President Biden accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation on Tuesday evening to address a joint session of Congress on April 28. not an official state of the Union because a president’s first speech to Congress is not considered a state of the Union.
“Nearly 100 days ago, when you took the oath of office, in a spirit of great hope, you promised that ‘Help is on the way,’” Pelosi wrote in a letter to Mr. Biden. “Now, because of your historical and transformative leadership, Help Is Here!”
Pelosi’s letter to Mr. Biden arrived the same day the White House announced his plan withdraw all combat troops from Afghanistan on September 11 – the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Like his inaugural address, Mr. Biden’s first speech to Congress will be shaped by the coronavirus pandemic, making it different from previous speeches by his predecessors before a joint session. A Capitol official involved in the planning said the number of senators and MPs in the chamber will be limited due to COVID-19 protocols, and lawmakers will be sitting on the House floor as well as in the gallery. Guests for members of the House of Representatives and the Senate are also not allowed.
The joint session will be designed as a national special security event, with the Secret Service being designated as the lead federal agency overseeing coordination, planning and security.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Wednesday that Mr. Biden is “eager” to make his speech and is likely to discuss the economic recovery, fight the coronavirus pandemic and tackle global challenges.
Republicans will likely announce who will provide their response shortly.
The president typically addresses Congress at the beginning of the year, but the White House had said Mr. Biden was focused on making the US bailout successful. Mr. Biden signed the $ 1.9 trillion package on March 12, and he gave his first primetime address on March 11 on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of the start of the Covid-19 pandemicOn March 25, he held his first press conference.
The address is just days before the end of Mr. Biden’s first 100 days. The first 100 days in office have been used as a marker since at least President Franklin Roosevelt, and Mr. Biden has set an ambitious agenda for his first 100 days in office.
Article II, Section 3 of the United States Constitution requires the President “from time to time to provide Congress with information on the state of the union and to recommend such action as he deems necessary and appropriate in their consideration.”
It was George Washington who set the precedent for what “from time to time” means. The American Presidency Project notes that, with a few exceptions, the State of the Union has been taught annually since 1790.
The message has not always been called “State of the Union”, the House of Representatives notes. From 1790 to 1946 it was called the “Annual Message” and then from 1942 to 1946 it was known informally as the “State of the Union”. And since 1947, it has been officially known as the State of the Union address.
Former President Donald Trump’s last State of the Union in January 2020 ended dramatically Pelosi tore a physical copy of his speech after he finished.
“I tore it up,” she told reporters afterward. “I was trying to find a page of truth there.” When asked why she had torn it up, she replied, “It was courteous to consider the alternative.”
Nikole Killion and Melissa Quinn contributed to this report