House Speaker Mike Johnson warned that a Republican loss of the House majority in the midterms would effectively end President Donald Trump's presidency, stating during the reporting window from 4:15:39 AM to 5:15:39 AM UTC on February 25, 2026, "If we lost the midterms -- heaven forbid, if we lost the majority in the House -- it would be the end of the Trump presidency in a real effect," according to an X post by Aaron Rupar. Johnson's comment follows President Trump's State of the Union address delivered shortly before 1:45 AM UTC earlier that morning in the U.S. Capitol House chamber in Washington, D.C., where he highlighted one year of achievements and demanded restored Homeland Security funding, per excerpts shared by journalists Kellie Meyer News and Chad Pergram on X. Virginia Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger criticized Trump's trade policies during this period, claiming they cost American families over $1,700 each in tariff costs despite a Supreme Court ruling, as reported by Acyn on X. Spanberger positioned Democrats as the party of affordability, though critics noted her administration's proposed taxes including on dog walking, gun ammunition, income brackets, and electric landscaping equipment, according to Katie Pavlich on X. RapidResponse47 highlighted Spanberger's past actions terminating Virginia's ICE agreement and voting against border security measures, per their X post within the hour. Rep. Jasmine Crockett's campaign ejected an Atlantic reporter from a Texas event and reported a CNN journalist to Capitol Police, as first reported by Semafor via Maxwell Tani on X. These statements occur amid post-State of the Union scheduling, with Trump allocated more executive time on February 26, 2026, according to Laura Rozen on X. Additional posts referenced a Pennsylvania House seat in Allegheny County and a Charlie Kirk broadcast link, per ElectionsJoe and Charlie Kirk11 on X.
