The White House has yet to set a date for President Biden to deliver his first speech at a joint session of Congress – although the president has suggested that this would happen this month.
Presidents often speak to Congress during their first year in office, usually in February. A speech at a joint session of Congress is like a State of the Union, although technically it is not called that until the second year of the president’s term.
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Biden suggested last month that he would discuss his coronavirus agenda during a speech this month.
“Next month, on my first appearance before a joint session of Congress, I will present my ‘Build Better’ recovery plan,” said Biden on January 14.
But White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Tuesday that while the president “yearns” to deliver the speech, the White House has not programmed when it will happen.
“Obviously, the president hopes to speak at a joint session,” said Psaki. “We just don’t have a date for that yet, and obviously it will be different because of COVID and because we want to be safe and to design that security and our responsibility to design it for the American public.”
Presidents, in their first speech to Congress, tend to set the tone for their new administration, with optimistic language to look to the future and define their legislative agenda, as well as outline their positions on a range of political issues.
Biden, however, since taking office has signed dozens of executive orders, actions and guidelines, with Biden officials telling Fox News that the measures are “prior” to the agenda items that the president will push to Congress. They focused on environmental regulations, the climate crisis, immigration policies, racial justice, health and more.
But a Biden ally in the White House told Fox News that the president’s actions are a taste of what the government is going to push for in Congress.
“The executive’s actions are prior and happen in parallel with what he is pushing in Congress,” the source told Fox News. “These are the things he can do instantly, but they show what he is going to get and, in some cases, he is already doing, in Congress.”
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Biden has already pushed his $ 1.9 trillion US Rescue Coronavirus package to the Capitol – 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.
Typically, new presidents make their speeches just weeks after taking office.
Former President George HW Bush delivered one of the first speeches in a joint session, which took place on February 9, 1989. Former President Trump gave one of the most recent – 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 made his presentation on February 27, 2001; and former President Bill Clinton delivered his on February 17.
If Biden’s speech falls in March, it will be the last Joint Session speech in decades.