Trump delivers State of the Union to Congress increasingly sidelined by his power

President Donald Trump will deliver the 2026 State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, addressing a nation transformed by his expansive executive agenda. The moment comes as constitutional scholars warn that Trump’s accumulation of power through hundreds of executive actions and administrative orders has effectively sidelined Congress, which has largely accommodated his priorities rather than asserting its legislative authority.

The Supreme Court has already signaled concerns about the concentration of power. Justice Neil Gorsuch warned this week that the system of separated powers ‘threatens to give way to the continual and permanent accretion of power in the hands of one man,’ raising questions about whether Congress’s constitutional check on executive authority remains effective.

President Donald Trump will stand before Congress on Tuesday to deliver the 2026 State of the Union address—a moment that, by the president’s own reshaping of the office, looks markedly different than such speeches have in the past.

One year back in office, Trump has executed a far-reaching agenda. He has issued hundreds of executive actions, many challenged in court. He has slashed the federal workforce, shifted vaccine policy, and extended U.S. military operations to capture Venezuela’s president. He has renamed historic buildings, detained undocumented immigrants in repurposed warehouses, and launched investigations into political opponents.

At almost every step, there have been moments when Congress could have intervened—or at least tried. More often than not, it has not.

“Congress has essentially just handed over their power,” said Nancy Henderson Korpi, a retiree in Minnesota and member of an Indivisible protest group, in an interview about the speech. “We could make some sound decisions and changes if Congress would do their job.”

Trump’s Legislative Record and Executive Reach

Trump’s signature legislative achievement is a Republican tax-cut bill that strips Medicaid and food assistance from millions while directing more than $170 billion to the Department of Homeland Security for immigration enforcement and deportations. Yet his most consequential moves have come through executive action—a path that sidesteps Congress entirely.

The accumulation of power has drawn constitutional concern from unexpected quarters. Justice Neil Gorsuch, in the Supreme Court’s rebuke of Trump’s tariffs policy this week, warned that without judicial intervention on major questions, “Our system of separated powers and checks-and-balances threatens to give way to the continual and permanent accretion of power in the hands of one man.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson has called Trump “the most consequential president of the modern era.” House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries countered: “The state of the union is falling apart.”

Congressional Accommodation and Rare Resistance

The Republican-controlled Congress has largely accommodated Trump’s priorities. When Trump issued Day One pardons for some 1,500 people involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol attack, Republicans raised no formal objection. When his Department of Government Efficiency—led by billionaire Elon Musk—began mass-firing federal workers, GOP lawmakers formed a “DOGE caucus” to signal approval.

By one estimate cited by Max Stier, chief executive of the Partnership for Public Service, the restructuring has affected roughly 300,000 federal employees—fired or moved from their positions—while approximately 100,000 new hires or rehires have gone largely to Homeland Security.

There have been exceptions. Representatives Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, and Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, forced the release of Jeffrey Epstein files over objections from House leadership and the Trump administration. The House voted to block tariffs on Canada. The Senate advanced a war-powers resolution on Venezuela, though it backed away after Trump objected.

“Most of those exercises of Congressional power have been largely symbolic,” the Associated Press noted, “because Congress would not have the numbers to overcome any expected Trump veto.”

Constitutional Checks Under Strain

The judicial system has become the main venue for restraining executive action. Democracy Forward, an advocacy organization, has filed more than 150 cases against the administration—part of what it described as the largest sustained legal effort against an executive branch in U.S. history.

But the White House has not consistently abided by court rulings, according to reporting on the administration’s response to judicial orders. Meanwhile, some Republican lawmakers have displayed posters of judges they want to see impeached.

A significant test lies ahead with voting legislation. The House has passed the SAVE America Act, which would require birth certificates or passports to register to vote in federal elections and present a photo ID at the polls. Supporters say it combats fraud; critics argue it would disenfranchise millions without documents readily at hand.

The Senate can pass the bill but lacks the 60 votes needed to overcome an expected Democratic filibuster. Trump has said he will pursue executive action if Congress fails to deliver.

Democratic leaders plan to either boycott Tuesday’s address or sit in silence. Virginia Governor Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat, will deliver the party’s official response.

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