“Six weeks ago, I stood beneath the dome of this capitol and proclaimed the dawn of the golden age of America. From that moment on it has been nothing but swift and unrelenting action to usher in the most successful era in the history of our country,” Trump started his speech, flanked by Vice President JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson who sat behind him. “We have accomplished more in 43 days than most administrations accomplished in four years or eight years and we are just getting started.”

“I return to this chamber tonight to report that America’s momentum is back. Our spirit is back. Our pride is back. Our confidence is back. And the American Dream is surging — bigger and better than ever before,” Trump said as half of the chamber cheered and stood.

“The American dream is unstoppable, and our country is on the verge of a comeback the likes of which the world has never witnesses, and perhaps will never witness again.

“Now, for the first time in modern history, more Americans believe that our country is headed in the right direction,” Trump added, before touting he won the popular vote, which drew loud boos from Democrats and chants of “USA” from Republicans.

Johnson immediately gaveled a warning to “restore order,” as Rep. Al Green, D-Texas, was escorted out of the chamber. Trump chided Democrats for not supporting his policies, which he said are “so good for the country.”

The president’s address, which is not a State of the Union address as it comes less than two months after assuming office, is being delivered Tuesday night to members of Congress, U.S. Supreme Court justices, members of Trump’s Cabinet — many of them already confirmed — and invited guests inside the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

President Trump entered the House chamber at 9:14 p.m. ET, wearing a blue suit and purple tie, to loud cheers and a standing ovation as he pumped his fist, while the other half of the chamber remained seated with many booing his arrival. Many started chanting “USA, USA” as Trump neared the podium to shake hands with Vance and Johnson.

First lady Melania Trump, who was wearing a gray suit, also received a standing ovation from half of the chamber as she entered and waved to those in attendance. Members of the Democratic Women’s Caucus are wearing the color pink to honor the rights of women and to protest Trump’s speech. “Pink is the color of power and protest,” according to Rep. Teresa Leger Fernández, D-N.M.

Trump’s speech, titled “The Renewal of the American Dream,” is his first significant speech of his second non-consecutive term. Trump is the second president in U.S. history, after Grover Cleveland, to win non-consecutive terms in the White House.

“Among my very highest priorities is to rescue our economy and get dramatic and immediate relief to working families,” Trump said. “As you know, we inherited from the last administration an economic catastrophe and an inflation nightmare. Their policies drove up energy prices, pushed up the cost of groceries and drove the necessities of life out of reach for millions of Americans.”

“We suffered the worst inflation in 48 years, but perhaps even in the history of our country. As president, I am fighting every day to reverse this damage and make America affordable again,” Trump said to another standing ovation from Republicans as Democrats held signs that said “save Medicaid” and “stop Musk.”

Trump addressed the high price of eggs, saying “Joe Biden especially let the price of eggs get out of control and we are working hard to get it back down.”

And he discussed his plan to fight inflation by reducing the cost of energy and “drill baby, drill,” as well as cutting government waste through the Department of Government Efficiency as he introduced Elon Musk to loud cheers and boos.

Trump then listed government waste, including “scholarships in Burma,” and “$8 million for making mice transgender. This is real,” he said, adding “$20 million for an Arab Sesame Street program” and “$59 million for luxury hotels for migrants in New York City.”

“All of these scams have been found out and exposed and terminated by mostly young people headed up by Elon, and we appreciate it,” Trump said as half of the chamber stood up and cheered.

“We have taken back the money to reduce the debt and fight inflation,” Trump said, as he began listing the millions of people on the Social Security payroll over the age of 150 years old.

“We are a much healthier nation than we thought, right Bobby?” Trump said as he pointed to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr.

The president’s joint address to Congress drew strong reactions from both sides of the aisle as it falls on the same day the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on goods from Canada and Mexico. It also comes amid stalled efforts to broker an end to Russia’s war in Ukraine following a contentious White House meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and subsequent “pause” on military aid to Ukraine.

During his first six weeks in office, Trump signed more than 75 executive orders, cracked down on illegal immigration and worked to cut wasteful government spending as Elon Musk and the newly formed Department of Government Efficiency targeted federal agencies and their employees.

A number of Democrats said this week they would boycott the speech, as others planned to bring fired federal workers as their guests.

More than a dozen guests were invited to sit with first lady Melania Trump to highlight a number of Trump’s policies.

The family of Corey Comperatore, the firefighter killed by a gunman who tried to assassinate Trump during a campaign rally last July in Butler, Pa., is in the House chamber.

The mother and sister of Laken Riley, the Athens, Ga., college student named for the Laken Riley Act and killed last year by a Venezuelan migrant, are also in attendance.

Recently freed Russian prisoner Marc Fogle, an American history teacher from Pennsylvania, is also attending with his 95-year-old mother, Malphine Fogel, who asked Trump to help free her son before his Butler campaign rally last year.

Stephanie Diller, the widow of New York Police Department officer Jonathan Diller who was killed during a traffic stop last year, is sitting near Jeff Denard, a steel plant worker from Alabama.

U.S. Border Patrol agent Roberto Ortiz via Weslaco, Texas is in attendance in support of Trump’s border policies.

A victim of computer-generated deepfake bullying, 15-year-old Elliston Berry, is with former foster child Haley Ferguson at the address.

Alexis Nungaray, the mother of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, who was allegedly murdered by two migrants just weeks before her birthday, is in attendance.

Mother and advocate January Littlejohn, who fought school administrators for allowing her daughter to transition without parental consent, and former high school athlete Payton McNabb are also attending the president’s speech.

While House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., urged Democrats attending Trump’s address to have a “strong, determined and dignified” presence, there are reports some are planning to disrupt the speech with noisemakers, signs or walkouts.

“The House as an institution belongs to the American people, and as their representatives we will not be run off the block or bullied,” Jeffries said.

Other Democrats announced before the speech that they planned to boycott, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

“I’m not going to the Joint Address,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote Tuesday in a post on Bluesky. ” I will be live posting and chatting with you all here instead.”

Rep, Don Beyer, D-Va., announced he would not attend Tuesday, predicting Trump would “preen and gloat about his return to power and its abuses of that power.”

“Meanwhile my constituents are seeing their livelihoods destroyed, often illegally,” Beyer wrote in a post on X. “What he is doing is not normal, it is not acceptable and I won’t be attending.”

Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., also said he would boycott Trump’s speech “in solidarity” with federal government employees who have been fired over Trump’s spending cuts, saying, “I cannot give audience to that.”

Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., a first-term senator, will deliver the Democratic response once Trump’s speech concludes. Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., will deliver the Spanish language response.