President Donald Trump is barreling ahead with the first State of the Union address of his second term, despite concerns among Republicans that it’s set to hit during a partial government shutdown.
The speech, set for 11 days from now, is poised to land in the middle of a funding lapse at the Department of Homeland Security – the product of a standoff with Democrats over immigration enforcement that the White House had hoped to avoid. Behind the scenes, some administration officials and senior Capitol Hill Republicans are quietly fretting about the optics, according to six people granted anonymity to describe private conversations.
The concerned Republicans believe it would be less than ideal for Trump to stand in the well of the House and declare that the state of the union is strong when a critical part of the federal government remains shuttered.
“It doesn’t exactly scream ‘a functioning GOP trifecta,’” said one House Republican granted anonymity to speak candidly.
Asked whether postponing the address was under discussion, a senior White House official said Friday, “Not as of yet.” Senior Hill Republicans believe the president is full steam ahead as well. In 2019, Trump publicly battled with then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi for more than a week over whether to delay his State of the Union address during an earlier government shutdown. He eventually relented.
Republicans expect Speaker Mike Johnson, who is responsible for extending the formal invitation to the president to address a joint session of Congress, not to delay the speech unless the White House specifically asks.
The latest shutdown, which will begin when DHS funding lapses overnight, is expected to drag on until at least the week of Trump’s Feb. 24 State of the Union speech because the White House and Senate Democrats appear to be far apart on how far to rein in Trump’s immigration enforcement activities as part of a funding agreement.
Both sides are continuing to negotiate, but lawmakers left Washington Thursday for a week-long recess with little expectation they would be called back early. The address is scheduled for one day after lawmakers return to Capitol Hill.
White House officials and senior Hill Republicans have been eager for Trump to use the prime time address to tamp down a swirl of negative headlines over the past few weeks, from the fatal shootings by federal immigration agents in Minnesota to the release of the files of the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. They instead want to focus on the GOP’s economic messaging heading into the midterms.
Some Republicans also see it as an opportunity to blame Democrats for the DHS funding lapse, which impacts TSA baggage screeners, who will work without pay, FEMA and the Coast Guard.
“President Trump has been, and always will be, on the side of the American people,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a Fox News interview Friday. “He wants our government to remain open, and unfortunately, it appears that Democrats are barreling our government towards another shutdown for political and partisan reasons.”
Among the considerations for Republicans is how difficult Democrats plan to make things for Trump during the speech itself. Senate Democrats are having discussions about whether to boycott the event and talked it over during a closed-door lunch this week, according to two people granted anonymity to share details of the private conversations. Some members of the caucus are currently expected to attend, though a swath is undecided.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Friday declined to say whether he believed the speech should go forward during a DHS shutdown.
“That’s an open question,” he told reporters. “We’ll have more to say about that next week.”
Jeffries advised Democrats during a private leadership meeting earlier this week that his members should either sit in “silent defiance” or attend alternative programming, according to two people granted anonymity to describe his comments.
Heckling has become increasingly common from a president’s political opponents during State of the Union speeches.
Johnson pleaded with his own members to maintain decorum during former President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union appearance, only for several House GOP hard-liners to openly taunt him. During Trump’s address to Congress last year, Democrats showed up with signage and jeers, with multiple members walking out either on their own accord or at the insistence of Capitol Police.
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas), who stood up to yell at the president at the very beginning of Trump’s speech last year, was later censured by the House for his actions.
Asked Thursday whether he would attend this year’s State of the Union address, Green said, “I’m not making an announcement right now.”
Eli Stokols and Diana Nerozzi contributed to this report.
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