President Donald Trump littered his record-breaking, nearly two-hour-long State of the Union address Tuesday night with dramatic tributes to American heroes, caustic attacks on congressional Democrats and a preview of his party’s midterm campaign pitch.
But he also sprinkled in a handful of legislative demands that have uneven prospects at best on Capitol Hill. Here’s what caught our ears:
— Targeting noncitizens: Trump repeatedly railed against illegal immigration and pushed lawmakers to pass the SAVE America Act, the GOP bill that would tighten proof-of-citizenship standards for voting.
“Why would anyone not want voter ID?” Trump said at one point. “One reason — they want to cheat.”
But the bigger news might be what Trump didn’t mention: A hard-right push to use a “talking filibuster” to get the House-passed bill past Senate Democrats. In what was likely a big relief for Senate Majority Leader John Thune, the president didn’t mention the filibuster at all.
Trump also called for passage of “Dalilah’s Law,” which would bar states from granting driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants.
— Health care: The president pressed Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson to take the most-favored-nation drug-pricing deals he’s recently struck with pharmaceutical companies and enact them into law.
“I’m not sure it matters, because it’s going to be very hard for somebody that comes along after me to say, ‘Let’s raise drug prices by 700 or 800 percent,’” Trump said. “But John and Mike, if you don’t mind, codify it anyway.”
But the provision faces big opposition from the prescription drug industry and its allies inside the GOP.
Completely unmentioned? The expired Obamacare subsidies, which now seem like ancient history in Washington. Trump only briefly mentioned his “Great Health Care Plan” that would give money “directly to the people.”
— Stock trading: Trump drew bipartisan applause after endorsing a ban on stock trading by members of Congress. But getting a bill on Trump’s desk will be tough.
Johnson’s leadership-blessed legislation to crack down on the practice is in limbo, without enough GOP support to put it up for a vote. Democrats are pushing for a more expansive stock trading bill, which would also apply to the president and vice president.
Even if the House can pass something, the Senate is seen as even more unlikely to act.
— Crime: The president included a demand for lawmakers to pass “tough legislation to ensure violent repeat offenders are put behind bars and, more importantly, that they stay there.”
That called back to Trump’s multiple comments last summer about pursuing a sweeping crime bill, which never materialized into legislation. Rekindling the effort in an election year would be iffy at best.
— Housing: Trump renewed his request for Congress to limit large investors from purchasing single-family homes as the GOP tries to address a growing housing affordability crisis — an idea that has bipartisan support.
It comes as the House and Senate are working to reconcile competing legislative packages, and the White House push could help convince skeptical Republicans to include it in a final product.
“We want homes for people, not for corporations,” Trump said.
— Left unmentioned: There’s one area where the president conspicuously said lawmakers are free to sit on their hands: “Congressional action will not be necessary,” Trump said, to impose new global tariffs to replace the levies struck down by the Supreme Court last week in what he called a “very unfortunate” ruling.
And while Trump did discuss an expansion of a retirement savings program launched under former President Joe Biden, he did not call for new tax cuts or party-line economic measures to address rising prices — which he continued to blame on Democrats.
“Their policies created the high prices,” he said. “Our policies are rapidly ending them. We are doing really well.”
What else we’re watching:
Lawmakers are set to grill two Trump nominees Wednesday morning who have come under fire for their records and financial ties.
— Steve Pearce for BLM: Steve Pearce’s appearance in front of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee will be the former House Republican’s first opportunity to publicly push back against accusations from Democrats and conservation groups that he’s unfit to lead the Bureau of Land Management.
The committee’s top Democrat, Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, and Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) will almost certainly zero in on Pearce’s voting record. When Pearce was in Congress, he opposed BLM efforts to tighten rules on the oil and gas industry and supported selling some BLM and Forest Service lands.
Pearce also reported that he earned as much as $1 million last year from a business often associated with oil and gas development.
— Casey Means for ‘America’s top doctor’: Over at the Senate HELP panel, all eyes will be on how hard Chair Bill Cassidy (R-La.) presses Casey Means, Trump’s pick to be U.S. surgeon general, over her stance on vaccines. Cassidy has repeatedly criticized Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vaccine policy changes, and Means has previously condemned giving the hepatitis B shot to infants.
There’s also bipartisan criticism over Means’ credentials. The wellness influencer and health-tech entrepreneur’s medical license is currently listed online as inactive, and she has promoted contested health practices such as consuming raw milk.
Scott Streater, Nico Portuondo and Amanda Friedman contributed to this report.
