国情咨文演讲的核心是理想抱负。无论你是里根、克林顿、奥巴马、小布什和老布什父子组合，还是特朗普，理想抱负都是国情咨文的精髓——这既是总统希望实现的目标，也是他希望国会采取的行动。
所有这些都服务于政治理想的终极目标：赢得选举。无论是下一届总统选举，还是中期选举中的参众两院席位争夺。
唐纳德·特朗普总统本周提出了两项重大请求和一项告诫。他希望国会批准《保护美国选民资格法案》（SAVE Act），要求投票者提供公民身份证明；希望议员们通过一项股票交易禁令，限制国会议员参与股票交易；总统还不希望国会干预关税政策。
特朗普总统极力推崇他的新关税政策，声称这些关税最终将取代美国的所得税。这位总司令比任何其他总统都更广泛地行使了行政权力，因此他指示议员们放弃关税方面的权力。
“国会行动将不再必要，”特朗普在谈到他的新关税时表示。
宪法赋予国会征收关税的权力，最高法院上周也确认了这一权力。但特朗普总统仍继续依据另一部法律，对所有国家加征新一轮关税。
佛罗里达州共和党参议员里克·斯科特在美国国会大厦向记者介绍《保护美国选民资格法案》（SAVE Act）。该法案将对参与联邦选举的美国选民提出更多公民身份证明要求。（Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images）
和大多数总统一样，特朗普希望掌控立法进程，包括阻止国会干预他的关税政策。然而，许多共和党人有自己的政治抱负——寻求连任。这就是为什么一些认为本选区受关税打击严重的众议院共和党人希望收回这一权力，或者至少在舆论上反对总统。
几周前，众议院投票推翻了众议院议长、路易斯安那州共和党人迈克·约翰逊和其他人制定的特殊规则，该规则原本阻止议员们在一年内撤销关税。随后，众议院通过了一项取消对加拿大关税的计划。
特朗普推动“废除阻挠议事规则”在共和党中获得新支持，资金截止日期临近
但这些只是部分共和党人对关税不满的诉求。大多数共和党人仍支持保留关税政策，这正是特朗普想要的——无论最高法院的裁决如何。
周二，在华盛顿特区国会大厦众议院会议厅，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普在发表国情咨文后离开。（Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images）
让我们回到特朗普在演讲中提出的两项主要立法请求。SAVE法案是他真正希望通过的。这与特朗普关于非法移民、他声称前总统拜登窃取2020年大选、以及选民欺诈的说法完美契合。
“他们想作弊，他们已经作弊了。而且他们的政策如此糟糕，以至于唯一能让他们当选的方式就是作弊，”总统在演讲中这样评价民主党人。“作弊现象非常猖獗。”
特朗普削弱共和党将SAVE法案纳入停摆法案的推动，保守派威胁反抗
由保守派传统基金会进行的一项选举欺诈研究发现，选举欺诈案例微乎其微。例如，摇摆州宾夕法尼亚州在过去三十年中仅发现39起投票欺诈事件。
众议院已批准SAVE法案，但问题在于参议院。
“参议院正在推进工作。我认为那里的每一位共和党人显然都支持《保护美国选民资格法案》，他们正在努力拼凑足够的票数。这是一个有70%民主党人反对的议题，在一些民调中反对率超过90%，”约翰逊表示。“希望一些民主党人能幡然醒悟。我不知道他们如何能向选民解释——当这是一个如此受欢迎的议题时，他们为何要反对。我们拭目以待。”
值得注意的是，在呼吁国会就SAVE法案采取行动时，特朗普并未要求参议员们废除阻挠议事规则。目前有50名共和党参议员支持SAVE法案，但关键在于这些支持者能否达到打破阻挠议事所需的60票门槛。
参议院多数党领袖、南达科他州共和党人约翰·图恩多次抵制改变参议院阻挠议事规则和先例以通过SAVE法案。除非参议院改变规则，否则该法案永远无法成为法律。图恩再次重申反对废除阻挠议事规则。
犹他州共和党参议员迈克·李、德克萨斯州共和党参议员特德·克鲁兹等人倡导“辩论式阻挠议事”——即参议员必须连续数小时发言并占据发言席，否则参议院必须进行投票。支持辩论式阻挠议事的人不希望参议员们在一旁默默反对，而是要迫使参议院进行需要60票才能突破阻挠的程序性投票。
莱维特要求参议院共和党人“振作起来”，废除阻挠议事规则以推进特朗普议程
“辩论式阻挠议事问题在共和党核心小组中并不统一。如果要走这条路，就必须达成统一，”图恩表示。
他提到，共和党必须“在几乎每一次投票中都保持50名共和党人的统一”，并补充说“目前没有足够的支持来实现这一点”。
周二，在华盛顿特区国会大厦众议院会议厅，美国总统唐纳德·特朗普抵达发表国情咨文演讲。（Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo）
据《福克斯新闻》了解，众议院和参议院共和党人之间存在一些摩擦。一些共和党参议员不喜欢众议院施压废除阻挠议事规则的做法，两党议员都将阻挠议事权视为一项特权。
马克·哈尔珀林：特朗普战略超会议谋划中期选举生存策略，历史笼罩共和党
此外，让参议院进行长时间辩论可能会引发修正案投票，这让许多弱势参议员感到不安。在选举前夕，让他们就众多争议性议题表态，对共和党并无益处。
因此，尽管特朗普希望通过SAVE法案，但他关于阻挠议事规则的意图最多也只是模糊不清。
还有一项诉求是禁止议员进行股票交易。甚至马萨诸塞州民主党参议员伊丽莎白·沃伦在特朗普提出这一请求时也起身鼓掌。
记者观察：特朗普国情咨文变成政治拳击赛，民主党集体抵制
约翰逊表示，众议院正试图“尽可能积极和迅速地推进该法案”，但他表示必须“确保有足够的票数支持”。
这就是众议院尚未处理该法案的原因——缺乏必要的票数。目前，这只是一个政治抱负。如果法案获得足够票数，约翰逊将把它提交到众议院进行表决。
点击此处下载福克斯新闻应用程序
有句老话：总统“提议”，国会“处置”。今年，即使是共和党主导的国会也可能对特朗普的一些立法愿望做出这样的回应。
但这并不妨碍总统的政治抱负——毕竟，总统也可以有梦想。
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利兹·皮克：美国人期望从特朗普国情咨文中看到一件事，结果却得到了另一件
查德·佩格拉姆目前担任福克斯新闻频道（FNC）首席国会记者。他于2007年9月加入该网络，总部设在华盛顿特区。
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State of the Union speeches are all about aspirations. It doesn’t matter if you’re Reagan. Clinton, Obama, the Bush tandem or Trump. Aspirations are the quintessence of State of the Union speeches. What presidents aspire to do. And what a president wants Congress to do.
All of this flows toward the ultimate of political aspirations: winning elections. Be it the next presidential election. Or, House and Senate seats during the midterms.
There were two big asks — and one admonition — from President Donald Trump this week. He wants Congress to approve the SAVE Act, requiring proof of citizenship for people to vote. He wants lawmakers to pass a stock trading ban, handcuffing Congress from dealing in stocks. And the President doesn’t want Congress to meddle in tariff policy.
President Trump touted his new tariffs, arguing that they will eventually replace the nation’s income tax. This commander-in-chief has wielded executive power more broadly than any other president. So he instructed lawmakers to trade in their tariff authority.
“Congressional action will not be necessary,” Trump said of his new tariffs.
The Constitution blesses Congress with the power to impose tariffs. The Supreme Court upheld that power last week. But President Trump went ahead and slapped another set of tariffs on all nations, leaning on a different law.
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., speaks to reporters on the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act at the U.S. Capitol. The legislation would introduce more proof-of-citizenship requirements for Americans voting in federal elections.(Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
Like most presidents, Trump wants to control legislation. That includes precluding Congress from tampering with his tariffs. However, a number of Republicans have their own aspirations: getting re-elected. That’s why some House Republicans, who believe their districts are getting hammered by tariffs, would like to reclaim that power. Or, at the very least, be on the record opposing the president.
The House voted a few weeks ago to extinguish a special rule House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and others put in place to block members from unwinding the tariffs for a year. Then the House adopted a plan to undo tariffs with Canada.
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But again, these are aspirations of some Republicans fed up with tariffs. The bulk of Republicans are okay with keeping them in place. And that’s exactly what Trump wants – regardless of what the Supreme Court decided.
President Donald Trump leaves after delivering the State of the Union address in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, in Washington, D.C.(Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images)
Let’s go back to Trump’s two major legislative asks in his speech. The SAVE Act is the one he really wants to be passed. This fits nicely with Trump’s narrative about illegal immigration, his claim that former President Joe Biden stole the 2020 election and voter fraud.
“They want to cheat. They have cheated. And their policy is so bad that the only way they can get elected is to cheat,” said the President of Democrats during his speech. “Cheating is rampant.”
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A study examining election fraud by the conservative Heritage Foundation, discovered that examples of election fraud are minuscule. For instance, Pennsylvania, a swing state, has only unearthed 39 instances of voting fraud over the past three decades.
The House already approved the SAVE Act. But the question is the Senate.
“The Senate is working. I think every Republican over there is obviously in favor of the SAVE America Act, and they’re trying to cobble together the votes. It’s a 70% Democrat issue. It’s over 90% in some polls,” said Johnson. “Hopefully, some Democrats will come to their senses. I don’t know how they can go home to their voters and say that they were opposing that when it’s such a popular issue. So we’ll see how it goes.”
It was notable that in his plea for Congressional action on the SAVE Act, Trump did not demand that senators end the filibuster. Fifty GOP senators now support the SAVE Act. But the trick is whether those who endorse the legislation can hit the magic threshold of 60 yeas. That’s the number of votes required to break a filibuster.
Senate Majority leader John Thune, R-S.D., has repeatedly resisted altering the Senate’s filibuster customs and precedents to pass the SAVE Act. The bill will never become law unless the Senate changes things. And Thune reiterated his opposition to undoing the filibuster.
Sens. Mike Lee, R-Utah, Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and others have advocated a “talking filibuster.” That means senators must actually speak and hold the floor for hours on end. Otherwise, the Senate must vote. Talking filibuster proponents don’t want senators to silently object from the sidelines. That’s what compels the Senate to take procedural votes needing 60 yeas to overcome a filibuster.
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“The talking filibuster issue is one on which there is not a unified Republican conference. And there would have to be (unity) if you go down that path,” said Thune.
He mentioned that the GOP must “keep 50 Republicans unified pretty much on every single vote,” adding that “there isn’t the support for doing that at this point.”
President Donald Trump arrives to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress in the House chamber at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday, in Washington, D.C.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
Fox News is also told that there is some friction between House and Senate Republicans. Some Senate Republicans don’t appreciate the House amping up pressure to ditch the filibuster. The right to filibuster is a privilege to which senators of both parties cling tightly.
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Moreover, subjecting the Senate to lengthy debate could tee up amendment votes which many vulnerable senators may find unsettling. Getting them on the record on a host of controversial issues wouldn’t help the GOP ahead of the election.
So, while it’s Trump’s aspiration to pass the SAVE Act, his aspirations regarding the filibuster are unclear at best.
Then, there’s the aspiration about prohibiting lawmakers from trading stocks. Even Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., stood and applauded when Trump made that entreaty.
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Johnson said that the House is trying to “move (the bill) as aggressively and as quickly as we can.” But says he’s got to have “the votes for it.”
That’s the reason the House hasn’t addressed the bill yet. It lacks the votes. For now, that is an aspiration. If the bill has the votes, Johnson will deposit the legislation on the floor.
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There’s an old expression that the president “proposes” and Congress “disposes.” It’s certainly possible that even a GOP Congress will do that this year with some of Trump’s legislative wishes.
But that doesn’t handicap presidential aspirations. After all, even presidents can dream.
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Chad Pergram currently serves as Chief Congressional Correspondent for FOX News Channel (FNC). He joined the network in September 2007 and is based out of Washington, D.C.
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