Biden to deliver his first State of the Union address on March 1
WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will deliver his first State of Union address on March 1.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., issued the formal invitation on Friday for Biden to deliver the speech before a joint session of Congress.
"Thank you for your bold vision and patriotic leadership which have guided America out of crisis and into an era of great progress, as we not only recover from the pandemic but Build Back Better," Pelosi penned to Biden. "Indeed, this past year has been historic: with the life-saving American Rescue Plan, once-in-a-century Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and, soon, the truly transformational Build Back Better Act!"
"In that spirit, I am writing to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 1, to share your vision of the State of the Union," she continued.
The White House said Biden has accepted the invitation.
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The speech will be Biden’s first State of the Union address, but not his first speech to Congress since he became president. On April 28, on the eve of his 100th day in office, Biden addressed a joint session of Congress.
Presidents often use State of the Union addresses to unveil new initiatives or policy goals. Though Biden’s first speech to Congress was not technically a State of the Union address, he used his remarks to promote his administration’s response to the coronavirus pandemic and to push his plans to rebuild the nation’s infrastructure and social safety net.
Biden will be sure to address his administration's response to COVID-19 as the extremely contagious omicron variant has resulted in record-breaking cases.
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Much of his speech will likely hinge on whether Senate Democrats are successful in passing the Build Back Better Act, Biden’s signature social spending and climate bill, and voting rights legislation. Both have become stalled in the upper chamber.
State of the Union address have historically taken place in January or February. Congress is out of session the last week of February.