Amid trade wars, Zelenskyy clash, mass firings, Trump to address US Congress

Washington: President Donald Trump will address Congress on Tuesday after upending US foreign policy, igniting a trade war with close allies, slashing the federal workforce and stretching the limits of presidential power during a dizzying six weeks in office.

The speech, his first to Congress since taking office on January 20, is set to begin at 9:10 pm ET (0210 GMT on Wednesday), after Trump's sweeping new tariffs against Mexico, Canada and China drove US markets sharply downward for the second straight day.

Trump will speak to lawmakers in the House of Representatives where lawmakers huddled in fear for their lives a little over four years ago while a mob of Trump supporters ransacked the Capitol in an unsuccessful effort to overturn Democrat Joe Biden's 2020 victory over the then-incumbent Trump.

A former TV showman with a flair for the dramatic, Trump at one point appeared to be preparing for a surprise announcement: the signing of a rare minerals deal between the US and Ukraine that the president has made the cornerstone of his proposed peace plan to end the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Sources told Reuters Trump told advisers early in the day that he wants to announce the deal in his speech, though they cautioned that nothing has been signed yet and the situation could change.

Later on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Fox News there was "no signing planned" for a minerals deal, a reporter for the network said on X.

Trump paused all military aid to the beleaguered US ally late on Monday, following a disastrous Oval Office meeting in which Trump angrily upbraided Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in front of TV cameras.

The aid suspension dealt a heavy blow to Kyiv's efforts to defend against Russia, which launched a full-scale invasion three years ago, and further rattled European leaders.

While Trump has appeared to fault Ukraine for starting the war, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll found 70 per cent of Americans - including two-thirds of Republicans - say Russia was more to blame.

Trump's 25 per cent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, two of the country's closest allies, and an additional 10 per cent on Chinese imports deepened investor concerns about the economy. The Nasdaq Composite is down more than 9 per cent from its record closing high on December 16.

Mixed marks on economy

Just one in three Americans approve of Trump's handling of the cost of living, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, a potential danger sign with economists warning that his tariffs could increase inflation.

A senior White House official said the theme of Trump's speech is the "renewal of the American dream" and that he will "outline his plans to restore peace around the world."

The official said Trump's topics will include laying out his plans to end the Ukraine war and gain the release of hostages abducted from Israel by Hamas militants and held in Gaza.

Trump is expected to laud his rapid-fire efforts to slash the size of the federal bureaucracy, reduce the flow of migrants over the US-Mexico border and use tariffs to force other nations to bow to his demands.

While Democrats are not planning a broad boycott of the speech, Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut was among those who said he would not attend, calling the event "a farce."

On the domestic front, Trump is likely to make a case for extending his 2017 tax cuts. Congressional Republicans have advanced a sweeping $4.5 trillion plan that would extend the cuts, tighten border security and fund a huge increase in deportations.

The proposal calls for $2 trillion in spending reductions over a decade, with possible cuts to education, healthcare and other social services.

Blizzard of orders

Trump has issued a blizzard of executive orders as he attempts to set new rules on everything from trade and immigration to plastic straws and English as the official language of the United States.

At the same time, Trump's Justice Department has fired or sidelined top officials who helped to prosecute Trump supporters who took part in the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Trump has also fired agency inspectors general and taken other steps to remove oversight over his government.

First lady Melania Trump will be joined at the address by selected guests, including the family of Corey Comperatore, a firefighter killed by the gunman who grazed Trump with a bullet during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July.

Others include Marc Fogel, a history teacher freed from detention in Russia in February.

Trump spent part of the weekend at his Florida home crafting the speech with advisers, including ally and billionaire Elon Musk, according to an aide with knowledge of Trump's schedule.

Musk will attend the Tuesday night speech, a White House official said.

Trump has taken an axe to the federal government, working with Musk's Department of Government Efficiency to jettison more than 100,000 federal workers across dozens of agencies.

The campaign has terminated the vast majority of foreign aid, including humanitarian assistance, and effectively dismantled entire agencies, such as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Democrats plan to underscore the harm they say Trump's policies have caused everyday Americans by inviting civil servants hit by DOGE firings or funding freezes to Tuesday's speech.

Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, a former CIA agent, will deliver the Democratic Party's rebuttal.