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President Donald Trump delivered marching orders during what could be his last State of the Union address to a unified Republican Congress — and also a notable request for lawmakers to avoid action on tariffs.
With Republican fears of losing the House increasing and Democrats making a play for control of the Senate this fall, Trump clearly sees unfinished business in the Capitol. He asked GOP leaders to ban investment firms from buying up single-family homes, to codify his drug pricing executive orders, and said Congress should “without delay” ban lawmakers from “corruptly” using insider information to profit from stock trades.
Other pushes Trump made in his speech have slimmer prospects of becoming law this year, such as his package of health care proposals that would redirect Affordable Care Act subsidies directly to consumers’ health savings accounts. He also championed a voter ID law that Democrats will block in the Senate and ending so-called sanctuary cities which don’t cooperate with federal immigration officials.
As they assessed the speech — and Trump’s attacks on Democrats — Republicans said Trump’s agenda will be challenging to pass, and that he can’t count on bipartisan support.
“It’s clear to me that if we’re going to pass most if not all of the things the president proposed, we’re going to have to do it through reconciliation,” Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., told Semafor, referring to the party-line budget maneuver.
“When my Democratic colleagues refused to applaud, that’s a pretty good indication they’re not going to vote for anything,” he added. “The closer we get to the midterms, the more difficult it’s going to be.”
Yet Trump also made clear he doesn’t want Congress to lift a finger when it comes to the sweeping tariffs that the Supreme Court blocked in their original form last week. With four justices seated in front of him, he lamented that “disappointing” decision but asserted that “congressional action will not be necessary” on his tariffs, even as some Republicans propose codifying them and using the revenue for more tax cuts.
Asked what he thought about Trump taking that pressure off Congress, Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., replied: “Well, it didn’t suck. Was there a little relief?”
“This whole issue of tariffs and Congress, he doesn’t want to acknowledge even that we have that authority,” Cramer said.
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Trump’s speech — the longest State of the Union or joint address in modern US history — comes at a critical time for his agenda. Republicans are debating how and whether to pass more major legislation. And midterm voters are already casting ballots in party primaries, typically signaling a time when legislating becomes more difficult. Still, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said Republicans “need to try.”
That made Trump’s plain disinterest in bipartisanship even more notable. He made little attempt to seek allies across the aisle on issues where he’ll need Democratic votes, such as the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, and on issues where he might have won over some opponents with honey.
“I don’t think it’s helpful. The way you get an agreement is to negotiate a compromise. And clearly he’s not interested in that,” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., told Semafor.
And Democrats continue to question Trump’s commitment to his most populist proposals. His hopes of passing that ban on institutional housing investors appeals to members of both parties, but Democrats remain skeptical Trump is willing to muscle that through his own party.
“All talk and no action. We got a bill, where is he? And where is that promised 10% cap on credit card interest rates? Nowhere,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who has personally discussed those issues with Trump, told Semafor.
When Trump asked Democrats to capitulate and end a DHS funding blockade they mounted over opposition to his aggressive immigration enforcement and the killings of two US citizens by federal agents, he asked members to stand if they believed the US’ top priority is to “protect American citizens, not illegal aliens.”
“You should be ashamed of yourself for not standing up,” Trump heckled Democrats to GOP applause.
“You’re a murderer,” Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., shouted back.
And when he called to ban congressional stock trading, he drew applause from some Democrats (while others heckled him over his business deals). Yet Trump couldn’t resist a dig at former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a frequent GOP target for her family’s stock trades.
Democrats argue that any ban on congressional stock trading should also apply to the president and the Cabinet — a key sticking point.
The View From democrats
Some Democrats skipped the speech altogether and attended off-site programming after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told his caucus to protest silently or to take their protests outside. Yet the speech wasn’t without some disruption.
Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was escorted out of the House chamber after standing up and holding a banner saying “Black people aren’t apes” as Trump walked in to start his speech. Some wore pins or held signs to protest administration policies; others just gave the middle finger.
Trump razzed Democrats for their silence when some stood and applauded the US Olympic hockey team: “That’s the first time I’ve ever seen them get up. And actually, not all of them did get up.” He also blamed Democrats for inflation and criticized them for not supporting his tax cuts.
“There’s some things I agreed with, plenty that I did not actually agree with,” said Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., a rare Democrat who has met personally with Trump. “I don’t think he was ever the uniter. That’s really just his personality.”
Room for Disagreement
Some Republicans took issue with Trump’s insistence that he didn’t need congressional approval for his newest tariffs.
“He’s wrong,” said Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.
Burgess and Nicholas’ view
Trump clearly needs Congress to finalize his agenda, but it’s getting increasingly challenging to see how he accomplishes it. Republican leaders aren’t committed to doing another party-line reconciliation bill, the voter ID legislation faces huge challenges in the Senate, and Democrats aren’t budging on the shutdown as Trump rejects their demands on immigration enforcement.
Sure, Trump can tout his tax cuts from last year, but it’s clear he wants more. Kennedy mentioned a modest bipartisan housing bill as a good starting point but also wasn’t sure Democratic support would still be there for it: “That’s one that seems to be the most bipartisan, and I don’t know if it’s bipartisan anymore.”
Notable
- Trump also asked GOP leaders to ban commercial driver’s licenses for people in the country illegally.
- The Democratic National Committee had its best digital fundraising day of the year around Trump’s speech.