On Tuesday night at 9 p.m. EST, Donald Trump will address a Joint Session of Congress, forgoing the standard State of the Union address. But much like a State of the Union address, the president will likely discuss his agenda for the coming years, setting the tone, as well as alleviating representatives’ concerns following a rocky first month as commander in chief. Whether or not Trump recognizes his first month in office as chaotic is another question—considering he gave himself an A grade early Tuesday morning on Fox and Friends.
In addition to other self-congratulatory remarks, we’ll likely hear Trump speak about the following three topics.
Obamacare
Trump has talked extensively about repealing and replacing Obamacare, otherwise known as the Affordable Care Act. What he’s failed to mention is how he plans to go about doing that exactly, much to the frustration of those who’ve benefited from the ACA and can’t afford health care without it. With 22 million Americans currently relying on Obamacare, Trump and his Republican cronies will have to come up with a suitable replacement—and soon. Hopefully we will get some concrete answers tonight.
Military Spending
On Monday, Trump announced plans to increase military spending by $54 billion while slashing funds for other federal agencies. To fund this unprecedented 10 percent increase in the military’s budget, he will likely cripple the EPA and foreign aid programs, despite the fact that foreign aid makes up a tiny fraction of the federal budget. In a statement released Monday morning, Trump said that by increasing the military’s budget, he would put “America first.” It’s unlikely he’ll elucidate that statement, but we’ll be lucky if we get more information about which federal agencies will need our support in the coming years.
Immigration
Immigration has been a hot-button issue since Trump decided to run for office, and it took a disturbing turn when he signed an executive order last month banning travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries. Some have speculated that Trump intended to distract us with the ludicrous executive order in order to test legal boundaries. Thousands gathered at international airports across the country to protest the ban, leading the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to block Trump’s order and deny his request to put the appeal process on hold. It’s expected Trump will sign a revised executive order to accomplish many of the same goals in his first failed attempt, something he’ll likely hint at during his speech tonight.
