Trump gives 1st speech to Congress

Health care, new jobs, military among topics

President Donald Trump acknowledges the joint session of Congress before his address Tuesday night as Vice President Mike Pence (back left) and House Speaker Paul Ryan join the applause.
President Donald Trump acknowledges the joint session of Congress before his address Tuesday night as Vice President Mike Pence (back left) and House Speaker Paul Ryan join the applause.

WASHINGTON -- Heralding a "new chapter of American greatness," President Donald Trump stood before Congress for the first time Tuesday night and issued a broad call for creating jobs, overhauling the nation's health care system and boosting military spending.

"What we are witnessing today is the renewal of the American spirit," Trump said. "Our allies will find that America is once again ready to lead. All the nations of the world -- friend or foe -- will find that America is strong, America is proud, and America is free."

Striking an optimistic tone, Trump declared: "The time for small thinking is over."

Trump's address came as the president seeks to make good on campaign pledges to swiftly shake up Washington and follow through on promises career politicians have failed to keep. His first weeks in office have been consumed by distractions, including a rollout of a sweeping immigration and refugee executive order that was shortly blocked by the courts.

[PRESIDENT TRUMP: Timeline, appointments, executive orders + guide to actions in first 100 days]

Trump opened his address by condemning the recent threats against Jewish community centers and a fatal shooting in Kansas that's being investigated as a hate crime. "While we may be a nation divided on policies, we are a country that stands united in condemning hate and evil in all its forms," he said.

The president was greeted by enthusiastic applause as he entered the House chamber, though the room was filled with Democrats who vigorously oppose his policies and many Republicans who never expected him to be elected. Most Republican lawmakers have rallied around him since his election, hopeful that he will act on the domestic priorities they saw blocked during former President Barack Obama's eight years in office.

Topping that list is undoing Obama's signature health care law and replacing it. Trump offered a basic blueprint of his priorities, including ensuring that those with pre-existing conditions have access to coverage, allowing people to buy insurance across state lines, and offering tax credits and expanded health savings accounts to help Americans purchase coverage.

He suggested that he would get rid of the current law's requirement that all Americans carry insurance coverage, saying that "mandating every American to buy government-approved health insurance was never the right solution for America."

[EMAIL UPDATES: Get free breaking news alerts, daily newsletters with top headlines delivered to your inbox]

Making a direct appeal for bipartisanship, Trump turned to Democrats and said, "Why not join forces to finally get the job done and get it done right?"

Trump was vague in his call for tax reform, another Republican priority. He promised "massive tax relief for the middle class" and a reduction in corporate tax rates, but glossed over how he would offset the cuts.

The president also urged Congress to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure package financed through both public and private capital.

"The time has come for a new program of national rebuilding," he said.

The longest round of applause came as the president introduced the widow of a Navy SEAL killed in a January raid in Yemen.

A teary-eyed Carryn Owens took deep breaths and wept as the joint chamber offered a standing ovation in the memory of William "Ryan" Owens.

Trump said Defense Secretary James Mattis confirmed that "Ryan was a part of a highly successful raid that generated large amounts of vital intelligence that will lead to many more victories in the future against our enemies."

A senior U.S. official said intelligence from the al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen included data on the explosives the group is manufacturing and the types of threats it's developing. The official spoke on condition of anonymity.

Throughout the day Tuesday, Trump sent mixed messages on immigration, one of his signature campaign issues. He pledged in his address to vigorously target people living in the U.S. illegally who "threaten our communities and prey on our citizens." But he told reporters beforehand that he was open to legislation that could provide a pathway to legal status for illegal aliens, and he told Congress that he believes "real and positive immigration reform is possible."

Late Tuesday night, four senior U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said a new immigration order would remove Iraq from a list of seven countries affected by Trump's earlier travel ban. They said the Pentagon and the State Department urged the White House to reconsider Iraq's inclusion given its key role in fighting the Islamic State extremist group.

They said six countries -- Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen -- will remain on the travel-ban list.

Trump is expected to sign the new order today. It is designed to replace the earlier Trump order, which was blocked by federal courts.

In the House chamber, Democrats, now firmly ensconced in the minority, sat silently throughout Trump's address while Republicans cheered and stood for many of Trump's promises. Some Democrats wore blue, pro-health-care buttons that read "Protect our care," and dozens of Democratic women wore white in honor of the suffrage movement.

First lady Melania Trump sat with special guests who were on hand to amplify the president's agenda, including the widows of two California police officers killed by a man living in the country illegally. The widow of former Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia also sat alongside Mrs. Trump, a reminder of the president's well-received nomination of federal appeals court Judge Neil Gorsuch to fill Scalia's seat.

Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin was the only member of Trump's Cabinet member who didn't attend the speech. He was the so-called designated survivor, who stayed away from the chamber in case some sort of catastrophe occurred.

Democratic response

In the formal Democratic response to the speech, former Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear took a populist tenor, accusing Trump of planning to "rip affordable health insurance" from Americans and being "Wall Street's champion."

Seated at a diner in Lexington, Ky., Beshear also assailed Trump for "ignoring serious threats to our national security from Russia, who's not our friend, while alienating our allies." Democrats have criticized Trump for making repeated warm remarks about Russian President Vladimir Putin while questioning the value of NATO, the longtime Western alliance.

Beshear's words and tone seemed a direct Democratic attempt to recapture the loyalties of some working-class voters who helped power Trump's election upset in November.

Beshear, 72, wore no jacket or tie and spoke of his upbringing in a family of Baptist preachers who owned a funeral home. With his eight years as governor having ended in 2015, Beshear is best known for expanding health care coverage in his deep red state under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

Beshear said emerging GOP plans would reduce health care coverage after 20 million Americans gained coverage under the health law.

"You and your Republican allies in Congress seem determined to rip affordable health insurance away from millions of Americans who most need it," Beshear said.

"This isn't a game, it's life and death for people," Beshear said of the 20 million people who've gained coverage under Obama's law.

Beshear said that while Trump campaigned as "a champion for people struggling to make ends meet," he's taken executive action as president to roll back consumer protections against giant financial institutions and has stocked his Cabinet with wealthy financial executives.

"That's not being our champion. That's being Wall Street's champion," Beshear said.

Black colleges, universities

In the lead up to his speech, Trump signed an executive order Tuesday that moves a federal initiative supporting historically black colleges and universities directly into the White House, a move depicted as an effort to give the schools more clout within the government.

Leaders of such schools said they were cautiously optimistic about the shift. They are eager for the government to raise its investment in their schools but wary of promises devoid of action.

"The proof of the pudding is in the taste, and I'm not going to get excited until we see some real numbers," said David Wilson, president of Morgan State University in Maryland.

Trump's action directs the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities to operate from the White House instead of the Education Department. The initiative, begun under President Jimmy Carter, assists colleges in accessing federally sponsored programs, including government research projects and student aid.

According to a recent report, historically black colleges received $4.7 billion in federal assistance from some 28 federal departments in 2013. The schools received $3 billion more in federal funding in Obama's first six years in office than in George W. Bush's last six years.

On Tuesday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos pledged solidarity with historically black colleges in a speech to several university leaders. "And in President Donald Trump, and this administration, you have a strong partner in fulfilling your mission," she told them.

The day before, DeVos drew criticism for a prepared statement about historically black colleges in which she asserted that the colleges and universities "are real pioneers when it comes to school choice."

Many advocates of historically black colleges said the statement Monday glossed over the historical context that gave rise to the schools: Jim Crow laws that for generations enforced racial segregation in the South, barring black students from attending the most prestigious institutions.

Information for this article was contributed by Danielle Douglas-Gabriel of The Washington Post; and by Julie Pace, Erica Werner, Brady McCombs, Alan Fram, Kevin Freking, Robert Burns, Lolita C. Baldor and staff members of The Associated Press.

A Section on 03/01/2017

Upcoming Events