Donald Trump is set to deliver the annual State of the Union address on Tuesday evening, where he is expected to proclaim the success of his first year in office before an American public that polls show has soured on his handling of the issues they care about most.
The speech to a joint session of Congress will be a key moment before the November midterm elections, in which Trump’s Republican allies are defending their slim control of the Senate and House of Representatives. It will take place amid a decline in Trump’s approval ratings fueled by discontent with his handling of the economy and immigration, both issues at the center of his successful re-election campaign in 2024.
The president will deliver his address amid a military buildup over Iran that raises the possibility of Trump ordering strikes against the longtime American adversary, just weeks after his special forces seized the Venezuelan president, Nicolás Maduro, and took him to stand trial on US soil.
The House minority leader, Hakeem Jeffries, said most of his Democratic lawmakers would choose one of two options when it came to the speech: “Attend in silent defiance, or not attend, and send a message to Donald Trump in that fashion.”
Trump to defend first-year record in lengthy State of the Union speech
For Democrats, the address presents them with their own, albeit smaller, platform to make their case to voters. After the party was mocked for having lawmakers hold up paddle-shaped protest signs when Trump addressed Congress last year, Democratic leaders have changed their approach, deputizing Abigail Spanberger, who was elected governor of Virginia in a landslide last November, to deliver the traditional response to the president’s speech, while the California senator Alex Padilla will give the Spanish-language version.
Marco Rubio delivers rare briefing to top US lawmakers on Iran amid tensions
Marco Rubio delivered a rare briefing to top US lawmakers on Iran from the White House on Tuesday as Washington deploys its largest force of aircraft and warships to the Middle East since the 2003 buildup to the Iraq war.
Donald Trump’s new 10% global tariff comes into effect
Donald Trump’s new global tariffs have taken effect at 10%, even though he had threatened a higher rate of 15% last weekend, providing “some relief” for British businesses, according to a lobby group.
US military leaders meet with Anthropic to argue against AI tool safeguards
US military leaders including Pete Hegseth, the defense secretary, met with executives from the artificial intelligence firm Anthropic on Tuesday to hash out a dispute over what the government will be able to do with the company’s powerful AI model. Hegseth gave Dario Amodei, the Anthropic CEO, until the end of the day Friday to agree to the department’s terms or face penalties, Axios reported.
US congressman refuses to resign after allegations of affair with staffer
US congressman Tony Gonzales refused growing calls to resign from his fellow Republicans on Tuesday amid a furore over allegations that he had an affair with a staffer who later died by suicide.
What else happened today:
The justice department sued the University of California, Los Angeles on Tuesday, alleging the university created a hostile work environment for Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff after protests against the war on Gaza broke out across campus.
US Senate Democrats are launching an investigation into whether the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the CBS parent company, Paramount, prevented Stephen Colbert, the network’s talkshow host, from broadcasting an interview with the Texas Democratic candidate James Talarico.
Cancellations and delays of new US datacenters have increased as the artificial intelligence boom runs up against a slate of issues, including supply chain snags, energy shortages and tariff-induced restraints.
The victorious US Olympic men’s ice hockey team visited the White House on Tuesday, although there were several notable absences.
Savannah Guthrie’s family has offered up to $1m for information leading to the return of her 84-year-old mother, Nancy, who has been missing since 1 February.
Catching up? Here’s what happened on 23 February 2026.
