Trump to get DHS shutdown ‘bully pulpit’ with State of the Union address

Published February 18, 2026 6:00am ET



Republicans want President Donald Trump to use the first State of the Union address of his second term to make the case that Democrats, not the White House, are to blame for a drawn-out shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.

Trump will return to the Capitol next Tuesday for a prime-time address overshadowed by the funding stalemate, centered on Democratic demands for reform after immigration officers fatally shot two protesters in Minneapolis.

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