President Donald Trump is set to address Congress \u2014 and the rest of the country \u2014 on Tuesday evening, his first prime-time address since the start of his second term.<\/p>\n

A president addressing Congress each year is routine. However, from deep cuts to federal agencies to public feuds with foreign allies, the early days of Trump\u2019s second term have been nothing close to standard. Trump\u2019s upcoming address is expected to recount and expand on the administration\u2019s aggressive efforts to fulfill the president\u2019s ambitious campaign promises to reshape the federal government.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what you should know before Trump takes center stage tonight.<\/p>\n

When and where can I watch the speech?<\/h5>\n
Trump\u2019s address to Congress will begin Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. The speech will be broadcast on major television networks and available to stream on certain websites, including POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

What will Trump talk about?<\/h5>\n
The theme of Trump\u2019s address will be the \u201crenewal of the American Dream,\u201d and will feature sections on the economy, border security and foreign policy, Fox News reported<\/a>.<\/p>\n
\u201cTOMORROW NIGHT WILL BE BIG. I WILL TELL IT LIKE IT IS!\u201d Trump wrote in a Truth Social post<\/a> ahead of the address on Monday.<\/p>\n
Trump has signaled plans to share updates about efforts to end the war in Ukraine in his speech. The president paused military aid<\/a> to the country Monday night as a result of a heated exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy last week \u2014 furthering fears from Trump\u2019s domestic and international critics about the U.S. more closely aligning with Russia.<\/p>\n
He is also expected to discuss his administration\u2019s efforts to bulldoze the federal bureaucracy<\/a>. The Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency\u2019s cutting spree has been at the center of the administration\u2019s work over the past six weeks.<\/p>\n

Why isn’t it called the State of the Union?<\/h5>\n
The Constitution requires that presidents \u201cshall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.” Over the years, the address \u2014 referred to as a State of the Union \u2014 has become a major broadcast television event for Americans.<\/p>\n
But the speech a president typically gives shortly after taking office is not called a \u201cState of the Union\u201d address, getting the more pedestrian title of an address to a joint session of Congress.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no functional difference once the president starts speaking, however.<\/p>\n
Who is attending?<\/h5>\n
Primary attendees of the address include lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, members of the president\u2019s Cabinet, Supreme Court justices, Trump\u2019s family members and a variety of other invited guests.<\/p>\n
Republican Reps. Jim Jordan and James Comer \u2014 who chair the House Judiciary and Oversight committees \u2014 will be bringing two IRS whistleblowers<\/a> who divulged tax information about Hunter Biden, former President Joe Biden\u2019s son, to the address.<\/p>\n
Democratic lawmakers have invited former federal employees<\/a> impacted by the administration\u2019s efforts to overhaul the government workforce. Other Democrats have announced plans to boycott the address, including Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.).<\/p>\n
Who is the designated survivor?<\/h5>\n
Every year, one Cabinet official is chosen as the “designated survivor,\u201d watching the speech from a secured location. This individual does not attend the speech in person in case a catastrophic event occurs that puts the presidential line of succession at risk.<\/p>\n
The White House does not usually announce who the designated survivor is until closer to when the speech starts. In Trump\u2019s 2017 address to Congress, former Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin<\/a> held the role.<\/p>\n
Who is giving the Democratic response?<\/h5>\n
Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) is slated to deliver the Democratic rebuttal to Trump\u2019s speech after his address on Tuesday night \u2014 a prominent undertaking for a lawmaker considered to be an up-and-comer within the Democratic Party.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m looking forward to speaking directly to the American people next week. The public expects leaders to level with them on what\u2019s actually happening in our country,\u201d she wrote in a post to X last week<\/a>. \u201cFrom our economic security to our national security, we\u2019ve got to chart a way forward that improves people\u2019s lives in the country we all love, I look forward to laying that out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first-term senator\u2019s speech is expected to focus on topics like inflation, which is an issue that propelled Trump\u2019s return to the White House and Democrats have been sharply criticized over.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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When and where can I watch the speech?<\/h5>\nTrump\u2019s address to Congress will begin Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. The speech will be broadcast on major television networks and available to stream on certain websites, including POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Who is attending?<\/h5>\nPrimary attendees of the address include lawmakers from both chambers of Congress, members of the president\u2019s Cabinet, Supreme Court justices, Trump\u2019s family members and a variety of other invited guests.<\/p>\n

When and where can I watch the speech?<\/h5>\n
Trump\u2019s address to Congress will begin Tuesday at 9 p.m. ET. The speech will be broadcast on major television networks and available to stream on certain websites, including POLITICO<\/a>.<\/p>\n