Speaker Mike Johnson is inviting President Joe Biden to deliver his annual State of the Union address on March 7.
In a letter sent to the White House on Saturday, Johnson, a Republican from Louisiana, extended the formal invitation for Biden to speak to a joint session of Congress.
Johnson said he was inviting Biden “in this moment of great challenge for our country.”
Notably, Biden’s address would be scheduled for after two crucial deadlines to avert a government shutdown.
Funding for federal agencies that oversee programs for veterans — and on transportation, housing, agriculture and energy — is set to expire Jan. 19.
Funding for the rest of the federal government, including the Pentagon, State Department and Homeland Security, will run out Feb. 2.
The annual address from the president to Congress usually is scheduled for late January or February.
Biden’s March 7 address would be the latest that a president has delivered the State of the Union since President Franklin D. Roosevelt revived the practice of giving the annual speech in person in 1934.
Most recently, the latest that a State of the Union had been given was in 2022, when Biden delivered it on March 1, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Is January or February the best time to deliver the State of the Union?
This will be the first State of the Union for Johnson as speaker, who traditionally sits behind and to the left of the president during the address to Congress.
This year’s speech will offer an opportunity for Biden to detail his broader vision and policy priorities as he campaigns for re-election in November.
In last year’s State of the Union, on Feb. 7, Biden repeatedly declared that he would “finish the job” on crucial parts of his agenda that remained incomplete, such as capping insulin costs for all Americans, taking more aggressive actions on climate change, banning so-called assault-style weapons, and pushing for higher taxes on corporations and the rich.
It also was his first State of the Union in front of a divided Congress, and some House Republicans interrupted and jeered at the president, particularly when he spoke about efforts from some GOP lawmakers to cut Medicare and Social Security.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
