WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has been invited by House Speaker Mike Johnson to deliver the State of the Union address in March.
“In this moment of great challenge for our country, it is my solemn duty to extend this invitation for you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Thursday, March 7, 2024, so that you may fulfill your obligation under the U.S. Constitution to report on the state of our union,” Johnson said in a letter to Biden obtained by The Associated Press.
The State of the Union will be the first one for Johnson as speaker, the AP reported. He is expected to sit to the left of Biden during the address.
The address is a speech that is given annually by the United States president to a joint session of Congress, according to Reuters.
Biden’s address on March 7 is reportedly the latest a president has delivered the State of the Union since 1934, the AP reported. President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1934 revived the annual speech in person.
Before 2024, the latest the State of the Union was given was March 1, 2022, according to the Congressional Research Service per the AP.
The speech has been scheduled after two deadlines which are on Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 to prevent shutdowns in different parts of the federal government, Reuters reported.
Biden is expected to tackle a few topics in the State of the Union including the fentanyl crisis, increasing assistance for veterans, mental health concerns, expansion of data privacy protections and finding a cure for cancer, CNN reported.