supported by a majority of U.S. adults. Across nearly 300 questions asked in these polls, the average policy proposal or other official action by Trump is supported by just 38 percent of Americans, with 46 percent opposed to them.

The administration's most popular policies (and some of the few with positive approval ratings) have been those targeting transgender Americans — such as those updating federal documents to only include two genders — and the most unpopular moves are on health care, Trump's pardons of Americans convicted of crimes related to Jan. 6, 2021, foreign policy, and the "Department of Government Efficiency." When asked specifically about DOGE-related cuts to federal programs, most Americans opposed Trump's actions.

As of 1 p.m. Eastern,, 47.8 percent of Americans approve of the job Trump is doing as president, according to 538's average, whereas 47.7 percent disapprove. His net approval rating is much lower than every other president's at this point in their term.

—G. Elliott Morris, 538

A group of recent federal employees will be attending the speech as guests of Democratic senators and spoke to reporters Tuesday afternoon.

Alissa Ellman, a disabled Army Veteran who was recently fired from the Buffalo Department of Veterans Affairs, is a guest of Sen. Chuck Schumer and discussed her sudden dismissal.

"I worked until this last Tuesday, when my boss and myself were not even notified about my layoff. I was just locked out of my computer. I gave up my Social Security Disability payment to return to work for less than $500 a month. My story is not unique," she said.

Former Veterans Affairs Inspector General Michael Missal spoke about his concerns.

"By firing the inspectors general without proper notice, and without giving the detailed, case-specific reasons that the law requires, it's going to chill independent and non-partisan oversight, and I worry about the impact it's going to have on our government," he said.

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

The White House has released the list of guests of first lady Melania Trump who will be attending tonight's joint session of Congress.

It includes Marc Fogel, an American who was recently freed from a Russian prison and returned home to the U.S. last month.

Also invited is the family of Corey Comperatore, a firefighter who was killed by the gunman who also shot President Trump during his campaign event in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July.

Other guests of the first lady are Stephanie Diller, the widow of slain NYPD officer Jonathan Diller; Allyson and Lauren Phillips, the mother and sister of Laken Riley; and Border Patrol agent Roberto Ortiz.