Trump speech to Congress: Trump airs familiar grievances in address before Congress

Trump's speech will bring all branches of government together as he is joined by members of Congress and Supreme Court justices.

The speaker of the House and the vice president sit behind the president while he speaks. This speech will mark the first time Vice President JD Vance will be seated behind Trump for the address. During his previous administration, former Vice President Mike Pence was seated behind him.

During his last State of the Union address in 2020, then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi memorably ripped up a copy of Trump's speech just as he finished.

Invited guests also attend the event. The White House and members of Congress typically invite guests with specific backgrounds and stories that are important to them both personally and politically -- people they want to thank, to honor or even to highlight a particular issue.

The White House has not yet released its list of invited guests.

Trump, like other presidents, will take the opportunity to discuss his agenda.

Since taking office, Trump has been aggressive in pushing his priorities, which include curbing what he sees as wasteful government spending through federal job cuts.

He will likely discuss those efforts as well as his goals with immigration, foreign policy and the economy.

On Monday morning, Trump posted on his social media network that the speech will be "big" and he will "tell it like it is."

Since this speech will be Trump's first during his second term, it's not referred to as a "State of the Union" -- although both the address to the joint session and State of the Union are effectively the same.

The address is called the State of the Union for the years that don't include the president's inauguration.

The speech is a presidential duty mandated in the Constitution, which calls for the president "from time to time to give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union."

Senate Democrats blasted President Donald Trump's first month in office ahead of his address to a joint session of Congress, gathering for a news conference on Tuesday while holding up photos of the guests they're bringing to the speech, including fired bureaucrats and others who have been negatively affected by the White House's moves to slash the federal workforce.

"We think one of the best ways to let the American people know how horrible Donald Trump's first 30 days have been is to bring those who have been affected, the victims of his malevolence, of his desire, the tax breaks for the billionaires and make Americans pay for it," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate steps.

"Americans who voted for the president didn't sign up for this. They wanted lower costs. ... What is the State of the Union, we ask? Chaos is up, corruption is up, and costs are up for regular people," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., added.