Revealed: Trump’s 'biggest policy announcement' was actually a plan signed by Biden

Thomas Kika
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Donald Trump delivers the first State of the Union address of his second term on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. Seated behind him are Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA). Kenny Holston /Pool via REUTERS

Donald Trump's "biggest policy announcement" from his State of the Union address was not actually something he signed into law, with reporters noticing that the plan he touted was actually signed by his predecessor and rival, former President Joe Biden.

Trump's address on Tuesday broke his own record for the longest State of the Union address, but various observers noted that it was light on any actual policy announcements. The main "new" policy he touted will allow workers without access to 401K accounts to set up retirement accounts that the federal government can match contributions to, up to $1,000. Trump claimed that this plan, which some reporters likened to "Trump accounts for adults," will offer "access to the same type of retirement plan offered to every federal worker."

Reporters reacting to the address quickly noted that Trump was, in fact, talking about a law signed by Biden in 2022 as part of a major funding bill. Josh Wingrove, a political correspondent for Bloomberg, cited clarification from a "White House official."

"Trump is referring to the Savers Match program under the 2022 Secure 2.0 law, which expands retirement savings plans to millions of working Americans and incentivize [sic] savings with a gov-funded match for eligible workers, per a White House official," Wingrove posted to X. "It provides a path for an annual match of up to $1,000 for low-income workers. 56 million workers will be eligible, per the official."

"Biggest policy announcement of Trump SOTU was actually touting a bipartisan retirement savings law signed by Biden," Erik Wasson, a congressional reporter for Bloomberg, observed in a post to X late Tuesday night.

"Totally forgot about this," Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman wrote in his own post Wednesday morning. "The retirement savings accounts that Trump announced last night were already signed into law by President Joe Biden. It was part of a big funding bill that Congress passed in 2022."

Wingrove later added that the Trump administration is essentially planning to "tweak" this existing law to make participation simpler, and is seeking "philanthropic" funding to cover the costs.

"Trump is looking to basically tweak it -- he has set up a structure for workers who don't have employer plans to more easily participate, per an official. The admin will also seek to allow philanthropic contributions," Wingrove explained in another post to X.

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