Trump addressed Congress for first time since returning to office

President Donald Trump addressed Congress and the American people Tuesday night as he laid out his plans for the months ahead.First-term Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan offered the Democrats’ response to Trump.See live updates from the address below (times in EST):11:21 p.m.“It’s late,” she began, “so I promise to be a lot shorter than what you just watched.”Slotkin’s response to Trump’s speech was concise.The Michigan senator’s address clocked in at around 11 minutes, compared to the about one hour and 40 minutes Trump’s speech took.Slotkin implored listeners, “Don’t tune out. It’s easy to be exhausted. But America needs you now more than ever.”Video below: First-term Michigan senator delivers Democratic response to Trump’s speech11:17 p.m.“We’ve gone periods of political instability before, and ultimately, we’ve chosen to keep changing this country for the better,” Slotkin said.Slotkin closed her response to Trump’s speech by saying, “This isn’t the first time we’ve experienced significant and tumultuous change as a country.”She described herself as a student of history and said that the U.S. is resilient and has emerged stronger from periods of social and political upheaval in the past.11:15 p.m.“Grocery prices and home prices are going up, not down,” Slotkin said. “And he hasn’t laid out a credible plan to deal with either of those.”Grocery prices aren’t actually rising by much, except for high-profile items such as eggs. Grocery costs, on average, have risen just 1.9% in the past year. At the peak of inflation in 2022, grocery prices soared more than 13% in a year. 11:13 p.m.“No CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired,” she said.Slotkin criticized a Trump administration effort led by Musk for firing scores of federal employees only to rehire them then after realizing those dismissed worked on critical issues.She suggested that Musk himself would have lost his job if he had done similarly in the business world.11:11 p.m.Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin said that President Donald Trump is “trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends,” in Democratic response to his first joint congressional address of his second presidency.Slotkin is attempting to present a refined economic message as the Democratic Party continues to struggle to unify around a strategy to counter Trump.11:10 p.m.Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is delivering the Democrats’ response to Trump.Slotkin is a first-term senator who won in a state that Trump also took in 2024.11:05 p.m.Trump has set a record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress. And it wasn’t even close.He talked for more than an hour and 40 minutes, breaking the previous record set by President Bill Clinton’s 2000 State of the Union address, which ran 1 hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds.That’s according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California at Santa Barbara, which has tracked speech length since President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.Trump’s speech is not technically a State of the Union since he only took office about six weeks ago. But his lengthy address is nonetheless the longest offered to a joint session of Congress.Video below: Trump arrives in House chamber ahead of address to Congress11 p.m.Trump ended his speech, which was the longest joint address to Congress in U.S. history.“The golden age of America has only just begun,” he told Congress as he finished his speech after speaking for nearly 100 minutes.Republican lawmakers rose to their feet and cheered the conclusion of Trump’s address, pumping their hands in the air while chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!”Democrats quickly streamed from the chamber while GOP lawmakers tallied to shake hands with the president. 10:58 p.m.Trump says the U.S. government is extraditing a suspect in the deadly Abbey Gate bombing in the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal that killed 13 American servicemembers.The White House identified the man as Muhammed Sharifullah and said he was on his way to the U.S. to face charges.FBI Director Kash Patel said the extradition was the result of work by the FBI, Justice Department and CIA.10:56 p.m.Trump recited a letter he received earlier Tuesday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that the wartime president wants to come back to the table after an explosive Oval Office meeting last week broke down negotiations for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.“We’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” Trump said. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”Video below: What’s next for peace talks after Trump-Zelenskyy clash10:55 p.m.It was the only line from Trump’s speech that drew more applause from Democrats than Republicans, yet Democrats applauded as Trump acknowledged that the U.S. has sent billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine.A few Republicans also applauded but were more subdued. However, GOP lawmakers rose in a standing ovation when Trump told them that Ukraine was showing it was ready to negotiate a peace deal.And seated Democrats joined Republicans’ standing applause for Americans recently released from Russia through a deal brokered by the Trump administration.10:51 p.m.Trump said the U.S. supports Greenland’s right to determine its own future but would “welcome” the country into the United States for national security — and to make them rich, he claims.“I think we’re going to get it,” he said of Greenland. “One way or another, we’re going to get it.”Since his first term in office, Trump has expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally and a founding member of NATO. It is also home to a large U.S. military base.Video below: Trump has reiterated belief that Greenland should belong to the US10:50 p.m.Trump signed an executive order renaming a wildlife refuge for a young girl who prosecutors say was killed by two Venezuelan men in the country illegally.“The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly,” Trump said.Jocelyn Nungaray ’s death was one of several cases last year that became flashpoints in the immigration debate. Prosecutors have charged two Venezuelan men who entered the U.S. illegally with capital murder. Nungaray’s mother campaigned for Trump. She was in the audience Tuesday as Trump gave his address.Speaking of Jocelyn’s love of animals, Trump said he decided to rename the wildlife refuge near her Houston home for her.10:48 p.m.“I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body,” Trump said.Trump has already used executive actions to roll back a series of Biden administration policies promoting transgender rights, and he has vowed to stamp out “gender ideology.”During his speech, the president asked Congress to limit gender-affirming surgeries performed on minors, though he offered few details. Some of Trump’s executive actions, meanwhile, have already been met by legal challenges.10:45 p.m.“Beautiful towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like no one’s ever seen before,” Trump said. “Beautiful towns, destroyed.”Both Springfield and Aurora figured in Trump’s campaign. At the time, he amplified false conspiracy theories that legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating dogs and cats.Aurora had a more serious issue: a series of incidents at rundown apartment complexes, one of which was captured on video that showed heavily armed men going door to door. But the buildings have since been closed.10:40 p.m.More than a dozen Democrats joined Republicans in a standing ovation for a guest of Trump, a child diagnosed with cancer who Trump said aspires to become a police officer. The child, named DJ, was held up by his father as Republicans and attendees in the House gallery chanted “DJ.”Trump announced DJ would be sworn in by his new Secret Service director as a member of the force. DJ was held up by his father as he received a Secret Service badge by Director Sean Curran.Democrats then went largely silent as Trump discussed his health policies. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib held up a whiteboard that read, “You cut cancer research.” One Republican shouted, “MAHA baby!”Video below: 13-year-old cancer survivor made honorary member of US Secret Service10:35 p.m.Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas., first shouted “January 6th” as Trump recounted his plans for combatting crime throughout the country. At least a dozen Democrats joined in the repeated chant as Trump discussed the need to crack down on violent criminals.Trump pardoned around 1,500 rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, in a bid to overturn the results of the 2020 election.10:32 p.m.“As we reclaim our sovereignty, we must also bring back law and order to our cities and towns,” he said. “In recent years, our justice system has been turned upside down by Radical Left lunatics.”Trump has long promoted a tough-on-crime agenda and sought to paint Democratic-led cities as besieged by violence, despite statistics showing a downward trend in violent crime after a spike during the coronavirus pandemic.Trump’s comments also echo his campaign trail rhetoric about the need for more aggressive policing. He suggested last year that “one rough hour” of law enforcement action would tamp down retail theft. He has also advocated for ensuring that officers “have immunity from prosecution.”10:30 p.m.Trump praised his wife for lobbying for a bill that would make it a federal crime to post intimate imagery online, whether real or fake. He thanked the Senate for passing the measure.The president called it a “terrible, terrible thing” to publish such images online. He then seemingly joked: “I’m going to use that bill for myself, too, if you don’t mind.”10:25 p.m.“Those goods that come in from other countries and companies, they’re really, really in a bad position in so many different ways,” Trump said. “They’re uninspected. They may be very dirty and disgusting as they come in and they pour in and they hurt our American farmers.”Laying out more details on how he plans to stimulate the farming economy, Trump argued that increasing U.S. tariffs on agriculture products from abroad would protect domestic producers at home while acknowledging, “It may be a little bit of an adjustment period.”But tariffs wouldn’t necessarily stop farm products from coming aboard. They could, however, make them more expensive for U.S. consumers, as some economists argue.Video below: How tariffs could affect produce10:22 p.m.Trump is touting a plan he announced on Feb. 26 to offer a “gold card” for prospective rich immigrants.“For $5 million, we will allow the most successful job creating people from all over the world to buy a path to U.S. citizenship,” Trump said. “It’s like the green card, but better and more sophisticated.”The program will replace an existing one offering U.S. visas to investors who spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.Under Trump’s plan, investors would have to pony up $5 million. They would have to pay taxes in the U.S., Trump said. More than 100 countries around the world have something similar.But some countries, including Spain and the U.K., have ended their programs. Spain’s program was criticized for causing soaring housing prices, while there were security concerns over the U.K. program.10:20 p.m.Trump said farmers need to “bear with me again” as he imposes tariffs.“I love the farmer,” he said.But the retaliatory action from other countries could hurt farmers’ bottom lines by billions of dollars collectively if they remain in place long term, and consumers could quickly see that result in higher prices at the grocery store.The exact toll is hard to predict at this stage. But tariffs make farmers uneasy about investing in expensive equipment.“Farmers are very concerned,” said Steve Kuiper, a director at the Iowa Corn Growers Association.10:17 p.m.Trump’s shoutout to one of his guests, an Alabama steelworker, father of seven and foster parent to 40, received a standing ovation from Republican lawmakers and applause from a clear majority of the seated Democratic caucus.Other guests of Trump and First Lady Melania Trump received scattered seated applause from Democrats as well.Video below: First lady arrives at House chamber ahead of presidential address10:14 p.m.Trump said: “$8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of.”Trump cited the funding as an example of government waste uncovered by his administration and the Department of Government Efficiency.Trump’s move to freeze foreign aid has significantly impacted a program that fights HIV in Lesotho, a poor nation in southern Africa. The program was started by Trump’s Republican predecessor, former President George W. Bush.10:10 p.m.One of Trump’s orders is intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. At least 24 states have already passed similar laws and a federal version sputtered this week in the U.S. Senate.“From now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding,” Trump said during his speech.Like others, he portrays the order as a way to protect girls and women.In the audience was Payton McNabb, a former North Carolina high school athlete who suffered a concussion and neck injury that ended her athletic career after a ball hit by a transgender athlete struck her in a 2022 match.The president of the NCAA said last year he was aware of fewer than 10 active NCAA athletes who identified as transgender.Video below: The battle between Maine, Trump administration over trans athletes10:07 p.m.Trump said: “Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119.”The databases may list those people, but that does not mean they are getting paid benefits, as Trump implied.Social Security’s acting administrator, Lee Dudek, said last month: “The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits.”Part of the confusion comes from Social Security’s software system, which is based on the COBOL programming language and has a lack of date type. This means that some entries with missing or incomplete birthdates will default to a reference point of more than 150 years ago.10:03 p.m.Republicans jumped to their feet in applause as Trump told them “the days of unelected bureaucrats are over.”But at the same time, Democrats pointed to Elon Musk, who is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency. Democrats have levied their criticism at Musk as his team has scoured the federal government, cutting probationary employees and federal contracts.10 p.m.Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., shouted, “What about the $400 million Tesla contract!” at Trump as the president discussed his cuts to the federal government.Democrats increasingly groaned, shouted, “Not true!” and “Those are lies!” as Trump listed cuts his administration believes it has made to the federal budget.More House Democrats also exited the chamber, bringing the total to at least a half dozen opposition lawmakers who left Trump’s joint address.9:53 p.m.Multibillionaire Elon Musk stood at Trump’s invocation of his Department of Government Efficiency.The tech mogul waved as Republicans in the chamber cheered him.9:48 p.m.Trump says his government must move quickly to lower egg prices.Trump talked about the price of eggs and other key staples at grocery stores, where prices have remained stubbornly high due to inflation.He said Biden “let the price of eggs get out of control” and instructed members of his Cabinet to bring them down, saying they need to fix rising prices that he suggested the previous administration left them with.Video below: ‘Egg prices out of control,’ says Trump in comments on inflation9:44 p.m.Trump said his administration has rushed to ban diversity and inclusion programs in the federal government and dismiss workers charged with advancing such efforts.“Our country will be ‘woke’ no longer,” he said.His efforts have prompted private companies and other entities to similarly roll back efforts to promote diversity. They have also drawn a series of legal challenges, many of which are still in court.9:38 p.m.Trump admonishes Democrats for not cheering him.“It’s very sad, and it just shouldn’t be this way,” Trump said.That was him chiding Democratic members of Congress for failing to stand and applaud as the president delivered his speech.Democrats remained seated as Trump said it, some scowling. Many held up small black signs printed with “False” in white lettering. Every time Trump boasts of his accomplishments, they hold up the signs.“Lie after lie after lie,” came one shout from the Democratic side of the chamber.9:34 p.m.Some Democrats silently hold small signs protesting Trump’s joint address.The circular black signs have bold white lettering, including the statements “Protect Veterans,” “Save Medicaid,” “False,” and “Musk Steals.” The congress members held the signs higher as the president began his remarks.9:30 p.m.“America is back.”Trump started his address by taking a line from his predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden.As president, Biden repeatedly said in speeches that he told world leaders that “America is back.” The former president meant those words as a sign to allies in Europe and Asia that the United States was reengaging with the world. In one noted anecdote, Biden said that one world leader responded to his comment by asking how America would be back. There was a fear among allies, Biden said, that Trump could return.Now, Trump is using Biden’s line to suggest that his return to the presidency means his vision of America is back.9:26 p.m.Rep. Al Green, a Democrat from Texas, was removed from the House floor after standing in protest to President Donald Trump’s address.Green was asked multiple times to sit down by House Leader Mike Johnson, but Green refused, leading the sergeant-at-arms to escort him out. “The presidential election of Nov. 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” Trump said as he began his speech.“You have no mandate,” Democratic Rep. Al Green countered.Republican members cheered at his removal, shouting “Get out!” and “Goodbye!” at the lawmaker. Green shouted, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” at Trump before police escorted him from the chamber. Video below: Democratic Rep. Al Green removed from House chamber after disrupting Trump address to Congress9:20 p.m.Trump has begun his joint congressional address to “USA! USA!” chants and talking about the first 43 days of his administration, which has been marked by a major effort at reshaping and downsizing the federal government led by billionaire Elon Musk, spats with America’s allies and economic uncertainties brought by new tariffs.9:18 p.m.The Republican side of the House chamber was on their feet, whistling and applauding as Trump’s entrance was announced.The Democrats, meanwhile, were practically motionless. They were seated and mostly faced forward as Trump entered.9:15 p.m.President Donald Trump arrives.9:10 p.m.The president’s Cabinet has entered the House chamber. Secretaries are being greeted by and chatting with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle.9:05 p.m.Four sitting members of the Supreme Court are attending Trump’s joint address to Congress. It is normal for some members of the court to not appear at the president’s speeches before Congress.Chief Justice John Roberts entered the chamber accompanied by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanagh. Former Justice Anthony Kennedy is also present.Absent from the group were Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor.9 p.m.In his joint congressional address, Trump is expected to take credit for “swift and unrelenting” action on immigration, economy and security, according to early excerpts released by the White House.Trump will begin his speech by saying he has accomplished more in his six weeks in office than most administrations in four or eight years. He is also expected to call this moment the “dawn of the Golden Age of America.”8:55 p.m.Overlooking the House chamber, Elon Musk has taken a seat in the gallery.Wearing a suit with a dark blue tie, Musk received a bit of applause from other guests in the gallery as he shook hands with those seated around him.Seated along with him is newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, as well as members of Trump’s family — Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump.8:50 p.m. Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins has been selected to be the designated survivor for Trump’s speech, according to a White House official.When government officials gather for big events, a “designated survivor” is kept away to make sure someone in the line of presidential succession stays alive in case of a catastrophic or mass-casualty event.8:45 p.m.Vice President JD Vance is entering the House chamber to hearty handshakes and hugs from his fellow Republicans.Until just a few weeks ago, Vance held an office in the Capitol as Ohio’s senator. He is still frequently there, taking on a role in the Trump administration of guiding the president’s nominees to confirmation.8:35 p.m.Democratic congresswomen are aiming to send a feminist message at President Trump’s speech with their blazers, dresses and scarves.More than three dozen members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus are wearing pink and burgundy clothing for the president’s joint address, a color palette the women believe represents female empowerment. At least a half dozen congressmen have joined in on the action with pink ties.8:30 p.m.The president and first lady Melania Trump have left the White House and entered his armored limousine for the short drive to the Capitol.Billionaire Elon Musk was seen walking out of the White House a few seconds before Trump to join the presidential motorcade to the Capitol.

WASHINGTON —President Donald Trump addressed Congress and the American people Tuesday night as he laid out his plans for the months ahead.

First-term Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan offered the Democrats’ response to Trump.

See live updates from the address below (times in EST):

11:21 p.m.

“It’s late,” she began, “so I promise to be a lot shorter than what you just watched.”

Slotkin’s response to Trump’s speech was concise.

The Michigan senator’s address clocked in at around 11 minutes, compared to the about one hour and 40 minutes Trump’s speech took.

Slotkin implored listeners, “Don’t tune out. It’s easy to be exhausted. But America needs you now more than ever.”

Video below: First-term Michigan senator delivers Democratic response to Trump’s speech

11:17 p.m.

“We’ve gone periods of political instability before, and ultimately, we’ve chosen to keep changing this country for the better,” Slotkin said.

Slotkin closed her response to Trump’s speech by saying, “This isn’t the first time we’ve experienced significant and tumultuous change as a country.”

She described herself as a student of history and said that the U.S. is resilient and has emerged stronger from periods of social and political upheaval in the past.

11:15 p.m.

“Grocery prices and home prices are going up, not down,” Slotkin said. “And he hasn’t laid out a credible plan to deal with either of those.”

Grocery prices aren’t actually rising by much, except for high-profile items such as eggs. Grocery costs, on average, have risen just 1.9% in the past year. At the peak of inflation in 2022, grocery prices soared more than 13% in a year.

11:13 p.m.

“No CEO in America could do that without being summarily fired,” she said.

Slotkin criticized a Trump administration effort led by Musk for firing scores of federal employees only to rehire them then after realizing those dismissed worked on critical issues.

She suggested that Musk himself would have lost his job if he had done similarly in the business world.

11:11 p.m.

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin said that President Donald Trump is “trying to deliver an unprecedented giveaway to his billionaire friends,” in Democratic response to his first joint congressional address of his second presidency.

Slotkin is attempting to present a refined economic message as the Democratic Party continues to struggle to unify around a strategy to counter Trump.

11:10 p.m.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan is delivering the Democrats’ response to Trump.

Slotkin is a first-term senator who won in a state that Trump also took in 2024.

11:05 p.m.

Trump has set a record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress. And it wasn’t even close.

He talked for more than an hour and 40 minutes, breaking the previous record set by President Bill Clinton’s 2000 State of the Union address, which ran 1 hour, 28 minutes and 49 seconds.

That’s according to the American Presidency Project at the University of California at Santa Barbara, which has tracked speech length since President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964.

Trump’s speech is not technically a State of the Union since he only took office about six weeks ago. But his lengthy address is nonetheless the longest offered to a joint session of Congress.

Video below: Trump arrives in House chamber ahead of address to Congress

11 p.m.

Trump ended his speech, which was the longest joint address to Congress in U.S. history.

“The golden age of America has only just begun,” he told Congress as he finished his speech after speaking for nearly 100 minutes.

Republican lawmakers rose to their feet and cheered the conclusion of Trump’s address, pumping their hands in the air while chanting “Fight! Fight! Fight!”

Democrats quickly streamed from the chamber while GOP lawmakers tallied to shake hands with the president.

10:58 p.m.

Trump says the U.S. government is extraditing a suspect in the deadly Abbey Gate bombing in the final days of the Afghanistan withdrawal that killed 13 American servicemembers.

The White House identified the man as Muhammed Sharifullah and said he was on his way to the U.S. to face charges.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the extradition was the result of work by the FBI, Justice Department and CIA.

10:56 p.m.

Trump recited a letter he received earlier Tuesday from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, saying that the wartime president wants to come back to the table after an explosive Oval Office meeting last week broke down negotiations for a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.

“We’ve had serious discussions with Russia and have received strong signals that they are ready for peace,” Trump said. “Wouldn’t that be beautiful?”

Video below: What’s next for peace talks after Trump-Zelenskyy clash

10:55 p.m.

It was the only line from Trump’s speech that drew more applause from Democrats than Republicans, yet Democrats applauded as Trump acknowledged that the U.S. has sent billions of dollars in military aid for Ukraine.

A few Republicans also applauded but were more subdued. However, GOP lawmakers rose in a standing ovation when Trump told them that Ukraine was showing it was ready to negotiate a peace deal.

And seated Democrats joined Republicans’ standing applause for Americans recently released from Russia through a deal brokered by the Trump administration.

10:51 p.m.

Trump said the U.S. supports Greenland’s right to determine its own future but would “welcome” the country into the United States for national security — and to make them rich, he claims.

“I think we’re going to get it,” he said of Greenland. “One way or another, we’re going to get it.”

Since his first term in office, Trump has expressed interest in acquiring Greenland, which is a semiautonomous territory of Denmark, a longtime U.S. ally and a founding member of NATO. It is also home to a large U.S. military base.

Video below: Trump has reiterated belief that Greenland should belong to the US

10:50 p.m.

Trump signed an executive order renaming a wildlife refuge for a young girl who prosecutors say was killed by two Venezuelan men in the country illegally.

“The death of this beautiful 12-year-old girl and the agony of her mother and family touched our entire nation greatly,” Trump said.

Jocelyn Nungaray ’s death was one of several cases last year that became flashpoints in the immigration debate. Prosecutors have charged two Venezuelan men who entered the U.S. illegally with capital murder. Nungaray’s mother campaigned for Trump. She was in the audience Tuesday as Trump gave his address.

Speaking of Jocelyn’s love of animals, Trump said he decided to rename the wildlife refuge near her Houston home for her.

10:48 p.m.

“I want Congress to pass a bill permanently banning and criminalizing sex changes on children and forever ending the lie that any child is trapped in the wrong body,” Trump said.

Trump has already used executive actions to roll back a series of Biden administration policies promoting transgender rights, and he has vowed to stamp out “gender ideology.”

During his speech, the president asked Congress to limit gender-affirming surgeries performed on minors, though he offered few details. Some of Trump’s executive actions, meanwhile, have already been met by legal challenges.

10:45 p.m.

“Beautiful towns like Aurora, Colorado, and Springfield, Ohio, buckled under the weight of the migrant occupation and corruption like no one’s ever seen before,” Trump said. “Beautiful towns, destroyed.”

Both Springfield and Aurora figured in Trump’s campaign. At the time, he amplified false conspiracy theories that legal Haitian immigrants in Springfield were eating dogs and cats.

Aurora had a more serious issue: a series of incidents at rundown apartment complexes, one of which was captured on video that showed heavily armed men going door to door. But the buildings have since been closed.

10:40 p.m.

More than a dozen Democrats joined Republicans in a standing ovation for a guest of Trump, a child diagnosed with cancer who Trump said aspires to become a police officer. The child, named DJ, was held up by his father as Republicans and attendees in the House gallery chanted “DJ.”

Trump announced DJ would be sworn in by his new Secret Service director as a member of the force. DJ was held up by his father as he received a Secret Service badge by Director Sean Curran.

Democrats then went largely silent as Trump discussed his health policies. Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib held up a whiteboard that read, “You cut cancer research.” One Republican shouted, “MAHA baby!”

Video below: 13-year-old cancer survivor made honorary member of US Secret Service

10:35 p.m.

Rep. Veronica Escobar, D-Texas., first shouted “January 6th” as Trump recounted his plans for combatting crime throughout the country. At least a dozen Democrats joined in the repeated chant as Trump discussed the need to crack down on violent criminals.

Trump pardoned around 1,500 rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol building on Jan. 6, 2021, in a bid to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

10:32 p.m.

“As we reclaim our sovereignty, we must also bring back law and order to our cities and towns,” he said. “In recent years, our justice system has been turned upside down by Radical Left lunatics.”

Trump has long promoted a tough-on-crime agenda and sought to paint Democratic-led cities as besieged by violence, despite statistics showing a downward trend in violent crime after a spike during the coronavirus pandemic.

Trump’s comments also echo his campaign trail rhetoric about the need for more aggressive policing. He suggested last year that “one rough hour” of law enforcement action would tamp down retail theft. He has also advocated for ensuring that officers “have immunity from prosecution.”

10:30 p.m.

Trump praised his wife for lobbying for a bill that would make it a federal crime to post intimate imagery online, whether real or fake. He thanked the Senate for passing the measure.

The president called it a “terrible, terrible thing” to publish such images online. He then seemingly joked: “I’m going to use that bill for myself, too, if you don’t mind.”

10:25 p.m.

“Those goods that come in from other countries and companies, they’re really, really in a bad position in so many different ways,” Trump said. “They’re uninspected. They may be very dirty and disgusting as they come in and they pour in and they hurt our American farmers.”

Laying out more details on how he plans to stimulate the farming economy, Trump argued that increasing U.S. tariffs on agriculture products from abroad would protect domestic producers at home while acknowledging, “It may be a little bit of an adjustment period.”

But tariffs wouldn’t necessarily stop farm products from coming aboard. They could, however, make them more expensive for U.S. consumers, as some economists argue.

Video below: How tariffs could affect produce

10:22 p.m.

Trump is touting a plan he announced on Feb. 26 to offer a “gold card” for prospective rich immigrants.

“For $5 million, we will allow the most successful job creating people from all over the world to buy a path to U.S. citizenship,” Trump said. “It’s like the green card, but better and more sophisticated.”

The program will replace an existing one offering U.S. visas to investors who spend about $1 million on a company that employs at least 10 people.

Under Trump’s plan, investors would have to pony up $5 million. They would have to pay taxes in the U.S., Trump said. More than 100 countries around the world have something similar.

But some countries, including Spain and the U.K., have ended their programs. Spain’s program was criticized for causing soaring housing prices, while there were security concerns over the U.K. program.

10:20 p.m.

Trump said farmers need to “bear with me again” as he imposes tariffs.

“I love the farmer,” he said.

But the retaliatory action from other countries could hurt farmers’ bottom lines by billions of dollars collectively if they remain in place long term, and consumers could quickly see that result in higher prices at the grocery store.

The exact toll is hard to predict at this stage. But tariffs make farmers uneasy about investing in expensive equipment.

“Farmers are very concerned,” said Steve Kuiper, a director at the Iowa Corn Growers Association.

10:17 p.m.

Trump’s shoutout to one of his guests, an Alabama steelworker, father of seven and foster parent to 40, received a standing ovation from Republican lawmakers and applause from a clear majority of the seated Democratic caucus.

Other guests of Trump and First Lady Melania Trump received scattered seated applause from Democrats as well.

Video below: First lady arrives at House chamber ahead of presidential address

10:14 p.m.

Trump said: “$8 million to promote LGBTQI+ in the African nation of Lesotho, which nobody has ever heard of.”

Trump cited the funding as an example of government waste uncovered by his administration and the Department of Government Efficiency.

Trump’s move to freeze foreign aid has significantly impacted a program that fights HIV in Lesotho, a poor nation in southern Africa. The program was started by Trump’s Republican predecessor, former President George W. Bush.

10:10 p.m.

One of Trump’s orders is intended to ban transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports. At least 24 states have already passed similar laws and a federal version sputtered this week in the U.S. Senate.

“From now on, schools will kick the men off the girls team or they will lose all federal funding,” Trump said during his speech.

Like others, he portrays the order as a way to protect girls and women.

In the audience was Payton McNabb, a former North Carolina high school athlete who suffered a concussion and neck injury that ended her athletic career after a ball hit by a transgender athlete struck her in a 2022 match.

The president of the NCAA said last year he was aware of fewer than 10 active NCAA athletes who identified as transgender.

Video below: The battle between Maine, Trump administration over trans athletes

10:07 p.m.

Trump said: “Believe it or not, government databases list 4.7 million Social Security members from people aged 100 to 109 years old. It lists 3.6 million people from ages 110 to 119.”

The databases may list those people, but that does not mean they are getting paid benefits, as Trump implied.

Social Security’s acting administrator, Lee Dudek, said last month: “The reported data are people in our records with a Social Security number who do not have a date of death associated with their record. These individuals are not necessarily receiving benefits.”

Part of the confusion comes from Social Security’s software system, which is based on the COBOL programming language and has a lack of date type. This means that some entries with missing or incomplete birthdates will default to a reference point of more than 150 years ago.

10:03 p.m.

Republicans jumped to their feet in applause as Trump told them “the days of unelected bureaucrats are over.”

But at the same time, Democrats pointed to Elon Musk, who is heading up the Department of Government Efficiency. Democrats have levied their criticism at Musk as his team has scoured the federal government, cutting probationary employees and federal contracts.

10 p.m.

Democratic Rep. Gil Cisneros, D-Calif., shouted, “What about the $400 million Tesla contract!” at Trump as the president discussed his cuts to the federal government.

Democrats increasingly groaned, shouted, “Not true!” and “Those are lies!” as Trump listed cuts his administration believes it has made to the federal budget.

More House Democrats also exited the chamber, bringing the total to at least a half dozen opposition lawmakers who left Trump’s joint address.

9:53 p.m.

Multibillionaire Elon Musk stood at Trump’s invocation of his Department of Government Efficiency.

The tech mogul waved as Republicans in the chamber cheered him.

9:48 p.m.

Trump says his government must move quickly to lower egg prices.

Trump talked about the price of eggs and other key staples at grocery stores, where prices have remained stubbornly high due to inflation.

He said Biden “let the price of eggs get out of control” and instructed members of his Cabinet to bring them down, saying they need to fix rising prices that he suggested the previous administration left them with.

Video below: ‘Egg prices out of control,’ says Trump in comments on inflation

9:44 p.m.

Trump said his administration has rushed to ban diversity and inclusion programs in the federal government and dismiss workers charged with advancing such efforts.

“Our country will be ‘woke’ no longer,” he said.

His efforts have prompted private companies and other entities to similarly roll back efforts to promote diversity. They have also drawn a series of legal challenges, many of which are still in court.

9:38 p.m.

Trump admonishes Democrats for not cheering him.

“It’s very sad, and it just shouldn’t be this way,” Trump said.

That was him chiding Democratic members of Congress for failing to stand and applaud as the president delivered his speech.

Democrats remained seated as Trump said it, some scowling. Many held up small black signs printed with “False” in white lettering. Every time Trump boasts of his accomplishments, they hold up the signs.

“Lie after lie after lie,” came one shout from the Democratic side of the chamber.

9:34 p.m.

Some Democrats silently hold small signs protesting Trump’s joint address.

The circular black signs have bold white lettering, including the statements “Protect Veterans,” “Save Medicaid,” “False,” and “Musk Steals.”

The congress members held the signs higher as the president began his remarks.

9:30 p.m.

“America is back.”

Trump started his address by taking a line from his predecessor in the White House, Joe Biden.

As president, Biden repeatedly said in speeches that he told world leaders that “America is back.” The former president meant those words as a sign to allies in Europe and Asia that the United States was reengaging with the world. In one noted anecdote, Biden said that one world leader responded to his comment by asking how America would be back. There was a fear among allies, Biden said, that Trump could return.

Now, Trump is using Biden’s line to suggest that his return to the presidency means his vision of America is back.

9:26 p.m.

Rep. Al Green, a Democrat from Texas, was removed from the House floor after standing in protest to President Donald Trump’s address.

Green was asked multiple times to sit down by House Leader Mike Johnson, but Green refused, leading the sergeant-at-arms to escort him out.

“The presidential election of Nov. 5 was a mandate like has not been seen in many decades,” Trump said as he began his speech.

“You have no mandate,” Democratic Rep. Al Green countered.

Republican members cheered at his removal, shouting “Get out!” and “Goodbye!” at the lawmaker. Green shouted, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” at Trump before police escorted him from the chamber.

Video below: Democratic Rep. Al Green removed from House chamber after disrupting Trump address to Congress

9:20 p.m.

Trump has begun his joint congressional address to “USA! USA!” chants and talking about the first 43 days of his administration, which has been marked by a major effort at reshaping and downsizing the federal government led by billionaire Elon Musk, spats with America’s allies and economic uncertainties brought by new tariffs.

9:18 p.m.

The Republican side of the House chamber was on their feet, whistling and applauding as Trump’s entrance was announced.

The Democrats, meanwhile, were practically motionless. They were seated and mostly faced forward as Trump entered.

9:15 p.m.

President Donald Trump arrives.

9:10 p.m.

The president’s Cabinet has entered the House chamber. Secretaries are being greeted by and chatting with members of Congress from both sides of the aisle.

9:05 p.m.

Four sitting members of the Supreme Court are attending Trump’s joint address to Congress. It is normal for some members of the court to not appear at the president’s speeches before Congress.

Chief Justice John Roberts entered the chamber accompanied by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanagh. Former Justice Anthony Kennedy is also present.

Absent from the group were Justices Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Ketanji Brown Jackson and Sonia Sotomayor.

9 p.m.

In his joint congressional address, Trump is expected to take credit for “swift and unrelenting” action on immigration, economy and security, according to early excerpts released by the White House.

Trump will begin his speech by saying he has accomplished more in his six weeks in office than most administrations in four or eight years. He is also expected to call this moment the “dawn of the Golden Age of America.”

8:55 p.m.

Overlooking the House chamber, Elon Musk has taken a seat in the gallery.

Wearing a suit with a dark blue tie, Musk received a bit of applause from other guests in the gallery as he shook hands with those seated around him.

Seated along with him is newly confirmed FBI Director Kash Patel, as well as members of Trump’s family — Eric Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Lara Trump.

8:50 p.m.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins has been selected to be the designated survivor for Trump’s speech, according to a White House official.

When government officials gather for big events, a “designated survivor” is kept away to make sure someone in the line of presidential succession stays alive in case of a catastrophic or mass-casualty event.

8:45 p.m.

Vice President JD Vance is entering the House chamber to hearty handshakes and hugs from his fellow Republicans.

Until just a few weeks ago, Vance held an office in the Capitol as Ohio’s senator. He is still frequently there, taking on a role in the Trump administration of guiding the president’s nominees to confirmation.

8:35 p.m.

Democratic congresswomen are aiming to send a feminist message at President Trump’s speech with their blazers, dresses and scarves.

More than three dozen members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus are wearing pink and burgundy clothing for the president’s joint address, a color palette the women believe represents female empowerment. At least a half dozen congressmen have joined in on the action with pink ties.