President Biden on Tuesday night accepted the invitation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to address a joint session of Congress on April 28th. not an official state of the Union because a president’s first speech to Congress is not considered a State of the Union.
“Almost 100 days ago, when you took the oath of office, you promised in a spirit of great hope that‘ Help is on the way, ’” Pelosi wrote in a letter to Mr. Biden. “Now, because of your historic leadership and transformer, 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 for 9/11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Like his inaugural speech, Biden’s first speech to Congress will be shaped by the coronavirus pandemic, which will make it different from previous directions uttered by his predecessors before a joint session. A Capitol official involved in the planning said the number of senators and members of the House in the House will be limited due to COVID-19 protocols, and lawmakers will be seated on both the House floor and the gallery. Members of the House and Senate will also not be allowed to be invited.
The joint session will design a special national security event, with the secret service designated as the main federal agency that will oversee coordination, planning, and security.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Wednesday that Biden is “eager” to deliver his speech and will likely discuss economic recovery, fight the coronavirus pandemic and address global challenges.
Republicans will probably soon announce who will give their answer.
Normally, the president addresses Congress earlier this year, but the White House said Mr. Biden was focused on approving the U.S. rescue plan. Biden signed the $ 1.9 trillion package on March 12, and gave his first primetime address on March 11th on the occasion of the anniversary of the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. He held his first press conference on March 25th.
The address will be a few days before the end of the first 100 days of Mr. Biden. The first 100 days in office have been used as a marker at least since President Franklin Roosevelt, and Biden has set an ambitious agenda during his first 100 days in office.
Article II, section 3 of the U.S. Constitution dictates that the President “shall from time to time provide Congress with information on the state of the union and recommend to it for consideration such measures as it deems necessary and timely.”
It was George Washington who set the precedent for what it means “from time to time.” The Draft U.S. Presidency notes that since 1790, with a couple of exceptions, the State of the Union has been awarded annually.
The message has not always gone by the name “State of the Union,” the House of Representatives notes. From 1790 to 1946 it was called the “Annual Message” and from 1942 to 1946 it was informally known as the “State of the Union”. And, since 1947, it has been officially known as the State of the Union Discourse.
The last state of the Union of former President Donald Trump in January 2020 ended dramatically when Pelosi pulled away a physical copy of his speech after finishing.
“I ripped it off,” he later told reporters. “I was trying to find a real page there.” When asked why he had torn it apart, he replied, “It was polite to do so considering the alternative.”
Nikole Killion and Melissa Quinn contributed to this report