EDITOR'S NOTE: President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress will play in the video above when it starts at 8 p.m. CT.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday night will stand at the front of the U.S. House chamber to address a joint session of Congress, the first of his second term in office.
The speech will look like the State of the Union, and will be carried on live television, just like those annual addresses are. But it’s called something else: a joint address to Congress.
The U.S. Constitution requires that the president updates Congress and recommends policies, although the founding document doesn’t specify precisely when that address should take place.
Usually, presidents will deliver those remarks in January or February, reflecting on events of the previous year and outlining their policy priorities for the coming one. The message used to be known as “the President’s Annual Message to Congress.” In 1934, President Franklin D. Roosevelt began referring to it as the “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union.”
The address will be Trump's first major speech since taking office for a second term. In a message posted to the social media platform Truth Social, President Trump said it "will be big."
Politics
The speech also comes as Trump says tariffs on Mexican and Canadian imports are set to begin. The anxiety over tariffs bled into the stock market Tuesday, with Wall street losing momentum before the opening bell.
As Tuesday night's speech approaches, here's what to know.
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What time and when is Trump's speech to congress?
The speech starts at 8 p.m. CT on Tuesday, March 4.
House Speaker Mike Johnson invited Trump to deliver the joint address to Congress in a letter sent in late January.
"...Your administration and the 119th Congress working together have the chance to make these next four years some of the most consequential in our nation's history," he stated, in part. "To that end, it is my distinct honor and great privilege to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 4, 2025, in the Chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives, to share your America First vision for our legislative future..."
How to watch Trump's speech live
Trump's speech will be shown live on all of the major network and cable television stations, including on NBC, MSNBC, NBC News Now, NBC’s online streaming network Peacock, and this website.
It will also be available live on the NBC Chicago streaming channel.
The 24-7 streaming channel, NBC Chicago News, is now available at the top of this page, on NBCChicago.com and the NBC Chicago app, as well as on Peacock, Roku, Samsung TV Plus and Xumo. (Details on how to watch here)
Where does the address take place?
Trump’s speech will take place in the U.S. House chamber. Larger than the Senate chamber, it can accommodate both House and Senate lawmakers as well as other officials who are typically invited to such events.
Who else will be there?
Members of the U.S. Supreme Court and Trump’s Cabinet will attend.
There’s always one Cabinet member missing, though. Called the “designated survivor,” that person — who by position is in the presidential line of succession — is intentionally left out of such events to ensure that someone could assume the office of the president in case of a catastrophic or mass-casualty event.
The president typically invites guests who join the event from the balcony above the House floor and are seated with the first lady. In a release from the White House Tuesday morning, more than a dozen guests were announced, including the mother and sister of Laken Riley.
What happens afterward?
As there is a post-State of the Union address, the opposing party — in this case, the Democrats — will offer a message in response to the joint congressional address.
This year, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, who previously served in the House, will give the Democrats’ response, which is also televised. Democratic leaders have said that in her message, Slotkin will likely focus on economic issues.
The party has also tapped Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York, chair of the Hispanic Caucus, to give a Spanish-language response. On Saturday, Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States, a measure that allows government agencies and organizations that receive federal funding to choose whether to continue to offer documents and services in languages other than English.
Why isn’t this called the State of the Union?
By tradition, a State of the Union address is intended as a look back on the prior year. Trump just took office — albeit for a second time — on Jan. 20, so he’s only been in office this go-round for just over a month.
Instead, newly inaugurated presidents typically use their first joint congressional addresses to look forward, setting a tone for their legislative agenda. According to the Congressional Research Service, the average number of policy requests in a first-year address is 42.
