State of the Union updates: Trump spars with Dems, touts economy and immigration

The president will be entering a Capitol where lawmakers are at an impasse over funding the Department of Homeland Security as Democrats demand changes to how federal immigration agents conduct raids.

Legislation to fund the department failed to advance in the Senate yet again Tuesday evening as every Democrat present except Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania voted against it. There has been little sign of movement toward an agreement to reopen DHS since it shut down 10 days ago.

The president says to expect a long address. He's already been the most loquacious president from LBJ forward, as measured by the University of California Santa Barbara's American Presidency Project.

Trump's joint addresses and State of the Union speeches in his first presidency averaged 80 minutes and 20 seconds. Last year, his joint address topped 99 minutes - longer than any recorded State of the Union.

Only Bill Clinton, at almost 75 minutes, regularly approached Trump's duration.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Trump's speech would be "painful and tedious for the American people," and that the president would blame Democrats and the Supreme Court for the nation's troubles.

"America is deeply unhappy with Trump's leadership, and he'll blame everyone else for our country's troubles. He'll blame Biden, he'll blame the Supreme Court. He'll point the finger at everyone but himself," Schumer said Tuesday afternoon.

"So tonight, Americans aren't going to get the real state of the union ... What Americans will get is a state of deception, a state of denial," he said.

Schumer said that some of the chaos was the administration's crackdown on immigration, Trump's tariff policies and his involvement with the Jeffery Epstein investigation.

At 11 years old, Everest Nevraumont has three regional history bee titles and her own TEDx talk. On Tuesday she'll add another honor: guest to the first lady at the State of the Union.

"Like everybody in the entire world is watching it, and I'm right there in the same room," Everest said in a Tuesday interview.

The first lady champions the use of artificial intelligence - one of Everest's passions. Her TEDx talk explores how she uses AI to learn, and she's a student at the Alpha School in Austin, Texas, where learning is powered by AI.

Everest said she's been using AI tools to study the history of the State of the Union. She was thrilled to get a tour of the White House (she loved the paintings and the "poofy" furniture).

Being chosen to sit with the first lady reflects AI's growing national importance, she said, and also that "academic achievements like the history bee actually really pay off."