The annual State of the Union address occurred Tuesday evening. Congressmen and Senators from both parties, as well as Supreme Court Justices and Cabinet members, gathered in the House chamber to listen to the President’s assessment of the state of our union and ways to make it stronger. The two-hour event was full of standing ovations (or sitting with arms crossed depending on which side you are on), accolades for American heroes, and noted successes of the Trump administration.
As we approach the United States’ 250th birthday, President Trump focused on American exceptionalism. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) displayed George Washington’s gavel. This gavel was used in a 1793 ceremony to lay the cornerstone of the Capitol building.
President Donald Trump kicked off his speech by calling the progress of our nation over the last year a “turnaround for the ages.”
Perhaps one of the President’s biggest victories was securing our Southern border. In the last year, there have been zero illegal aliens released into our nation after being apprehended at the border. Because of this success, the flow of fentanyl has decreased by 56%. Also, the murder rate across the nation is the lowest in 125 years. He stated:
The only thing standing between Americans and a wide-open border right now is President Donald J. Trump and our great Republican patriots in Congress.
The President highlighted Americans who had been killed or injured by illegal immigrants. In June 2024, an illegal immigrant who was issued a commercial driver’s license to drive a semi-truck caused a multi-car pile-up. One victim was Delilah Coleman, a 5-year-old girl, who now suffers from a traumatic brain injury, cerebral palsy, and has to relearn how to walk. Delilah was in the audience with her father. Additionally, 16-year-old Lizbeth Medina’s murder by an illegal immigrant who overstayed his visa was highlighted and her mother was also honored in the chamber.
President Trump used this moment to urge Congress to completely defund sanctuary cities and pass the SAVE America Act (H.R. 7296/S. 3752). The SAVE America Act prohibits illegal immigrants from voting in federal elections and requires identification to vote. The bill has once again been passed by the House and is stalled in the Senate. Despite voter identification having 89% favorability among Americans and Democrats requiring ID to get into campaign events or get paid to shovel snow in New York City, they are the ones obstructing the bill.
The Working Family Tax Cuts (also known as the One Big, Beautiful Bill) was another triumph highlighted throughout the evening. The President featured a stay-at-home mom who homeschools her children while her husband works long hours away from home. The OBBB has sustained their tax cuts, increased their child tax credit, and stopped taxes on overtime and tips, resulting in a $5,000 increase in their tax refund. He also used this time to encourage families to sign up for Trump Accounts, which are tax-advantaged investment accounts for children that can be accessed when they become adults for education, starting a business, or buying a home. While some of these initiatives, such as the Trump Accounts, are not supported by all Republicans because of excessive government spending or the creation of new entitlement programs, the OBBB as a whole was an impressive feat that enacted many of the President’s campaign promises.
While tax refunds are increasing, other expenses are decreasing. Representative Brian Mast (R-FL) summed up a few of the Trump administration’s financial successes in his post on X:
