The Latest: Trump begins address to Congress following his tumultuous first weeks in office

President Donald Trump took credit for “swift and unrelenting action” in reorienting the nation’s economy, immigration and foreign policy Tuesday in an address to Congress and the American people about his turbulent first weeks in office.

Here's the latest:

Here's the latest:

“For the past 45 days, we’ve seen a president who acts more like a king, more like a monarch, than a president,” Espaillat said.

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

House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News there may be a censure resolution brought to discipline Texas Rep. Al Green.

Green was removed from the chamber for disturbing Trump’s address.

“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 as concise as the president’s was wordy.

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.”

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, which backs immigration restrictions, predictably applauded Trump for his actions since Jan. 20 and the agenda he laid out in his speech. The group took him to task, though, for touting a $5 million “gold card” path to citizenship for wealthy buyers.

“Rather than a plan to allow people to buy their way into our country, the president should put forward a long overdue proposal to reform our legal immigration system that selects new immigrants based on merit, not money,” said Dan Stein, the group’s president.

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.

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

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.

“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.

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.

Michigan Democratic Sen. Elissa Slotkin is giving the Democratic response to Trump’s speech from Wyandotte, Michigan, where she noted that both she and Trump won with voters last November.

She opened her remarks promising to keep things much tighter than Trump, who set a record for a joint address to Congress by talking for around an hour and 40 minutes.

“America is once again standing strong against the forces of radical Islamic terrorism,” Trump said in reference to a 2021 attack in Afghanistan that killed more than a dozen American servicemembers and around 170 Afghan civilians.

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

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.

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.

“Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong," Trump said.

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.

Trump said that driving down childhood cancer rates and studying autism cases in the U.S. will be a top priority for his health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine and environmental advocate who is lobbying to redesign the U.S. food supply.

“Our goal is to get toxins out of our environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong," Trump said.

Childhood cancer remains rare in the U.S., with about 15,000 children diagnosed with the disease every year. Cases of pediatric cancer have risen in recent years, but treatments have improved, leading to a decline in deaths from the disease.

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

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.

In fact, according to Army data, recruiting numbers have been increasing steadily over the past year, with the highest total coming in August 2024 — before the November election. Army officials closely track recruiting numbers.

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.

Trump has repeatedly claimed that the Army had its best recruiting in January, suggesting that the turnaround is tied to his time in office.

In fact, according to Army data, recruiting numbers have been increasing steadily over the past year, with the highest total coming in August 2024 — before the November election. Army officials closely track recruiting numbers.

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.

Trump gave a shoutout to Marco Rubio, his secretary of state, as the president detailed his plans to “reclaim” the Panama Canal. But Trump’s comments appeared to also be a veiled warning for his Cabinet official, who is under immense pressure to execute massive cuts to U.S. foreign policy efforts abroad.

He comment resulted in some laughter from Republicans. He quickly pivoted to point out that Rubio was confirmed unanimously in the Senate and that “he’s going to do a fantastic job.”

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

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.

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

The Democratic side of the chamber now has plenty of open seats as lawmakers leave. Some made shows of their exit to protest the president’s remarks, while others appeared to be simply ducking out as Trump’s speech goes on.

“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.

“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.

The Democratic side of the chamber now has plenty of open seats as lawmakers leave. Some made shows of their exit to protest the president’s remarks, while others appeared to be simply ducking out as Trump’s speech goes on.

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.

“I am announcing tonight that we will create a new office of shipbuilding in the White House and offer special tax incentives to bring this industry home to America," he said.

Trump wants the United States to start building more large ocean-going vessels. It’s a push also being made by labor unions who see job gains in shipyards. But it’s unclear just what Trump’s move would accomplish.

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.

His campaign speeches often went above 90 minutes. His inaugural address in January, however, was about 30 minutes long.

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

“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.

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.

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.

“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.”

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 and Aurora, with a population 400,000, is the size of Tampa. It never buckled.

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.

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.”

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!”

That’s the post-election label for the “Harris Victory Fund,” a joint fundraising operation of Harris’ campaign, the DNC and state Democratic parties.

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.

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.

“HOLY COW!!!!!” reads the subject line of an email from former Vice President Kamala Harris seeking contributions to the Democratic National Committee.

Harris and the Democratic Party’s prodigious fundraising operation raised more than $1 billion in their campaign against Trump. But the former vice president has continued to solicit contributions under the “Harris Fight Fund.”

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.”

“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.

When the Yale University Budget Lab looked at the tariffs that Trump imposed Tuesday on Canada, Mexico and China, it found that inflation would increase a full percentage point, growth would fall by half a percentage point and the average household would lose about $1,600 in disposable income.

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.”

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.”

Trump is banking on the idea that taxing imports is the road to riches for the United States. Most economists say Trump’s tariffs would hurt the country, as they’re tax increases that could raise the costs of goods in ways that could also harm economic growth. Trump suggests that the impact on inflation would be minimal.

When the Yale University Budget Lab looked at the tariffs that Trump imposed Tuesday on Canada, Mexico and China, it found that inflation would increase a full percentage point, growth would fall by half a percentage point and the average household would lose about $1,600 in disposable income.

“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."

“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.”

But tariffs wouldn’t necessarily stop farm products from coming aboard, only make them more expensive for U.S. consumers.

Two judges in the past week have kept on hold a policy to block federal funding for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19.

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."

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.

Trump’s order actually states that there are only two immutable sexes, and it was one of a series Trump has signed that target the rights of transgender people.

Riley, a University of Georgia student, was killed by an immigrant in the country without permanent legal status.

Most Democrats were seated and, after the round of applause, again held up “False” signs at Trump’s claims about the Biden administration’s approach to immigration.

Trump taunted Democrats for opposing his tax cut plans, which could cost anywhere from $5 trillion to $11 trillion over 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog.

“I signed an order making it the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female," he said.

Trump’s order actually states that there are only two immutable sexes, and it was one of a series Trump has signed that target the rights of transgender people.

Two judges in the past week have kept on hold a policy to block federal funding for gender-affirming health care for transgender people under age 19.

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

Trump taunted Democrats for opposing his tax cut plans, which could cost anywhere from $5 trillion to $11 trillion over 10 years, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, a fiscal watchdog.

“I’m sure you’re going to vote for those tax cuts because otherwise I don’t believe the people will ever vote you into office," he said.

Of course, Democrats know what happened after they opposed Trump’s 2017 tax cuts, many of which are set to expire next year because they were funded through debt. There was no political penalty for opposing Trump’s cuts that Democrats portrayed as favoring those with extreme wealth.

But there is no federal mandate to force the purchase of EVs. The Democratic president’s policies tightened restrictions on pollution from gas-powered cars and trucks and were aimed at encouraging Americans to buy EVs as car companies shift from gas-powered vehicles to electric cars.

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.

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

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 countries have used tariffs against us for decades, and now it’s our turn to start using them against those other countries," he said.

Trump promised that come April 2, reciprocal tariffs will be imposed for most of the country’s trading partners.

Trump has made similar threats for weeks but said he didn’t want to make the announcement on April 1 because of April Fool’s Day.

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.

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.

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

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.

Trump also highlighted his moves to open up areas in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for drilling. But expanding the area available for companies to lease and drill doesn’t necessarily mean that more oil and gas will be produced.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Trump issued an executive order on his first day in office that revokes a nonbinding goal set by Biden that EVs make up half of new cars sold by 2030.

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.

Trump is keen to blame former President Joe Biden for inflation, even as consumer sentiment surveys by the Conference Board and the University of Michigan show people are worried about Trump’s tariffs pushing up prices.

Trump again said incorrectly — as he has done many times before — that his administration ended what he called the Biden administration’s “insane electric vehicle mandate, saving our auto workers and companies from economic destruction.”