Biden accepts Pelosi’s invitation to give State of the Union speech on March 1
President Joe Biden flanked by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi are seen in October in Washington
By Clare Foran and Kevin Liptak, CNN
President Joe Biden has accepted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation to deliver the annual State of the Union address to Congress on March 1.
On Friday, Pelosi sent Biden a letter inviting him to give the speech on that day “to share your vision of the State of the Union.”
The White House announced later in the afternoon that Biden had accepted.
“The President has accepted the invitation of the Speaker of the House to deliver the State of the Union address on Tuesday, March 1, 2022,” principal deputy press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters traveling with the President to Colorado Friday.
The State of the Union address is a tradition that offers Presidents a chance to highlight their priorities and agenda at the start of a new year.
If Biden gives the speech on March 1, that would be about a month later than is typical for the annual address. Since 1934, all State of the Union speeches have happened in January or February.
Delivering the State of the Union in March would give Biden more time to try to accomplish some of his legislative goals before addressing Congress and the nation.
The Build Back Better Act — a key part of Biden’s domestic agenda that aims to expand the social safety net and fight climate change — has hit a roadblock in Congress amid opposition from moderate Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin and it is not clear whether the legislation will be able to move forward.
While the Constitution mandates a president to update Congress on the “state of the union,” it does not provide a timing requirement beyond “from time to time.”
Biden delivered his first address to Congress as President in April 2021. That was not designated a “State of the Union” speech because since 1977, new presidents have not referred to the first speech before a joint session of Congress that way, instead typically calling them an annual message or address.
A number of health and safety protocols were put in place for that speech due to the Covid-19 pandemic, including a limit on the number of lawmakers allowed in the House chamber.
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments Friday.
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CNN’s Donald Judd and Adam Levy contributed to this report.
