SPECIAL EDITION: What House Republicans want to hear from President Donald Trump tonight
President Donald Trump will be addressing the nation in his first joint address to Congress in his second term. Rep. Lisa McClain (R., Mich), the chairwoman of the House GOP Conference, set up a media row where House Republicans told the Washington Reporter about what they think the state of our union is, who they’re bringing to tonight’s festivities, what they hope Trump will address tonight, and whether they think that Democrats will shut down the government.
Today’s media row is the continuation of an aggressive media outreach strategy McClain has implemented since taking over the House GOP Conference. McClain has been directly texting her fellow members of Congress and doing master classes with them to ensure that they are equipped to handle the issues of the day. Over 120 members — more than half of House Republicans — showed up, including Rep. Andy Harris (R., Md.), the chairman of the Freedom Caucus, Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn.), the House GOP Whip, Rep. Jason Smith (R., Mo.), the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, and more.
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Here’s what 19 House Republicans told us they’re thinking about before President Trump takes the big stage tonight. Interviews are lightly edited for clarity.
Rep. Tom Emmer (R., Minn.):
Washington Reporter:
In one sentence, what is the state of our union?
Rep. Tom Emmer:
Promises made, promises kept.
Washington Reporter:
Who are you bringing tonight?
Rep. Tom Emmer:
I’m bringing the new speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives, Lisa Demuth, who came out of nowhere and is kind of a star; she is one of the first women to serve as the Minnesota State House Speaker and she is the first woman of color to do it. Her success and Donald J. Trump’s successes are tied together. My wife usually comes, but she decided to give her seat away, we’re going to have Buzz Schneider and Rob McClanahan, who were Olympic Gold Medalists in the 1980 Olympics, come.
Washington Reporter:
What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?
Rep. Tom Emmer:
I just think having him once again in front of the American public talking about what he campaigned on, what he’s already accomplished in 43 days, is important. I wouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t mention that President Biden had far fewer accomplishments in 50 years than he’s already had. We need to have not only free trade, but fair trade. He’s trying to bring peace; he’s absolutely right, you never would have had the conflicts around the globe if he had been in office.
Washington Reporter:
Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?
Rep. Tom Emmer:
They really don’t have anything to campaign on. That would be a mistake. They are a broken party with a broken brand. They are trying to stop President Trump and Elon Musk from rooting out the waste that they have already found. They are trying to protect the waste, fraud, and abuse. I don’t think that’s a message that resonates with the American people.
Rep. Jason Smith (R., Mo.):
Washington Reporter:
In one sentence, what is the state of our union?
Rep. Jason Smith:
It’s time to deliver on the president’s priorities.
Washington Reporter:
Who are you bringing tonight?
Rep. Jason Smith:
A Missourian who loves how President Trump puts America first.
Washington Reporter:
What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?
Rep. Jason Smith:
I hope the president continues to push Congress to finish what we have started, and that is one big beautiful [reconciliation] bill. This is the quickest and fastest approach for Congress to deliver on what Trump promised. The Senate needs to act.
Washington Reporter:
Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?
Rep. Jason Smith:
The Democrats would love to shut down the government.
Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R., Texas):
Washington Reporter:
In one sentence, what is the state of our union?
Rep. Beth Van Duyne:
We’re making America great again and we’re only getting better. Texas is doing great. Policies matter, and the Democrats’ message of protecting criminal illegal aliens is not a working message.
Washington Reporter:
Who are you bringing tonight?
Rep. Beth Van Duyne:
A friend from Dallas to keep it low-key; she is very excited to hear from the president. I brought Tom Homan last year but am not trying to make much news this time.
Washington Reporter:
What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?
Rep. Beth Van Duyne:
The successes that he’s seen since he came into office, the economic investments like the $500 billion from Apple, the $500 billion that AI companies are putting into infrastructure; we’re seeing $1.7 trillion of economic investments so far, the wonderful work that Tom Homan and Kristi Noem have done on the southern border. All of that was done without a big, huge bill coming out of Congress, it was done by programs that he had in his first term in office that were completely dropped by Biden.
Washington Reporter:
Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?
Rep. Beth Van Duyne:
I think the Democrats who have pledged for years that they will never shut down the government are disingenuous.
Rep. Stephanie Bice (R., Okla.):
Washington Reporter:
In one sentence, what is the state of our union?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
It’s a new day in America
Washington Reporter:
Who are you bringing tonight?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
General Thomas Mancino, the Adjutant General for the Oklahoma National Guard. It’s really important to recognize our military servicemembers. Manico was integral in working with Governor Kevin Stitt and with Governor Greg Abbott in sending reinforcements to the southern border. He has seen firsthand the tragedy and the chaos of the southern border and is excited to have a president who is excited to keep this nation safe.
Washington Reporter:
What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
I want to hear his vision for the future. We have seen a little bit of a roadmap of where he wants to go, but I think there is a lot more of what we can be doing, whether it’s on executive orders on the border, regulatory reform, permitting reforms, men in women’s sports, these are things that the American people really wanted to see an impact on and he did that.
Washington Reporter:
Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?
Rep. Stephanie Bice:
They have threatened to shut down the government; whether they will actually move forward with that remains to be seen. I certainly hope not, I think it’s bad for the country. President Trump and Speaker Johnson have been very clear that they want to do a CR but also have also continued to discuss ways we can improve on the FY25 process.
Rep. Ron Estes (R., Kansas):
Washington Reporter:
In one sentence, what is the state of our union?
Rep. Ron Estes:
President Trump and the House Republicans have been focusing to restore our nation fiscally and physically.
Washington Reporter:
Who are you bringing tonight?
Rep. Ron Estes:
A businessman who is focused on how does he continue to grow and operate his business and push back on the regulatory burden, and how we make the tax code help him grow his business in the future.
Washington Reporter:
What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?
Rep. Ron Estes:
There have been so many things that he’s worked on in the past six weeks, and the focus has been how to rein in some of the reckless spending on the federal level and the kind of charge he’s given his cabinet agencies to focus on.
Washington Reporter:
Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?
Rep. Ron Estes:
I would be very disappointed if there’s another Schumer Shutdown; they talk about wanting to be responsible for the federal government but now that they’re not running the country, they are acting quite differently.
Rep. Darrell Issa (R., Calif.):
Washington Reporter:
In one sentence, what is the state of our union?
Rep. Darrell Issa:
It’s going to be huge tonight, never before has there been a president who has accomplished more in less time. We sent a letter to the Nobel Committee about President Trump; not only did he do four years without war, but from the time he was reelected until now, he has caused ceasefires to start breaking out. There is a ceasefire with Hezbollah and Israel, the Houthis haven’t fired a shot in weeks, and he is working on Ukraine as we speak.
Washington Reporter:
Who are you bringing tonight?
Rep. Darrell Issa:
I’m bringing a military veteran. I was planning on bringing Royce Williams, a WWII and Korean War vet, who is 92 years old, who we have up for the U.S. Medal of Honor, but he is having some health problems and we haven’t gotten the bill to the president yet.
Washington Reporter:
What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?
Rep. Darrell Issa:
All I want the president to say is what he says in other ways all the time to Congress: lead, follow, or get out of the way. The president is leading, Congress has yet to follow, but his actions say that he’s not going to wait for a reluctant congress, nor should he.
Washington Reporter:
Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?
Rep. Darrell Issa:
They’ll make every effort to impede this administration, and they will do so to their own detriment.
