The White House has not yet scheduled a date for President Biden to deliver his first speech at a joint session of Congress – although the president has suggested that it take place this month.
Presidents traditionally delivered a speech to Congress during their first year in office, often in February. A speech at a joint session of Congress is like a State of the Union, although technically not so named until the President’s second year.
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Biden suggested last month that he discuss his coronavirus agenda during a speech this month.
“Next month, during my first appearance before a joint session of Congress, I will be drafting my recovery plan for ‘Build Back Better,'” Biden said on January 14.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that although the president was “looking forward” to delivering the speech, the White House did not plan when it would take place.
“It is clear that the president is looking forward to speaking after a joint sitting,” Psaki said. “We just do not yet have a date for when it will be and it will obviously look different because of COVID and because we want to be safe and want to project the safety and our responsibility to project it to the American public.”
Presidents, during their first congressional speech, tend to set the tone for their new government, with optimistic language to look ahead, and to set their legislative agenda and set out their views on a range of policy issues.
Biden has signed dozens of executive orders, actions and prescriptions since his tenure, with Biden officials telling Fox News that the moves are a preview of the agenda items the president will place in Congress. They focused on environmental regulations, the climate crisis, immigration policy, racial justice, health care and more.
But an ally of the Biden White House told Fox News that the president’s actions are a foretaste of what the government is going to push in Congress.
“The executive actions are a preview and happen in parallel with what he is campaigning for in Congress,” the source told Fox News. “These are the things he can do immediately, but show what he is going to pursue in Congress, and in some cases, already.”
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Biden has already sent its $ 1.9 billion US coronavirus package to Capitol Hill – the house is expected to pass legislation later this month. And this week, Psaki said gun control is a “priority” for the president, although he has not formally proposed legislation to Congress.
Usually new presidents deliver their addresses only a few weeks after the inauguration.
Former President George HW Bush delivered one of the earliest speeches during a joint session held on February 9, 1989. Former President Trump delivered one of the latest speeches – his speech was on February 28, 2017.
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Former President Barack Obama delivered his speech on February 24, 2009; former President George W. Bush delivered his on February 27, 2001; and former president Bill Clinton she delivered on February 17th.
If Biden’s address expired in March, it would be the last joint session address in decades.