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The Washington Times

Welcome to On Background, the politics newsletter that brings you insights from Capitol Hill to the campaign trail from veteran journalists at The Washington Times.

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President Trump delivered the longest State of the Union address in history and used much of it to promote accomplishments from his whirlwind first year back in the White House.

The speech served as both a victory lap and a rebuttal to recent polls showing Americans are dissatisfied with the job he’s doing as president and unhappy with the direction of the country, particularly the economy.

Mr. Trump and his administration are working to convince voters ahead of this year’s midterm elections that his policies on energy, tariffs, border security, housing, taxes and prescription drugs are reversing the economic downturn caused by high spending and regulation under the Biden administration.

“Tonight, after just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages,” Mr. Trump said.

Mr. Trump’s guest list at the State of the Union address played a prominent role in the 1-hour 46-minute speech. It included the Men’s USA hockey team, fresh from winning Olympic gold in Milan, and several U.S. military heroes dating back to World War II who received commendation medals and standing ovations. Dozens of congressional Democrats skipped the speech, while others protested it by donning white outfits or wearing pins. Rep. Al Green, the Texas Democrat who infamously stood up and yelled at Mr. Trump during last year’s joint address, was tossed from the chamber again for refusing to sit down and lower his sign referencing the president’s Truth Social post created by a White House staffer that depicted former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.

Mr. Trump called on lawmakers to enact a voter ID law he believes is necessary to curb voter fraud and announced new initiatives, among them a plan to provide up to $1,000 for worker retirement funds that lack employer matches. He also pledged to make Big Tech pay to power up their own data centers.

The Democrats held two oddball counter-programming events featuring frog costumes and singing. They selected new Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger to provide the party’s official response to the speech. She rapped Mr. Trump on affordability, provoking criticism about her own tax-and-spend plans for the Old Dominion.

Readers who want to watch Washington Times correspondents break down the president’s big speech can find our video here.

At the White House

President Donald Trump speaks during a press briefing at the White House, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026, in Washington, as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnik, looks on. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Plan B on tariffs. White House officials and the president spent the week focused on keeping Mr. Trump’s tariff policy alive following the Supreme Court decision that ruled much of them illegal.

The administration said it has a workaround that will implement “very durable” duties penalizing nations that subject the U.S. to unfair trade practices.

Mr. Trump, during the State of the Union address, said the high court’s overturn of the tariffs he invoked under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act won’t impact the trade deals he has secured with several countries and the European Union.

Mr. Trump announced he won’t seek approval from Congress for future tariffs as he threatened countries with existing trade deals with even higher duties if they “play games.”

In response to the court’s decision, the president imposed a 10% global tariff under separate authority that’s not subject to the Supreme Court ruling, and he said he plans to raise that to 15%.

Tariffs have served as a linchpin in Mr. Trump’s economic agenda.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick sat down with India’s trade minister, signaling the two sides are working to keep a recent trade agreement alive.

Companies that have paid billions of dollars under the now-stricken tariffs are expected to demand refunds. FedEx filed a lawsuit this week. Costco and other companies filed lawsuits ahead of the ruling. The government, some budget models show, could owe up to $175 billion in refunds. Administration officials are in no hurry to issue them and want a trade court to weigh in first.

On Capitol Hill

House Minority Leader Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

Weighing in on Iran. As tensions with Iran build in the Middle East, Congress will try to restrict Mr. Trump from taking military action without lawmakers’ approval.

Democrats next week plan to force a floor vote in the House on war powers resolutions that would require Mr. Trump to get approval from Congress before engaging in hostilities with Iran.

The move comes after Mr. Trump drew a red line during his State of the Union address, warning he would “never allow” the Islamic republic to build a nuclear weapon. The U.S.-Iran talks in Geneva were considered a last-ditch attempt to secure a diplomatic solution and came amid reports that Iran’s nuclear program was not obliterated by U.S. airstrikes last year and the country is once again getting close to being able to build a nuclear bomb.

The upcoming House schedule has yet to include legislation that would restore funding to the Department of Homeland Security. Senate Democrats continued to block new spending on DHS in a bid to get the Trump administration to back down on immigration enforcement raids. Many DHS workers remain on the job, including TSA agents, but are not receiving paychecks.

The House this week voted to block an airline safety bill that top Republicans and a leading Democrat said fails to address the broad array of causes of the Jan. 29, 2025, fatal mid-air collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.

House Republicans, meanwhile, are grappling with an ever-narrowing majority that could soon shrink again.

Lawmakers are calling for Rep. Tony Gonzales to step down amid an ethics investigation over the Texas Republican’s alleged affair with a female staffer who committed suicide. Mr. Gonzales denied the affair and said he is being blackmailed by the late aide’s husband.

On the 2028 election

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is seen during the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber) **FILE**

They’ve got two years. The Democratic field ahead of the 2028 presidential primary is a mess, some analysts say, led by stumbling California Gov. Gavin Newsom and indecisive former Vice President Kamala Harris, who said she hasn’t ruled out another shot at the White House.

In our opinion

President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The State of the Union address is pointless, Michael McKenna argues in a column that skewers the tradition.

Andrew Lewis targets the leaders of blue states for their expensive “tax, spend and regulate policies” while pushing an affordability message.

Liana Graham criticizes New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s support of assisted suicide as an “American freedom.”

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