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Senate Republicans are looking for President Donald Trump to focus on his accomplishments in his first State of the Union address on Tuesday, but many also said they’d like to hear specifics about issues ranging from North Korea to infrastructure.
“The state of the union is: we’re safer, we’re stronger, and we’ve gotten a turnaround in the most lethargic economic time in US history,” said Sen. David Perdue of Georgia. Perdue added that the President is rightly upbeat about a “very successful” first year in office and will “talk a good bit about the accomplishments.”
“I hope the President lays out that record of achievement that we all work together so hard to produce,” Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas said, citing tax reform, regulation overhauls and Republican judicial confirmations. Cruz said priorities for 2018 should be “finishing the job on Obamacare,” and investing in border security.
“I believe we should not pass an amnesty bill that creates a path to citizenship for millions of people here illegally,” Cruz added, a possible reference to comments Trump made last week signaling an openness to such a plan for recipients of the expiring Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programming, which hardline conservatives consider “amnesty.”
Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado said he expects Trump to speak about the “success of the tax cuts,” and “how Americans are succeeding, how they’re growing their wages, how they’re growing their investment opportunities and really, how America’s back.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina called the speech “a dramatic moment” for Trump. But Graham also cited Trump’s remarks last week on immigration, when he seemed open to compromise on the issue on Tuesday, then took a harder line at a different point in the week. “I would just ask that Tuesday Trump to come to the State of the Union,” Graham said, referring to that softer approach. “If Tuesday Trump comes to the State of the Union and lays out a vision like he has in the past, we’re in good shape.”
Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana said he was most interested in getting “an update on the international front,” especially North Korea. He also said he wants to hear about the progress being made on NAFTA negotiations, and wants to know if Trump’s thoughts on trade have changed now that he has become president.
Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas was also focused on trade, and said he hopes to hear Trump give a “reaffirmation of a positive and robust trade policy.” He said he thinks foreign countries “are a little nervous about NAFTA, and we’re going through a rough patch for the third year in a row.”
“He could just say a couple lines to reassure farm country that he recognizes we have to export things we grow as well as things that we make,” Roberts said, adding it will be interesting to see what the President says in the wake of his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said he wants to hear Trump talk about the deficit and budget issues, and hopes Trump will lay out the details of his immigration proposal. The White House is set to unveil an immigration plan on Monday, after Trump proposed giving 1.8 million young undocumented immigrants a pathway to citizenship in exchange for $25 billion for a wall along the Mexican border and several other strict immigration reforms.
“I talked to the President about talking about prison reform,” Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said, which is “something I’ve been working on, something I know that he and others are interested in.”
Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama said he would like Trump to talk about funding for national security, and would also like him to “crystallize a little more on the infrastructure package.”
“I hope he talks about the opioid crisis,” said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. “This is really devastating to so many communities across America.” Of more than 20 senators in both parties interviewed recently about the State of the Union, Collins was the only one to raise the opioid crisis.
“I think it’ll be one of the more interesting State of the Unions,” Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah said, underscoring Trump’s unpredictable style. Hatch said Trump has two choices: to be big and bold, or “to just make it as boring as he can.”
“If I was him I’d do boring,” Hatch said.
CNN’s Tal Kopan contributed to this report.
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