State Of The Union 2026 Date And Time, Hockey Team, Boycotts and Political Fallout
The state of the union 2026 date and time is set for around 9 p. m. ET tonight, when President Donald Trump will deliver an address that comes amid voters’ dimming views on the economy and rising tensions with Iran.
State Of The Union 2026 Date And Time
White House officials say U. S. men’s hockey players are expected to attend the speech, and a senior White House official said the players met with Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon. The team posed for a photo with their medals and took a tour of the White House in material posted by White House communications adviser Margo Martin. A White House official also confirmed that the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old National Guard member who was shot and killed in Washington D. C. last year, have been invited to attend the address tonight.
A rebuke from Klobuchar and a planned Democratic boycott
At least a dozen Democratic lawmakers are planning to skip Trump’s speech this evening and attend an event on the National Mall instead. Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who is running for governor of Minnesota, criticized those Democrats and said, “If he’s coming to our house, like, you gotta be there. Otherwise you let him own the house. ”
Who will answer and where the Democrats will regroup
Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger will deliver the Democratic response live from Colonial Williamsburg tonight, minutes after the president wraps up his speech at the Capitol. Spanberger, a former congresswoman, will then rally Democrats at House Democrats’ annual policy gathering later this week. She is listed as a guest speaker at the Democrats’ Issues Conference in Leesburg, Virginia, where leadership and rank-and-file members will discuss ways to combat Trump and plot their legislative strategy for 2027 should they take back the House this November. Other confirmed speakers for the retreat include Rohit Chopra, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau in the Biden administration; Shalanda Young, former director of the Office of Management and Budget under Biden; and Ron Chernow, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author and historian. The Democratic retreat runs from Wednesday through Friday.
Gonzales refuses to resign; GOP retreat set for next month
Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, told reporters in the Capitol that he is not going to resign amid revelations that he sent sexual messages to a staffer with whom he allegedly had an affair. The staffer died by suicide last year. Gonzales ignored questions about whether the reported text messages were accurate and repeated, “I am not going to resign. I work every day for the people of Texas. ” He added, “What you’ve seen is not all the facts and there’ll be ample time for all of that, ” and declined to elaborate, saying, “My constituents are not here in D. C., my constituents are back home in Texas. ” Gonzales is in a competitive Republican primary on March 3, and pro-gun activist Brandon Herrera is his best-known challenger. House Republicans will hold their own policy retreat next month at Trump National Doral Miami in Florida.
For anyone marking the calendar, the president’s address is scheduled to begin around 9 p. m. ET tonight, and the state of the union 2026 date and time will be followed minutes later by Abigail Spanberger’s Democratic response from Colonial Williamsburg. The Democratic policy retreat then runs Wednesday through Friday, and the House GOP retreat takes place next month at Trump National Doral Miami in Florida.