FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden addresses the White House Tribal Nations Summit at the Interior Department in Washington, U.S., November 30, 2022. REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein
Washington, United States — President Joe Biden will deliver his annual State of the Union speech before Congress on February 7, the White House said Friday.
The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Republican Kevin McCarthy, sent a “kind invitation and the president has accepted it and looks forward to delivering the State of the Union,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.
This will be Biden’s first speech before a divided Congress since he took office in 2021.
His previous appearances at the annual set piece address — a chance to lay out his year’s plans before a national audience — took place when Democrats held narrow majorities in both chambers.
Following the November midterm elections, Democrats still control the Senate while Republicans have a slim majority in the House.
This time, McCarthy will be in the speaker’s chair behind Biden, while an increasingly powerful section of far-right Republicans will be among those facing him in the audience.
The speech comes as Biden is expected to announce a run for re-election in 2024 and the occasion could provide a platform to highlight his overall message ahead of the bruising campaign.