President Trump is set on Tuesday to deliver his first State of the Union address since taking office, and Washington is gearing up for what may be in store.
President Trump is set on Tuesday to deliver his first State of the Union address since taking office, and Washington is gearing up for what may be in store.
The speech before a joint session of Congress is an unusually formal venue for a president that relishes campaign-style rallies and Twitter as platforms for selling his agenda.
But when Trump takes the stage on Tuesday, he’s expected to issue a call for a $1 trillion infrastructure package and pitch a sweeping framework for overhauling the nation’s immigration system.
Trump is expected to unveil his immigration proposal on Monday — a plan that would offer a pathway to citizenship for nearly 2 million young immigrants while seeking to curb legal immigration and ramp up border security.
The State of the Union will also offer Trump a venue to tout accomplishments and initiatives that have been commonplace in his rhetoric throughout his first year in office.
He’s expected to talk up record highs in the stock market, the signing of a sweeping rewrite of the nation’s tax code and the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Trump’s 2018 agenda, particularly his plans for immigration and an infrastructure overhaul, will largely depend on his ability to lobby a bitterly divided Congress, and there are early signs of opposition to the president’s proposals.
Marc Short, the White House legislative affairs director, is sure to be a key player in that effort. He’s set to appear on CBS’s “Face the Nation” and “Fox News Sunday.”
A number of lawmakers are also set to appear on the Sunday morning news circuit.
Here’s the full lineup:
ABC’s “This Week” — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S. C.) will be on the show.
NBC’s “Meet the Press” — House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W. Va.) are set to make appearances.
CBS’s “Face the Nation” — Short will be on. He’ll be joined by Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.).
CNN’s “State of the Union” — Collins and Manchin, who are both among the most moderate members of their respective caucuses, will be on the show.
“Fox News Sunday” — Short will make an appearance, along with Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S. C.).
