State of the Union dwell updates as Trump prepares to ship 2026 deal with

Mr. Trump’s deal with to a joint session of Congress comes as lawmakers have been unable to fund the Division of Homeland Safety.

Hypothesis swirled in latest days over whether or not the speech could be canceled amid the partial shutdown. However Mr. Trump has moved forward as deliberate. 

The Senate did not advance a measure to fund DHS on Tuesday night, when all however one Democrat in attendance opposed transferring ahead with the invoice. Democrats have pledged to oppose any funding for DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Safety, except they safe reforms to the immigration enforcement businesses. 

Democrats and the White Home have been buying and selling proposals for reforms in latest days. However the two sides appeared far aside heading into the State of the Union. Senate Minority Chief Chuck Schumer claimed Tuesday that the White Home and Republicans “haven’t budged on the important thing points.” Senate Majority Chief John Thune questioned whether or not Democrats are “really serious about an answer.”

DHS, which has been shut down since Feb. 14, additionally oversees the Federal Emergency Administration Company, the Transportation Safety Administration and the Coast Guard. Employees who proceed to carry out their jobs through the partial shutdown are anticipated to start lacking paychecks within the coming days. 

Former Home Speaker Kevin McCarthy advised CBS Information on Tuesday that Rep. Tony Gonzales ought to resign, after a set of newly revealed textual content messages drew contemporary scrutiny to an alleged affair between the Texas Republican and a staffer who later died by suicide.

“If this was in a enterprise, he would’ve been fired,” McCarthy, a California Republican, stated on “The Takeout with Main Garrett.”

McCarthy pointed to a Could 2024 textual content alternate between Gonzales and the staffer, Regina Santos-Aviles, that was obtained by CBS Information and different media retailers this week. Within the alternate, Gonzales inspired Santos-Aviles to ship him a “horny pic” and requested her sexual questions. She responded at one level: “That is going too far boss.”

Santos-Aviles died in the future after setting herself on hearth in September 2025. She was married with an 8-year-old son.

Requested by reporters concerning the texts on Tuesday, the congressman stated he won’t resign, including, “What you’ve got seen will not be all of the details.” Previously, Gonzales has denied having an affair.

McCarthy stated, “It is devastating what has transpired right here.”

Learn extra right here.

Home Speaker Mike Johnson advised CBS Information the U.S. economic system is heading in the right direction — however he added that inflation has not been “fully fastened but.”

In an interview Tuesday with “CBS Night Information,” Johnson additionally argued “we should not freak out” concerning the affect of synthetic intelligence on jobs and urged the Iranian authorities to “observe widespread sense” as Mr. Trump weighs army motion.

Johnson expects Mr. Trump to spend a part of his speech Tuesday night time touting his financial report, together with “the thrilling details about what we have been in a position to accomplish.”

In latest months, the president has celebrated the nation’s financial efficiency in his first yr on the job, together with a slowdown in inflation and a sturdy labor market.

Learn highlights from the interview right here.

Requested how they’d describe the state of the nation if they may give the deal with tonight, most Individuals would use the phrase “divided.”

It is a perception about division that has spanned administrations — earlier than Joe Biden’s final State of the Union, most described the nation as “divided” too. And much more do now.

“Divided” far outpaces different descriptors like “sturdy” or “prospering,” although every of these is a bit increased now than in 2024 below Biden, too. 

However Democrats and Republicans alike wish to hear the president discuss concerning the economic system and the price of dwelling.

Most nonetheless name the economic system unhealthy — as they’ve for years, going again to the pandemic — however views are comparatively improved of late, and off the lows for this time period from final fall. 

The way in which through which the president talks about which may be important now: going into the State of the Union deal with, most Individuals assume Mr. Trump makes the state of affairs with costs and inflation sound higher than it truly is.

There’s additionally an enormous majority that say he hasn’t defined potential army motion in opposition to Iran.

Learn extra concerning the new CBS Information ballot right here.

The president will name for added tax cuts in his speech tonight — each company and private, however largely private, he advised a gaggle of stories anchors at a lunch he hosted Tuesday. 

The president can also be anticipated to make different economic-related bulletins tonight. 

With a slim Republican majority within the Home and the 60-vote threshold within the Senate, getting further tax cuts by Congress could be an uphill battle earlier than the midterm elections.

The president can even announce a “rate-payer safety plan,” which incorporates offers with AI and tech firms to cowl elevated electrical energy prices for residential prospects close to knowledge facilities.

On Tuesday night time, Home Speaker Mike Johnson will wield the gavel utilized by George Washington to put the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol constructing in 1793, in accordance with the U.S. Capitol Historic Society. The gavel is housed within the oldest Masonic lodge in Washington. 

Its use is supposed to mark the nation’s 250th anniversary. 

“Complementing the State of the Union with George Washington’s Gavel superbly displays the significance of preserving and sharing the Capitol’s historical past; serving to Individuals join with the individuals, locations, and traditions that proceed to form our nation,” stated Roswell Encina, president and CEO of the U.S. Capitol Historic Society. “A big a part of the society’s mission is to carry Congress to the Individuals.”

CBS Information could have dwell protection of the State of the Union deal with and the Democratic response on TV, streaming and on-line. 

• What: President Trump’s 2026 State of the Union deal with 
• Date: Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026 
• Time: Tackle scheduled for 9 p.m. ET; particular protection on CBS Information 24/7 begins at 8 p.m. ET
• Location: The U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
• On TV: CBS tv stations (discover your native station right here)
• Stay Streaming: Watch wherever the CBS Information 24/7 streaming community is distributed, together with the CBS Information app, CBSNews.com, YouTube, social platforms, Paramount+ and Pluto.

When the president heads to the Capitol to ship his deal with, he will likely be greeted by raucous applause from his fellow Republicans on a bunch of various coverage issues. 

However that reception will masks indicators of discontent amongst some GOP lawmakers, who’ve develop into extra prepared to cross the president in latest months.

Home Republicans have rebuked Mr. Trump in votes on tariffs, warfare powers and the Epstein recordsdata. And with members’ personal reelection hopes starting to conflict with some politically unpopular insurance policies coming from the White Home, the variety of Republicans defectors might develop because the midterm elections strategy.

“He was sure to be a lame duck at a while,” stated Elaine Kamarck, a senior fellow in Governance Research at Brookings. “Now, normally it occurs after the midterms.”

Learn extra right here.

On the White Home earlier within the day, press secretary Karoline Leavitt previewed the speech for reporters. 

“You are going to hear a speech that could be a celebration of 250 years of our nation, and our nation’s independence. You are going to hear the president share the tales of on a regular basis Individuals who’ve benefited from his insurance policies. You are going to hear the president share tear-jerker tales of American heroes previous and current, and actually exemplify what it means to be a patriotic American,” Leavitt stated.

“He’ll clearly tout the administration’s accomplishments of the previous yr, and can in fact lay out a really formidable agenda, I believe, for the working individuals of this nation to make America extra inexpensive and affluent and protected, and make the American dream extra attainable,” she continued, including that the president will “make the case that with three extra years of him within the White Home and Republicans on Capitol Hill, we will lastly obtain the American dream on this nation once more.”

Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger is about to ship the Democratic response to the State of the Union because the get together tries to counter the president’s message. 

Spanberger, a former congresswoman and CIA officer, was elected in November as Virginia’s first feminine governor in considered one of Democrats’ first main electoral victories because the 2024 elections. She’s set to ship the speech from Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, which she stated “has served as a testomony to the ability of bizarre residents to form the way forward for our nation, demand higher from our authorities, and pursue a extra good union for all.”

“I look ahead to becoming a member of Virginians on this historic place to put out the subsequent chapter of our story — a transparent imaginative and prescient for a stronger, safer, and extra inexpensive future for each American who calls our nation house,” Spanberger stated in a press release. 

Spanberger’s deal with is predicted to give attention to affordability, together with criticism of “the chaos” that Democrats say the Trump administration has unleashed throughout the U.S. Get together leaders introduced final week that she would ship the Democratic rebuttal to Mr. Trump’s deal with, whereas highlighting her report of public service and dedication to reducing prices for Individuals.

Learn extra right here.