Southern California officials' reactions to president's address at Capitol sharply divided.

President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the Capitol in Washington on Tuesday. Trump's theme was "renewing the American dream." Win McNamee - Pool Photo via AP

By LINH TAT AND HANNA KANG | STAFF WRITERS

From immigration to tariffs to government efficiency, President Donald Trump touched on myriad topics during his 100- minute address to the nation's leaders and the American people on Tuesday night- setting a record for the longest address to a joint session of Congress.

The president's address "highlighted wins for our nation," the Republican Party of Orange County said in a statement shortly after Trump finished his joint address to Congress.

"From a staggering drop in illegal immigration to protecting women's sports to reducing bureaucracy to making America healthy again and much much more, President Trump reminded Americans that the promises he made on the campaign trail have been promises kept as president," party officials said.

Meanwhile, several Southern California representatives were among a group of Democrats who walked out of the speech, including Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove, D-LosAngeles; Rep. Dave Min, D-Irvine; and Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside.

Here are several topics that stood out from Trump's speech, the theme of which was "renewing the American dream."Immigration

Early in his speech, Trump brought up immigration, a central theme during his campaign. He has called for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and introduced the mother and sister of Laken Riley, a Georgia nursing student who was killed while out for a jog. A Venezuelan migrant was found guilty of the murder.

Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Sherman Oaks, took issue with Trump only bringing up examples of immigrants who commit crimes.

"What he failed to focus on was how many times immigrants saved the lives of Americans," said Sherman, noting that many immigrants work in places such as assisted living facilities or are "Dreamers" who go on to become health care professionals. "For every American who died at the hand of an immigrant, there were thousands saved by an immigrant."

In 2022, California had the highest undocumented immigrant population in the U.S., totaling 1.8 million, according to the Pew Research Center.

Angelica Salas, executive director for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, said actions by the Trump administration have torn apart families and led to children being bullied in schools due to their perceived immigration status.

"President Trump may incite his own forces to disturb the dreams of many while the rich and powerful get even richer, but our community will stay focused on learning, adapting, and preparing to ensure our dreams and aspirations are fulfilled," she said.

On Tuesday, Trump also floated a plan to reduce the national debt by selling "gold card" visas for $5 million, which would grant buyers permanent residency and a path to U.S. citizenship.

Rep. Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills, said she sees the plan as part of Trump's effort to prioritize legal immigration.

"First of all, I need to see more details of the policies that he's addressing. But I think he's ... talking about bringing high­ level workers" to support foreign investments in the U.S., she said.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has said the "gold card" would replace the EB-5 visa, which grants green card eligibility to investors who put $800,000 to $1 million into U.S. businesses and create at least 10 jobs.

Kim, who immigrated from South Korea, said, "My family came here through the legal process, and we are all working hard to achieve the American dream. And if this is one of the ways that we can do that, I think we should welcome it."

Medicaid

One issue that drew pushback from Democrats in the chamber was Medicaid - despite Trump not mentioning it in his address.

Several Democrats held up signs during Trump's speech reading "Save Medicaid," including Orange County's Min, before he ultimately walked out.

Trump has previously said the health insurance program for lower-income Americans, along with Medicare and Social Security, will not be cut. Republicans have also said that the House GOP's budget resolution, passed last week, does not include specific cuts to Medicaid, but Min, who sits on the House Oversight Committee, said there is no way to make the proposed $880 billion in spending cuts happen without slashing Medicaid spending.

Millions of Californians would be affected if Medicaid cuts are included in Congress's final budget plan, according to the California Budget and Policy Center.

"These are going to have devastating impacts on children, primarily, and that's the thing that's so inhumane and cruel and immoral about this budget," Min said after the address.

Tariffs

Trump's address occurred the same day he imposed tariffs against America's three biggest trading partners. The president also indicated during his speech that the U.S. would impose additional tariff on countries that have their own tariffs on

U.S. goods starting April 2.

"Whatever they tariff us, other countries, we will tariff them.... Whatever they tax us, we will tax them," Trump said.

Sherman, a senior member of the House Financial Services Committee, said he's concerned tariffs will lead to increased prices for home building materials at a time when thousands of Angelenos are seeking to rebuild following the January wildfires.

"It's just going to be that much more expensive to rebuild in the Palisades and to build the additional housing that we need in the Valley," said Sherman, whose district includes Pacific Palisades.

Kim, the Republican representative, said she wanted to hear from Trump how much federal aid Southern California will receive and when it will arrive to support rebuilding efforts after the Palisades and Eaton fires.

'Tm pretty confident thatwe're going to get ... wildfire aid for Southern California," she said. "I just hope that it happens."

Tax cuts

Trump reiterated his campaign pledge to "pass tax cuts for everybody," vowing to eliminate taxes on tips, overtime pay and Social Security benefits for seniors. He also proposed allowing interest payments on car loans to be tax-deductible for vehicles manufactured in the U.S. and cutting taxes on domestic production.

"Over the past six weeks, I have signed nearly 100 executive orders and taken more than 400 executive actions to restore common sense, safety, optimism and wealth all across our wonderful land," Trump said. "The people elected me to do the job, and I am doing it."

Republican Rep. Ken Calvert of Corona praised the president, saying he is "already delivering on many of the promises he made during the 2024 campaign."

"Looking ahead, President Trump and Congress must work together to provide families with relief from higher prices and prevent a massive tax increase they are facing with tax cuts expiring at the end of 2025," Calvert said.

Transgender policies

Trump touted his executive orders banning transgender athletes from women's sports and prohibiting public schools "from indoctrinating our children with transgender ideology" and said he wants Congress to pass a bill to permanently ban and criminalize sex changes in minors.

Khloe Rios-Wyatt, the chief executive and a founding member of Alianza Translatinx, an organization in Santa Ana that serves about 3,000 people a year who identify as members of the transgender, gender-expansive or intersex community, said prohibiting transgenderwomen from participating in women's sports is discriminatory.

Rios-Wyatt, who identifies as a transgenderwoman, also said she's seeing the effects of Trump's rhetoric and policies on the LGBTQ+ community. Her organization used to receive one or two hate messages a month, but since Trump's return to office, the organization has, on average, received one to two hateful messages a day, Rios-Wyatt said.

Foreign policy

Trump briefly mentioned Ukraine in his address, stating that he's "working tirelessly to end the savage conflict" there following his order on Monday to pause U.S. military aid.

Some Democratic congressional members wore blue and yellow ties or scarves to show their support for Ukraine in light of last week's meeting between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, when Trump publicly berated Zelenskyy and attempts to advance peace talks between Ukraine and warring Russia broke down.

Trump also mentioned the war in the Middle East and his efforts to "create a more peaceful and prosperous future for the entire region."

In February, Trump suggested the U.S. take control of the Gaza Strip, proposing to relocate its Palestinian residents to neighboring countries and redevelop the area. The idea, which envisions turning the war-ravaged territory into a thriving

coastal hub, has sparked backlash across the political spectrum - including from some of Trump's far-right supporters who say such a plan is not in America's best interest.

Some local residents called the idea alarming.

"We want our tax dollars to stay home and be used for us, go toward our schools, our jobs, our health care, our social security, our infrastructure to make our lives better," said Sabiha Khan, who lives in Orange County.

So what should the public make of Tuesday night?

Joel Fox, a senior fellow at Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy, said both Trump and Democrats engaged in "performance arts."

"Democrats didn't help themselves ... booing or walking out," he said.

At the same time, Fox didn't think Trump won over anyone who was already strongly opposed to him, but the president may have convinced anyone who was more neutral heading into Tuesday night to give him a chance.

"I think if somebody was impartial, he probably scored some points on immigration issues by introducing people who were victims of criminal immigrants," said Fox.

He added that someone who wasn't prejudiced against Trump might also have been impressed when the president listed out, as Trump called it, "some of the appalling waste" in foreign aid and domestic spending that the president said his new Department of Government Efficiency identified.

"I think what he (Trump) set out to do, he accomplished," Fox said.

Staff writer Jeff Horseman contributed to this report.