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.

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.

Rep. John McGuire (R., Va.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. John McGuire:

Now that President Trump is here, it’s a return to trust, fairness, and common sense.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. John McGuire:

My best friend – my wife

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. John McGuire:

America Last policies are over. We didn’t get in trouble in one day over the last four years. The open borders caused people to die.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. John McGuire:

They’ll do whatever they can to disrupt this president.

Rep. David Kustoff (R., Tenn):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. David Kustoff:

We’ve seen a lot of successes since January 20th and President Trump should tout those loudly.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. David Kustoff:

John Bobango, a constituent and friend.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. David Kustoff:

The success at the border and illegal immigration, looking at the number of encounters at the southern border before Trump took office and after; how has he done that? What does he need from Congress in terms of codification and/or resources. On Israel, we saw a successful visit from Prime Minister Netanyahu shortly after Trump took office, and to me the message that he delivered was that the United States unequivocally stands with Israel, and we are going to do what we need to do to support Israel. That was important for the Israeli people to hear and it was important for the American people to hear. What does the Middle East look like six weeks down the road, six months from now, two years from now?

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. David Kustoff:

They shouldn’t, the government needs to continue to be funded and I hope the Democrats step up to the plate and honor their responsibility.

Rep. Carol Miller (R., W.Va.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Carol Miller:

We are doing a wonderful job securing our borders, we’re doing a wonderful job opening up energy exploration, and we are going to do one heck of a budget with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Carol Miller:

Ruben Garibay, the CEO of Puerto Verde global trade bridge. Puerto Verde is a proposed next-generation commercial port of entry that will make the U.S.-Mexico border more resilient, secure, efficient, and sustainable. This is the type of company that will make trade more efficient and address drugs getting smuggled over the border.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Carol Miller:

More about securing our border. In West Virginia we have suffered from drug addiction and the fentanyl that comes into the Ohio Valley, we’ve lost so many of our youth to this. I’m looking forward to continuing to secure our border, making our economy thrive, and focusing on an all of the above energy, from nuclear to coal to gas to thermal to natural gas to battery storage, you name it.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Carol Miller:

If they have good sense, they will not. It’s just a statement that ruins things for ordering ahead and it stops so many budgets in track that it costs more money when you shut the government down than when you keep it open.

Rep. Jim Baird (R., Ind.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Jim Baird:

Good.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Jim Baird:

Family members; in my district, they think the reforms Trump is doing should have been done a long time ago.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

What we’re going to do in this country. He already closed the border and that’s going to have a huge impact on our economy. I hope he discusses the Middle East as well. It was amazing to me the different groups that have coalesced like Russia, North Korea, and Iran. The idea that Israel needs to be eliminated, I have a hard time with that. Then we went to the border with Gaza and I saw several brand new caterpillar front end loaders and I saw lines of humanitarian aid sitting on trucks, so they were trying to send aid to Gaza.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Jim Baird:

It’s up to them.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R., Tenn.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Tim Burchett:

I’m optimistic if we follow through with President Trump’s goals with DOGE and beyond, but if we don’t we’ll just be in debt to somebody else.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Tim Burchett:

A nice lady from my district, she was my momma’s friend

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Tim Burchett:

About his successes and about Congress getting behind the DOGE efforts. Talk is cheap.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Tim Burchett:

They’ll try, they’ll give it all they’ve got; they’re kind of a rudderless ship, some are going to no show, some are wearing pink. They don’t have a serious agenda. They’re trying to appeal to their incredibly liberal base.

Rep. Morgan Luttrell (R., Texas):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Morgan Luttrell:

A moment of clarity and it is growing substantially.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Morgan Luttrell:

My identical twin brother, who’s a national hero and a Navy Cross recipient. There was a substantial change, a day one change for the military since Trump took office. Mr. Trump is not scared to let people know that he will send his guys and gals abroad, and I love that.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Morgan Luttrell:

More about the southern border and what Mr. Homan and Mrs. Noem are doing. Oil and gas is big in Texas. I’ll be curious to see if he talks about Ukraine and what that looks like, but I definitely want to hear about our posturing globally. Every country understands that he is someone who demands authority but demands respect. The UAE ambassador I met with a couple of weeks ago said that Trump lives outside the box and that is hard for us to understand in the Middle East.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Morgan Luttrell:

Not if we can help it

Rep. Ralph Norman (R., S.C.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Ralph Norman:

Like no other that we’ve had. The golden age is here. We will be the shining city on the Hill

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Ralph Norman:

Two guests, one called me out of the blue who wanted to support Tunnels to Towers and one had just lost his wife and is excited to support Trump. When Trump was sworn in, it was like a black cloud was lifted over the American people. The reason we saw a $100 billion investment is because people are optimistic again.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Ralph Norman:

Promises made, promises kept. He’ll outline his successes, his vision. He can say it as no other president can.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Ralph Norman:

They’re going to try to, but they’re not going to be successful.

Rep. Neal Dunn (R., Fla.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Neal Dunn:

Time to renew, refresh, and regrow

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Neal Dunn:

My wife, in the interest of domestic policy.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Neal Dunn:

My district’s Cook rating is only R +4 or 5, but Trump and Republicans outperform it a lot. We have a lot of fiscal hawks and military presence. We also like efficiencies and DOGE is really about efficiency more than anything else. We couldn’t run businesses the way the government is run. They want to see change that is responsive to people. I’d also like to see him lay out a strong international plan where all our allies can feel comfortable, and we can feel more comfortable with their support.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Neal Dunn:

They will certainly try. We’re trying our darndest to not shut down the government, but they don’t want to approve anything. They want to appropriate hundreds and hundreds of billions of dollars more than we have. We can take care of all of the things that government needs to take to care of if we just get rid of waste, fraud, and abuse.

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R., Iowa):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Ashley Hinson:

America is roaring back under President Trump and his policies are set to unleash American energy, keep us safe, and restore our standing. I’m excited to hear not only about the first 43 days but the next 43 days and beyond.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Ashley Hinson:

The head of Iowa DOGE; this is not something you fix overnight. It took us decades to get here. Iowa is a great example of how you are able to streamline things.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Ashley Hinson:

The number one issue I heard about on the campaign trail is the border. We need to give him all the resources that he needs to deport these illegal immigrants. We know many of these agencies under President Biden were funneling money to NGOs to support illegal immigration, under President Trump that stopped.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Ashley Hinson:

I certainly hope they don’t do that. We have negotiated in good faith, and the limitations on DOGE that they are asking for are contrary to what the American people voted for.

Rep. Rob Wittman (R., Va.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Rob Wittman:

It’s in a very healthy state and in a condition to get better.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Rob Wittman:

One of my Department of Defense fellows who works in our office.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Rob Wittman:

Securing the border; we see a record decreasing in border crossings, securing American energy, addressing what we do in overregulation, what we’ll do to rebuild our national security efforts and how we do that in ways that deter China. President Trump is very much a believer in Ronald Reagan’s message of peace through strength. Pete Hegseth just met with us earlier today about the needs to reconfigure the Pentagon to modernize at the speed of relevance. I kicked off today the Defense Modernization Caucus, which will be very active in this Congress. We need to use our innovators and creators; the question is how do we get what they’re doing into the hands of our warfighters.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Rob Wittman:

I am confident that we in the House are going to get our job done on the appropriations side, getting the continuing resolution through. Speaker Johnson has been in conversations with the White House. The challenge for us is let’s get it passed out of the House just like we did with the budget resolution, then it’ll really be up to Democrats in the Senate.

Rep. Tom McClintock (R., Calif.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Tom McClintock:

It’s the spending, stupid

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Tom McClintock:

A constituent who is a respected attorney, the war on waste is a winner in my district, as is securing our borders. As Haley Barbour is fond of saying, keep the main thing the main thing. The economy is the main thing. All of the ludicrous waste and corruption that Elon Musk and DOGE are uncovering are all things that my voters want gone.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Tom McClintock:

Illegal immigration and out of control spending

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Tom McClintock:

I can’t read minds and i can’t tell fortunes.

Rep. Glenn Grothman (R., Wis.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Glenn Grothman:

Here comes the sun, I think there is a happiness coming over America that we have not seen in many years. The Beatles are the greatest band of my lifetime and that song represents the state of our union.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Glenn Grothman:

My brother-in-law; he’s been a big support of mine and he’s a big supporter of President Trump and how down to earth he is and how he looks out for the little guy.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Glenn Grothman:

He should address the border and what he will do to remove the 10 million people Biden let in here illegally. I hope President Trump will look at the huge penalties we impose on married people with children. There is a particular problem with the lack of fatherhood in society.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Glenn Grothman:

I’m afraid they may try it, they’re so angry they’re almost irrational; we didn’t try and shut down the government when Biden was elected.

Rep. Mike Haridopolos (R., Fla.):

Washington Reporter:

In one sentence, what is the state of our union?

Rep. Mike Haridopolos:

We are making progress; I am so proud of the president for securing our border and finally taking a look at government spending.

Washington Reporter:

Who are you bringing tonight?

Rep. Mike Haridopolos:

My wife Stephanie; there is no more important person in my life.

Washington Reporter:

What do you hope to hear from President Trump tonight?

Rep. Mike Haridopolos:

I hope he takes a positive look at the progress we’re making and why we need to continue to offer transparency in government. The American comeback is real, and we are going to assert ourselves on the world stage once more.

Washington Reporter:

Do you think that Democrats will shut down the government?

Rep. Mike Haridopolos:

It seems like they want to shut down everything.