Here's what we know so far about Trump's first State of the Union address

Trump&#039;s first State of the Union is tonight.

(Image credit: NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

published 30 January 2018

President Trump's first State of the Union will focus on "building a safe, strong, and proud America" with an emphasis on his trillion-dollar infrastructure plan, the ongoing debate over immigration, the economy, trade, and national security, New York reports.

The big question of the night is if Trump will offer lawmakers a specific blueprint for how he wants to proceed on thorny topics like the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, after signaling last week he is open to a pathway to citizenship for people brought illegally to the U.S as children. White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Today on Tuesday: "I think you're going to see a lot of the president's heart in this speech."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hinted in an op-ed the tone Trump is likely to take on the economy: "When President Trump delivers his State of the Union address, he will have outstanding news to share," McConnell wrote. "After a decade of sluggish growth and stagnant paychecks, our country is back on the right track." In a dueling op-ed, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) advised Trump to "urge Congress to deliver a substantial investment in our nation's infrastructure." Rep. Joe Kennedy III (D-Mass.) will offer the official rebuttal to the speech.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

A reliable signal of the president's State of the Union agenda is who joins the first lady in her box. Melania Trump will have 15 guests, including four parents of two teenage girls who were murdered by members of the MS-13 gang in New York in 2016, CNN reports. A police officer who adopted a baby from parents suffering from opioid addiction and a beneficiary of the Republican tax cuts will also be in attendance as Melania Trump's guests.

Explore More

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.