President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump welcomed guests to the annual Congressional Ball, an event where Melania hinted at a forthcoming initiative aimed at benefiting children.

The First Lady captured attention with her choice of attire, wearing a chic semi-sheer black lace blouse paired with a tailored black blazer. President Trump complemented her look with a classic tuxedo and bow tie, setting a formal tone for the evening.

The ball, held on Thursday night, continues a long-standing White House tradition, bringing together lawmakers from both political parties. It serves as a festive occasion to celebrate the holiday season while acknowledging the dedication and efforts made throughout the year.

In his remarks, President Trump emphasized unity, encouraging attendees to put aside political differences for the evening. “Tonight, we’re going to set aside all political differences,” he stated. “We’re not going to criticize each other, we’re going to love each other.”

‘Tonight, we’re going to set aside all political differences,’ Trump told the gathering. ‘We’re not going to criticize each other, we’re going to love each other.’ 

Vice President JD Vance put on a united front with Second Lady Usha Vance at the ball after weeks of speculation about the state of their marriage. 

Vance has been under fire after an image emerged earlier this week appearing to capture a tense conversation between the pair.

He mocked the authenticity of the image, which appeared to have been taken at a restaurant while he was dressed down in a t-shirt.

But critics pounced on the image following repeated sightings of Usha without her wedding ring and Vance admitting he pleaded with his wife to convert from Hinduism to Catholicism.

President Donald Trump and his wife Melania have teased an upcoming project which will ‘be great for children’ as they dazzled at the Congressional Ball on Thursday

The First Lady stunned in a semi-sheer black lace blouse with high collar and a tailored black blazer

Vice President JD Vance attended Thursday’s celebration with his wife, Second Lady Usha Vance

Speaking to the crowd ahead of the celebration, Melania unveiled a new initiative she has in the pipeline for 2026.

‘I hope you will be excited to support my new legislative initiative in 2026. Some of you already know about it, because it is already in the works,’ Melania told the crowd said.

‘I wish you and your families a very happy and merry Christmas, and a healthy New Year.’

Trump backed his wife’s project, despite admitting he only ‘just heard about that for the first time.’

‘The only thing I can tell you,’ he said, ‘I know one thing for sure: It is going to be great for children.

‘I don’t know what it is she’s doing, but it’s going to be great for children, because she loves children.’

On Thursday, Trump praised Melania in his initial remarks, acknowledging: ‘It wouldn’t be possible without you. I want to thank my great wife, my great First Lady, for helping me.’

Few others in his orbit received individual praise.

The duo hosted the annual Congressional Ball on Thursday night – a standing White House tradition for lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle

Pete Hegseth also appeared at the Congressional Ball with his wife Jennifer Rauchet despite facing mounting public backlash

The duo hosted the annual Congressional Ball on Thursday night – a standing White House tradition for lawmakers from both sides of the political aisle

Trump mentioned Speaker Mike Johnson and Majority Leader Whip Steve Scalise as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

He opted not to single out other high profile members of his Cabinet, some of whom have been battling public relations nightmares in recent weeks.

Both Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem have faced mounting backlash within their portfolios.

A classified Inspector General report this week determined Hegseth put troops lives in danger by sharing sensitive war plans on Signal in March earlier this year. 

At the same time, he was fighting off allegations he had committed war crimes amid reports he ordered a second strike on a Venezuelan boat that killed two men.

‘We got ’em all here. Every single one,’ Trump said.

‘I won’t call them out because they’re not names that are going to get any huge applause from this very substantially Democrat[ic] audience. But you know what, they’re working toward making America great again. It’s very simple.’

The Trumps’ revelation about Melania’s new project for children come just days after she faced backlash for an accidental ‘faux pas’ while reading to children at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, DC.

Trump opted not to single out other high profile members of his Cabinet, some of whom have been battling public relations nightmares in recent weeks

Vice President JD Vance put on a united front with Second Lady Usha Vance at the ball after weeks of speculation about the state of their marriage

House Speaker Mike Johnson (pictured) was one of the few Trump singled out for praise

During the visit, a group of kids gathered around and Melania sat down to read How Does Santa Go Down the Chimney? As she turned the pages, however, she appeared to forget to show any of the illustrations or pictures from the book to the crowd.

‘She is looking at the illustrations herself and not sharing them. It is really bizarre,’ one critic said.

Another added: ‘It was obvious by the fact that Melania never turned the book to show children the pictures that she has never read a book to a child in her life.’

After Trump returned to the White House in January, Melania set to work building and implementing the Take It Down Act.

The policy criminalizes the distribution of non-consensual intimate images and deepfakes, and demands platforms remove any such content within 48 hours of being notified. 

‘Our greatest triumph in my office in 2025 is the Take It Down Act,’ Melania said.

And just last month, Melania set her sights on a new initiative, launching the Fostering the Future policy to help improve the lives of children in foster care.

The initiative aims to secure new educational and employment pathways for youths who are transitioning out of the foster care system.

White House Press Secretary shared this happy snap from the event, captioned: ‘Congressional Ball with these two lovely ladies, and wives to two of our great Cabinet Members’

Trump praised Melania in his initial remarks, acknowledging: ‘It wouldn’t be possible without you. I want to thank my great wife, my great First Lady, for helping me’

Elsewhere in his speech as Trump acknowledged House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, he was heckled by someone in the crowd who called for the deportation of Somalis living in America.

‘Tom is very friendly with the Somalians. You know, he’s doing a great job. He’s a big fan. He’s a big fan of Somalia,’ Trump had started saying.

‘Send them home! Send them home!’ someone in the crowd chanted.

Trump ignored the interruption, continuing to heap praise on Emmer.

‘Thank you, Tom. Thank you,’ he said. ‘He’s a great guy. He’s done a fantastic job and we really appreciate it.’

Melania Trump has been criticized over her reading to a group of young children 

Trump has been highly critical of the Somali community across the United States in recent weeks, after it emerged a group of Somalis in Minnesota had been accused of defrauding taxpayers out of as much as $1 billion.

‘The last administration let in 20 million unknown and unvetted foreigners from all over the world, from places that you don’t want to even know about. No country can tolerate such a risk to our very survival,’ Trump said last month. 

‘An example is Minnesota, where hundreds of thousands of Somalians are ripping off our country and ripping apart that once great state.’