Elissa Slotkin, a Senate Democrat from Michigan, is in front of a backdrop of American flags. She turns to what many Americans say they care most about and an issue that helped Trump win the White House: the economy.

"The President talked a big game on the economy, but it's always important to read the fine print," she warns.

She points to the new tariffs Trump imposed on goods from US neighbours roughly 24 hours ago, and the retaliatory tariffs Canada has since put in place. They will start trade war and hurt manufacturing, she adds.

"The national debt is going to go up, not down, and if he's not careful, he could walk us right into a recession."

Image source, EPA

Slotkin starts by saying she is "honoured" to have the opportunity to speak tonight, and promises to be shorter than the president's speech.

She starts by introducing herself and her life so far.

Slotkin says the election "made it clear that prices are too high and that government needs to be more responsive" to people's needs.

"But there is a responsible way to make change, and a reckless way. And, we can make that change without forgetting who we are as a country, and as a democracy," she says.

"So that's what I'll lay out tonight."

Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin is now giving the Democrats' response to Trump's congressional address.

You can watch her speech live on the top of this page.

We'll bring you all the top lines, stick with us.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the Capitol

In his speech, Donald Trump referenced the attempt on his life at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania on 13 July.

It became a major part of his speeches going into the November election and he often has spoken of it in religious terms.

At a campaign rally that day, a gunman - later identified as 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania - opened fire from a rooftop overlooking the rally, shooting Trump in the ear and leaving one man dead and two wounded. The aftermath of the chaotic incident ultimately led to the resignation of Kimberly Cheatle, the director of the Secret Service. Trump's new Secret Service Director, Sean Curran, was also there that day, and was pictured rushing on stage to protect the then-candidate. Trump acknowledged Curran in his speech tonight. I was in Butler that day, and many people I met there told me their support for the President was strengthened in the aftermath

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Trump has ended his speech.

The remaining Democrats quickly exited the chamber as Trump stepped down from the dais.

Republicans are giving Trump a standing ovation and cheering loudly. They are mingling on the floor with many approaching the dais to get close to Trump.

The left side of the chamber is practically empty.

Trump is taking his time leaving. He is shaking hands with members of his cabinet and Republican lawmakers.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill

Elon Musk just fist pumped Trump’s mention of planting a US flag on Mars. The billionaire owner of SpaceX believes that humanity will ultimately move off this planet and onto Mars.

Republicans, all giving a standing ovation, looked up to the gallery where Musk is standing as they clapped and cheered.

Image source, Reuters

Beginning to wrap up his speech, Trump talks about American ancestors, and praises their past achievements.

The president says it now time to "begin the most thrilling days in the history of our country".

Over the next four years, he says, "we're going to lead this nation even higher".

He then says the US will become the "most dominant civilization" with the "highest quality of life". They will "plant the American flag" on Mars, he says.

Trump says: "I'm also working tirelessly to end the savage conflict in Ukraine."

He says thousands of Russians and Ukrainians are being killed each week, and says that he wants it stop.

"You want it to keep going another five years?" he asks.

Trump then goes on to criticise Europe, saying that it has spent more money on Russian oil than it has on aiding Ukraine.

In comparison, Trump continues, the US has given hundreds of billions in aid to Ukraine.

He then says that today he received a letter from Ukraine's president Zelensky that they'e ready to sign a mineral deal and end the war.

On Friday, Trump and Vice-President, JD Vance, berated Zelensky in front of the press in the Oval Office, accusing him of not wanting peace for not agreeing to the White House's negotiation terms with Russia.

Trump typically says that the US has spent more than $300bn on Ukraine and Europe $100bn. But there is little evidence of such a large gap in spending, and many estimates of US spending put it below $200bn. You can find more about the disputed spending amounts here.

Are millions aged 100 or above receiving social security payments?published at 03:57 Greenwich Mean Time

03:57 GMT

By Jake Horton and Shayan Sardarizadeh

President Trump said millions of people aged 100 and above, and in some cases even over 200 or 300, are still on the Social Security database and receiving payments.

“Money is being paid to many of them and we’re searching right now,” Trump said.

Social Security provides a base income for people in the US who are either retired or can't work because of a disability. It covers about 67 million Americans.

BBC Verify has been unable to find specific evidence for Trump’s claim - although we don't have access to all the Social Security data.

Lee Dudek, acting commissioner of the Social Security Administration, said in a statement last month, external that people aged 100 or above without a date of death on their record “are not necessarily receiving benefits”.

The Social Security Administration in 2021 estimated some 24,000 people received payments from the agency after death, amounting to almost $300m.

There is a 2023 report by the Social Security inspector general which identified about 19 million people born in 1920 or earlier who didn't have any death data on file - 44,000 of whom were still receiving social security benefits.

There were an estimated 101,000 people over 100 years old in 2024 across the US, according to the Pew Research Center, external - most of whom you would expect to be receiving Social Security.

Did 21 million migrants enter US under Biden?published at 03:55 Greenwich Mean Time

03:55 GMT

By Lucy Gilder

Donald Trump said of US border security under Biden that: “over the past four years, 21 million people poured into the United States”.

HIs numbers are much higher than official estimates.

It is impossible to know exactly how many illegal immigrants have come to the US, as many will have evaded law enforcement agencies, but several estimates put the number at around half what Trump stated.

More than 10 million encounters of migrants were recorded at US borders under Joe Biden.

A report published by the Office of Homeland Securit, externaly last year estimated the number of illegal immigrants living in the US, as of January 2022, at 11 million.

It says about a fifth of them arrived in 2010 or later but the majority arrived before this time, some as early as the 1980s.

Pew Research Center and the Migration Policy Institute came up with similar estimates for 2022 and 2021.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I’m watching a handful of Democrats walk out of the chamber as Trump references Ukraine.

More are getting up from their seats and exiting as Trump continues his speech.

There are now more than a dozen empty seats on the Democrats’ side of the chamber.

Moving to the Middle East, Trump says he is working on "bringing back our hostages from Gaza".

He touts the Abraham Accords, which were signed during his first term, and says "now we're gonna build on that foundation".

He adds that people "haven't been talking about" the Middle East much, and it's been overshadowed by Russia and Ukraine

Trump says: "To boost our defense industrial base, we are also going to resurrect the American ship-building industry, including commercial ship building and military ship building."

The White House will create a new office dedicated to ship building and will look to create tax incentives to foster the industry.

Trump then pivots to a very controversial point, saying: "My administration will be reclaiming the Panama Canal, and we've already started doing it."

Trump says: "Just today a large American company announced they are buying both ports around the Panama Canal."

Whether that sale goes through, remains to be seen.

Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has repeatedly said the canal itself is not for sale.

"The Canal is and will remain Panama's and its administration will remain under Panamanian control with respect to its permanent neutrality," Mulino said in January.

"I also have a message tonight for the incredible people of Greenland: We strongly support your right to determine your own future.

"And if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America," says Trump.

He says that the US needs Greenland "for national security and international security."

"I think we're gonna get it. One way or the other we're gonna get it."

As Trump makes that final remark there was uneasy laughter in the chamber from the Republican side.

Along with DJ Daniel, Trump welcomed a high school student, Jason Hartley, in the audience whose "greatest dream" was to attend the US Military Academy West Point.

Trump tells him "your application has been accepted".

The president says his focus is on building a powerful military for the future,

But that goes far beyond sending Hartley to the elite academy.

Trump asks Congress to fund a "state-of-the-art missile defence shield to protect our homeland, all made in the USA".

Trump says he's signed an executive order for the mandatory death penalty for anyone who murders a police officer and also ask Congress to pass tougher laws for repeat criminal offenders.

He then turns to one of the youngest members of the audience - DJ Daniel, a 13-year-old who Trump says has "always dreamed of becoming a police officer".

Trump says Daniel was diagnosed with brain cancer in 2018 and was only given five months to live then.

Tonight, Trump says, "we're going to do you the biggest honour of them all", he tells Daniel.

"I am asking our Secret Service Director Sean Curran to officially make you (Daniel) an agent of the United States Secret Service," Trump continues.

The crowd erupts into applause. Daniels appears to be in total disbelief. He is then swept up in hugs and affection from those surrounding him.

Sean Curran was famously pictured trying to protect Trump in the chaotic moments after a gunman opened fire in Butler, Pennsylvania on 13 July.

Image source, Getty Images

How much money has Doge saved?published at 03:42 Greenwich Mean Time

03:42 GMT

By Lucy Gilder

Trump said that the newly formed team known as Doge for Department of Government Efficiency that is run by Elon Musk has identified “appalling waste” in federal government contracts.

However, questions have been raised about the scale of the savings published on Doge’s official website.

It states that it has saved an estimated $105bn, due to fraud detection, contract and grant cancellations, real estate lease terminations, asset sales, workforce reductions, programmatic changes, and regulatory savings.

However, that figure cannot be independently verified as Doge has so far only published receipts for contract, grant and real estate lease cancellations on the website.

These add up to $18.6bn. Doge says it is “working to upload all of our receipts in a digestible and transparent manner”. We have asked the White House for evidence of the remaining $86bn of savings.

US media outlets have also highlighted some accounting errors in the list of receipts.

For example, Doge initially listed its largest saving of $8bn from scrapping an immigration agency contract - but this was later corrected to $8m.

Was February the lowest ever month for border crossings?published at 03:41 Greenwich Mean Time

03:41 GMT

By Lucy Gilder

Speaking about his actions to tackle illegal immigration, Trump said that “as a result, illegal border crossings last month were by far the lowest ever recorded”.

In February 2025, there were 8,326 encounters at the southwest border - the “lowest documented” according to US Customs and Border Patrol (CBP)., external

Last month’s border encounters fell to the lowest level in 25 years, according to analysis by the BBC’s partner CBS News., external

By comparison, there were about 140,000 encounters, external by Border Patrol at the southern border in February last year under President Biden.

Border encounters rose to record highs under the Biden administration but started to fall significantly in his final few months in office.

Image source, EPA

Trump then singles out Robert F Kennedy, Jr, the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, who ran against him as an independent in the election before dropping out and supporting him.

"Our goal is to get toxins out of environment, poisons out of our food supply and keep our children healthy and strong," says Trump.

He adds that Kennedy will be looking thoroughly into the cause of increased rates of autism.

"OK, Bobby good luck. It's a very important job."

For context: Kennedy was a long-term vaccine sceptic, and tied immunisations against Measles, Mumps and Rubella to autism. A widely-discredited 1998 study in the Lancet by British doctor Andrew Wakefield, which suggested a link between autism and the MMR jab, generated mass panic and was fully retracted some years later. No scientific study has since established any link.

It's time to "bring back law and order to our cities and towns", Trump says.

He describes the Justice Department as being "turned upside down by radical left lunatics" who he says have been "weaponising" law enforcement against their political opponents.

Trump says there is a need to restore "fair, equal and impartial justice" under the rule of law - starting at the FBI and Department of Justice.

"Good luck", he says to his Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI director Kash Patel.