America's allies will be watching and waiting to see if Trump makes any "bombshell announcements", Ravi Agarwal, the editor-in-chief of the Foreign Policy publication tells the BBC.

He says that the beginning of Trump's second term has been a tumultuous time for US allies.

Trump has "upended" the rules-based global order, Agarwal says, and pushed his America-first agenda forward. Examples of these, he says, are the implementation of tariffs as a "foreign policy cudgel" and the abandonment of traditional US allies.

Rachel Looker
Reporting from Capitol Hill

I’m now in the House chamber, where lawmakers are funneling in ahead of Trump’s speech.

There’s an abundance of reporters here - some having to stand behind those sitting because there are not enough seats.

It’s easy to spot the line between the Democrats versus Republicans in the room.

On the Democratic side, many of the women lawmakers are sporting the colour pink in protest of Trump’s joint address.

I’m seeing former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi sport a pink suit coat, while some of the male Democratic lawmakers are donning pink ties.

Some of Trump's top cabinet members have now arrived at Congress, including the secretaries of defence, commerce, and health.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, who is widely considered the architect of Trump's tariffs, was shaking hands and flashing wide smiles as he walked past the crowd to enter the House chamber.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Getty Images

One big talking point heading into Trump’s address to Congress tonight is the war in Ukraine, after it was announced last night that the president had suspended deliveries of all military aid to the country.

Since that angry meeting in the Oval Office last week, there have been visible tensions between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky - and the US president has repeatedly called for Zelensky to be more “thankful”.

Earlier today, Zelensky shared a lengthy statement, in which he expressed a willingness to consider a partial truce if Russia agreed to do the same, and thanked Trump personally for his support for Ukraine.

But Trump has yet to respond, and the key question is whether that statement will be enough to change his mind. Perhaps we'll get a clearer idea of the president's intentions tonight.

Republican Congressman Chuck Edwards from North Carolina says he is “feeling a lot of energy” in Washington DC ahead of President Trump’s address, saying “there is a level of optimism that has been missing for the 26 months I’ve served in Congress”.

He goes on to share his views on Trump’s tariffs on Mexico and Canada with the BBC. Edwards says it’s important to remember that Trump is the author of The Art of the Deal, and considers the tariffs an “opening move” to enter negotiations with Canada and Mexico.

This is an effort to show America’s strength, he says, and pressure Canada and Mexico to secure their borders with the United States.

Edwards says that there is “room for discussion” with the tariffs, which have been in effect for less than 24 hours, and he expects to see both Mexico and Canada at the negotiating table in the following weeks and months.

Trump ignores the economy at his perilpublished at 01:35 Greenwich Mean Time

01:35 GMT

Anthony Zurcher
North America correspondent

Donald Trump comes into this address to Congress with a lot to talk about.

Immigration enforcement, new tariffs, Elon Musk’s budget-slashing, an anti-DEI campaign, and controversial plans for Ukraine and Gaza – the list is extensive.

What polls indicate Americans care about most, what they have been focused on for years now, is the economy. And it is the economy that largely determines whether Americans view their president positively.

Just ask Joe Biden.

Trump could talk all night about the various policies and proposals his new administration has been pushing with breakneck speed. He probably will. But his ability to keep focus on America’s economic health – and make the case that his policies, like this week’s tariffs, are a help not a hazard - could ultimately determine whether this speech succeeds or fails.

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Travelling with President Trump

The motorcade just began rolling out of the White House, in a long string of black SUVs, vans and police vehicles.

We're now speeding through Washington DC - with police lights on - for the short drive to the Capitol.

The press is in two vans in the middle of a motorcade. We're now driving fast. Personally, I'm in the back row of a van wedged uncomfortably between the equipment-laden team of the White House's own video team.

Most of the press pool didn't catch sight of the President, although still photographers were given an opportunity. I'm told Musk was seen leaving the White House moments before.

Image source, US Pool

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

As we reported earlier, Donald Trump's will call for more funding for deportations and border wall construction in his speech tonight, and also go over what his administration has already done in terms of immigration in its first six weeks.

Immigration was a bedrock issue for his presidential campaign, where he pledged to take a hard line on migrants coming into the country illegally if voters returned him to the White House.

On two separate occasions today, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, has stopped to briefly speak to reporters on the topic.

This afternoon, he contrasted Trump's immigration policies to "historic" levels of undocumented immigrants during the Biden administration.

"ICE [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement] had the lowest number of interior enforcement removals in the history of the US," he said. "That's not by accident. That's by design."

Homan cited a number of statistics, including a 300% increase in interior detentions and a 97% reduction in the number of illegal immigrants crossing the border and pointed to a recent day in which 41 "got-aways" - who weren't arrested - were recorded, compared to an average of 1,800 under the Biden administration.

"President Trump is a game-changer. He proves every day why he is the greatest president of my lifetime, because he secured the border," Homan said.

Note: the BBC has not verified the numbers he cited

Brandon Drenon
Reporting from Washington DC

Image source, Brandon Drenon/BBC

Hours before Donald Trump's planned address, several members of the Congressional Black Caucus crammed into a room on Capitol Hill for a press conference to elevate their concerns about Trump's first few weeks in office.

Pointing to Trump's work to dismantle federal DEI initiatives , Yvette Clarke, the caucus chair, said: "This is bold-faced white supremacy, racism, and we're not going to stand for it."

"What we expect to hear this evening is an articulation of the white supremacist manifesto that has been demonstrated in what this administration has done thus far," she said.

Some lawmakers have said they plan to boycott tonight's joint session. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, a rising star in the Democratic party, told the news conference she was unsure about attending. Others said not attending could benefit the president, who might fill the empty seats with supporters.

Congressman Troy Carter was certain about his attendance.

"I have a seat in the House of Representatives that the people of America gave to me, and I'm going to be sitting in it," Carter said.

"I'm going to look this president in the eye and say, 'We ain't going back.'"

For context - DEI stands for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and has become shorthand in the US for diversity initiatives. Also, Many members of Trump's Republican party deny having ties to or sympathy with white supremacy.

Ahead of Trump's address to Congress, a couple of hundred protesters gathered outside the headquarters for conservative cable network Fox News in New York City.

Demonstrators there waved signs and shouted chants against President Donald Trump and one of his top advisers Elon Musk.

What to watch for in Trump's speechpublished at 01:18 Greenwich Mean Time

01:18 GMT

Merlyn Thomas
North America correspondent

The White House says President Trump will focus on "his plans to restore peace around the world".

But what does that look like? I’ll be listening for what he says about the war in Ukraine and the minerals deal, tariffs on Mexico and Canada, and taking over Greenland – to name a few.

Despite the US being a superpower, Trump has often sought to write a narrative where America is the victim in both economic and diplomatic affairs globally.

And this is something we know goes down very well with his core base of supporters who see Trump as going to bat for them on the world stage.

All eyes are on Ukraine. In many ways, this will be our chance to hear directly from Trump about what he is thinking.

If he strikes a more conciliatory tone towards President Zelensky, then it might be a sign that the US leader has moved past the shouting match that we saw in the White House on Friday.

But if Trump doubles down, then it may be that he’s unwilling to budge and could indicate he’s willing to move the dial on who is friend or foe to the US.

Image source, Reuters

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has invited a Ukrainian who fled her war-torn country to attend tonight's speech, soon after Trump decided to pause military aid to Ukraine.

Kateryna Myron was born in central Ukraine, and was forced to flee to Moldova and then the US after the Russian invasion of her country, according to Jeffries' office.

“Her presence reminds us that despite the insistence by some that we should abandon our partners, we must continue to stand with the Ukrainian people until victory is won,” says Jeffries, who is the top Democrat in the House.

Also invited are Pamela Lockley and Gretchen Jefferson of New York, who Jeffries says have both benefited from Medicaid and social security assistance, Iair Horn, who was taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October 2023, is also invited, as are Yael Alexander and Adi Alexander, the parents of American hostage Edan Alexander who is currently being held by Hamas.

Trump has imposed 25% tariffs on products entering the US from Canada, leading Canadian PM Justin Trudeau to slap a retaliatory tariff on US goods.

"This is a time to hit back hard and to demonstrate that a fight with Canada will have no winners," Trudeau said.

The BBC spoke to Canadians about how the tariffs are already affecting their country's relationship with its southern neighbour, and their shopping habits.

One said she expects the tariffs to "greatly impact my life." Others said they predict lay-offs at their work and some will now go out of their way to buy non-American products.

"It's frustrating. They're our neighbours," said one person.

Kaelin Dorr, the Deputy Assistant to the President and White House Deputy Communications advisor, has taken to X to show how staffers are preparing for tonight's address:

Image source, https://x.com/Kaelan47

Image source, Getty Images

The Democratic rebuttal to tonight's speech will outline "just how much this administration is wrecking Americans lives", according to Congressman Joaquin Castro.

Speaking to the BBC, Castro says the Republicans are "talking about cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid which is how low income folks, disabled folks, many of them, and some senior citizens, how they get health care coverage."

"They're going to take those hundreds of billions of dollars and give them to billionaires and the wealthiest Americans'", he says.

"And that's why so many people are saying, 'hey, I didn't vote for this.'"

Trump has said that the public health programme known as Medicaid won't "be touched", but achieving the drastic cuts Republicans are seeking in a House budget proposal passed last week could be difficult without cutting major social services.

Asked about his Democratic colleagues planning on protesting tonight's address, Castro says: "I think people have deep disagreements with the president, but you know, I haven't heard of anybody doing things that are especially disruptive or anything that we haven't seen before".

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, EPA

It's been a relatively calm day here at the White House, with many journalists starting late - or not coming at all - ahead of tonight’s address by President Trump on Capitol Hill.

Speaking to reporters near the West Wing, Aliba Habba - who serves as counselor to the president - said that Trump will “talk about a lot of things", including efforts by Doge to cut government spending.

"Frankly, there’s so much good that has happened" since Trump took office in January, she said, adding that "we need a recap of that".

Habba also addressed reports that congressional Democrats plan to bring people impacted by Trump's policies - including now-unemployed federal workers and veterans - to show their displeasure with the administration.

While she said that Trump has “always cared", Habba said that “at the same time, we have taxpayer dollars”.

“We have a fiscal responsibility to use taxpayer dollars to pay people that actually work," she said.

"That doesn't mean that we forgot our veterans by any means. We are going to care for them in the right way, but perhaps they're not fit to have a job at those moment, or not willing to come to work….it's just not acceptable."

Trump will address a Congress where his Republican party holds an exceptionally slim majority.

The House of Representatives is nearly split evenly between the two parties, and Republicans have the smallest margin of control there in modern history, according to Pew Research Center.

Republicans also have a narrow advantage in the Senate, and had to call in Vice-President JD Vance to break a tie vote on confirming Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

You can see the current composition in our graphs below:

Image source, Getty Images

Donald Trump is so far "doing the opposite" of what he promised to voters while campaigning in last year's election, Democratic Senator Chris Coons tells the BBC.

Coons, who was a strong ally of former President Joe Biden, says Trump "promised he would make America affordable again" and bring down prices but so far has imposed tariffs that will raise those prices.

He adds that Trump's early steps in office - including laying off thousands of government workers - have "slashed federal spending" and "hurt communities across our country".

And Coons says he expects the focus of the rebuttal Elissa Slotkin will deliver after Trump's speech on behalf of the Democrats will be how Trump is "failing the American people".

Republican Senator Eric Schmitt tells the BBC that tonight's address is a chance for Trump to "outline his vision".

Schmitt says the previous administration of Democrat Joe Biden was a "total nightmare for working class families" and "everything got more expensive".

Pointing to what he calls the economic successes of Trump's first term, Schmitt says tonight is about discussing "how we're gonna do that" again.

That involves, he says, controlling government spending and helping the country "unleash energy dominance" to put it on a path to a "golden age of prosperity".

And the president's actions in office so far, he adds, is "exactly what the American people voted for".

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Earlier today, Donald Trump’s “border tsar” Tom Homan spoke to reporters at the White House - and was asked how much additional funding the President will ask Congress to spend on border and immigration law enforcement.

Trump is expected to dedicate a large portion of tonight's address to members of the Senate and House to immigration.

While he said he was unaware of a specific dollar figure, Homan said that “all I know is that we need the money to continue doing what we’re doing.”

“We need money for more beds. We need money for more flights. We need money to keep concentrating on the worst of the worst,” he added.

US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is “in the hole already”, Homan said.

“We need Congress to step up and give us the funding we need so that President Trump can keep his promises to the American people,” he added.