House Speaker Mike Johnson has invited President Biden to Congress for the annual State of the Union address, setting a historically late date in the midst of the presidential primary election.
A brief two-sentence memo sent to the White House on Saturday asked Biden to appear before a joint session of Congress on Thursday, March 7.
“At this moment of great challenge for our country, it is my solemn duty to extend this invitation,” Johnson said in the letter. Posted in X.
The date, which Johnson has the authority to set, comes two days after Super Tuesday, when primary voters and caucus participants head to the polls in 17 states, including delegate-rich California, Texas and North Carolina.
Presidents since Franklin D. Roosevelt have traditionally given address in January or February.
Biden's 2022 speech was delivered on March 1 and was previously the most recent in modern presidential history.
But as Congress returns from recess this week, both chambers remain embroiled in a budget battle that could trigger a partial government shutdown as early as Jan. 19, with federal funds depleted as early as Feb. 2. It is scheduled to expire completely on the 1st.
The House Oversight Committee is also poised to hold Biden's son Hunter in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify in closed-door hearings about his family's overseas dealings, while the president himself faces an ongoing impeachment inquiry. ing.
The March 7 date sets up a potential showdown for Biden and his Republican opponent at a time when both parties' presidential nominations are likely to be nearly decided.
With former President Donald Trump maintaining a significant lead in the polls over his Republican opponent, Republicans have yet to say who will deliver the party's customary response to the president's speech.
In 2023, Mr. Biden, then 80 years old, received jeers and jeers from Congress during his gaffe-filled State of the Union address, in which he stumbled over the title of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and forgot the name of the ambassador to Ukraine.
