WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden will emphasize in his State of the Union tackle areas the place Democrats and Republicans can work collectively as he additionally requires motion on extra divisive points which can be unlikely to achieve traction in a divided Congress.
The newest on Biden’s speech:
- Speech begins at 9 p.m. EST: Biden’s second State of the Union tackle on the U.S. Capitol can be livestreamed by USA TODAY.
- What insurance policies will Biden tackle?: His “unity agenda” consists of preventing the opioid epidemic, bettering psychological well being, supporting veterans and reducing most cancers dying charges. Biden will applaud bipartisan efforts to tackle these points and push for extra motion in his speech.
- He’ll push billionaire taxes, insulin costs: He may also renew his requires a minimal tax on billionaires, a cap on insulin costs for all People, extending expanded Medicaid protection to all states and different Democratic priorities that face an uphill battle.

Biden to promise funding in ‘places and people that have been forgotten’
Biden will spend a part of his tackle selling his financial plan and assuring People that he needs to put money into “places and people that have been forgotten.”
Amid the financial upheaval of the previous 4 a long time, too many individuals have been left behind or handled like they’re invisible, he’ll say, in accordance to excerpts of the speech launched by the White Home.
“Maybe that’s you watching at home,” Biden will say. “You remember the jobs that went away. And you wonder whether a path even exists anymore for you and your children to get ahead without moving away. I get it. That’s why we’re building an economy where no one is left behind. Jobs are coming back, pride is coming back because of the choices we made in the last two years. This is a blue-collar blueprint to rebuild America and make a real difference in your lives.”
– Michael Collins
Biden to reward restoration from Jan. 6 riot, COVID
President Joe Biden will say “the story of America is a story of progress and resilience” in his State of the Union tackle as he touts a rebounding economic system, COVID-19 restoration and democracy that survived the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol assault, in accordance to excerpts of the speech supplied by the White Home.
Biden will tout 12 million new jobs created below his presidency – many who got here again following the pandemic – to declare financial progress. And he’ll replicate on a interval two years in the past when companies and colleges closed on the peak of the pandemic.
“Today, COVID no longer controls our lives,” Biden plans to say. “And two years ago, our democracy faced its greatest threat since the Civil War. Today, though bruised, our democracy remains unbowed and unbroken.”
– Joey Garrison
Biden to ask Republicans to work with him in SOTU speech
President Joe Biden will make a plea to Republicans in Congress to work with him. He mentioned after the November elections that People despatched a divided Congress to Washington as a result of they need them to work collectively.
“The people sent us a clear message,” Biden will say, in accordance to excerpts launched from the White Home. “Fighting for the sake of fighting, power for the sake of power, conflict for the sake of conflict, gets us nowhere.”
– Erin Mansfield
Why Sen. Patty Murray and different lawmakers can be sporting crayons at State of the Union
Washington Sen. Patty Murray and a few of her Democratic colleagues can be sporting crayon pins to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union tackle Tuesday to sign their help for larger investments in youngster care. Such care now prices greater than $10,000 a 12 months on common, and roughly half of People stay in a toddler care desert. Inadequate youngster care takes a toll on America’s economic system, current analysis exhibits, costing taxpayers $122 billion yearly.
Partisan gridlock has prevented progress on main youngster care reforms, corresponding to Murray’s Youngster Look after Working Households Act, which might usually cap youngster care bills at 7% of a household’s family earnings. Biden, who alluded to that cap in his final State of the Union, has additionally struggled to achieve traction on his youngster care proposals.
– Alia Wong
Lawmakers to spotlight key social points by way of friends
Tuesday night time’s State of the Union tackle would be the first 12 months for the reason that starting of the COVID-19 pandemic the place lawmakers are allowed to convey their very own friends. As a part of custom, lawmakers have a tendency to invite friends that draw consideration to points necessary to them.
A number of Democratic lawmakers have invited friends to champion abortion entry corresponding to Roslyn Roger Collins, president and CEO of Deliberate Parenthood Metropolitan New Jersey, who will attend the tackle alongside Rep. Bob Mendendez, D-N.J., in accordance to Deliberate Parenthood.
Within the wake of the brutal beating and subsequent dying of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, members of the Congressional Black Caucus are bringing friends who’ve been impacted by police violence. Home Democratic Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries has invited Gwen Carr, the mom of Eric Garner, who died by the hands of a New York police officer in 2014.
– Christine Fernando and Ken Tran
Republican response: Sarah Huckabee Sanders follows in historic footsteps along with her State of the Union response
Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders is the primary former White Home press secretary to ship a proper State of the Union response – she isn’t, nonetheless, the primary governor of Arkansas to do the honors.
Again in 1985, the Democrats picked a younger governor of Arkansas to ship their response to President Ronald Reagan.
His identify? Invoice Clinton … then-future President Invoice Clinton.
Sanders will give the Republican rebuttal after Biden’s speech.
– David Jackson
5 huge questions for the SOTU:Is he running? 5 big questions Joe Biden will answer in the State of the Union
Biden and China: Spy balloon likely to be addressed
The speech is a chance for Biden to respond to those who have criticized how he handled the suspected Chinese spy balloon that drifted over the United States last week – and to send a public message to China. Republicans have accused Biden of showing weakness by not shooting down the balloon sooner.
Tensions have been rising with China, which the U.S. considers its biggest strategic and economic competitor. The nations have clashed over Taiwan, technology, human rights, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and other disputes.
The Biden administration has been trying to stabilize the relationship, building what it’s called “guardrails” as it normalizes interaction. But one effort to do that – sending Secretary of State Antony Blinken to China – was postponed because of the balloon incident.
– Maureen Groppe and Michael Collins
Intel chair: China balloon flew over nuke sites
Biden to lay out ‘forceful approach’ to combatting fentanyl
The Biden administration will launch a national campaign to educate young people on the dangers of fentanyl, part of the “forceful approach” for going after fentanyl trafficking and reducing overdose deaths.
Other steps include:
- Using new large-scale scanners to improve efforts to stop fentanyl from being brought into the U.S. through the southern border.
- Working with package delivery companies to catch more packages containing fentanyl from being shipped around the country.
- Working with Congress to make permanent a temporary tool that that’s helped federal agents crack down on drugs chemically similar to fentanyl.
– Maureen Groppe
5 big questions on Biden’s speech:Is he running? 5 big questions Joe Biden will answer in the State of the Union
Biden to plug job market as recession looms
President Joe Biden is expected to take credit for a booming job market and easing inflation when he speaks to the nation Tuesday night.
But he’ll likely leave out a litany of trouble spots, including a slumping housing market, a monthslong manufacturing downturn and elevated recession risk this year. Meanwhile, inflation is still high and economists pin at least some of the blame on Biden for showering Americans with cash in early 2021 while the economy was already healing.
– Paul Davidson
State of the economy:A look at economy’s strengths, weaknesses as Biden sets to boast of record job growth in State of Union
Who is Sarah Huckabee Sanders? Arkansas governor to giver Republican response to Biden’s State of the Union address
Sarah Huckabee Sanders, one-time White House press secretary for former President Trump and current governor of Arkansas, will deliver the Republican rebuttal to Biden’s State of the Union address tonight.
Sanders, the youngest governor in the U.S., hails from a prominent political family. Her father Mike Huckabee was the 44th governor of Arkansas, serving from 1996 to 2007 before launching an unsuccessful presidential bid during the 2008 election. The younger Sanders has since cut out her own place in GOP politics, emerging as one of the more high-profile members of the Trump administration.
– Anna Kaufman
Bono, Tyre Nichols’ family members among guests sitting with first lady Jill Biden Tuesday night
The lead singer for the rock group U2, Bono, and Ukraine’s ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, are among the White House guests attending President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday.
Guests are chosen to highlight themes of the president’s speech or because they represent his policy initiatives.
Bono is the cofounder of the ONE campaign to fight poverty and preventable diseases, and (RED), which fights HIV/AIDS in Africa. Other guests who will be sitting with first lady Jill Biden during the speech include:
- The mother and stepfather of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old Black man who died after being beaten by Memphis police officers.
- Brandon Tsay, the man who disarmed the Monterey Park gunman who killed 11 people and injured 10 others during a Lunar New Year celebration.
- A Texas woman who almost died because doctors were concerned that intervening when her pregnancy ran into difficulties would violate the state’s abortion ban.
- One of the Massachusetts same-sex couples who sued the state for the right to marry in 2001.
– Maureen Groppe
What to expect from tonight’s speech:Here’s what you can expect from Joe Biden’s speech
Biden’s speech comes amid job gains
One accomplishment Biden is sure to bring up tonight is the level of job gains under his presidency. Since he took office the unemployment rate went from 6.3% to 3.4%, per the latest jobs data.
Despite recession fears and massive tech layoffs, U.S. employers added 517,000 new jobs last month, well exceeding economists’ expectations of around 180,000 new jobs.
The blowout jobs report paved the way for the Federal Reserve to pass more rate hikes aimed at lowering inflation, Fed Chairman Powell said in remarks he delivered earlier today. But the rate hikes could push the economy closer to a recession, which the central bank has avoided so far.
– Elisabeth Buchwald
Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan remains stalled
Biden has yet to fulfill his campaign promise of canceling at least $10,000 in student loan debt. Last year he unveiled a plan to make good on his promise.
However the plan is being stalled by legal challenges. Six states – Nebraska, Missouri, Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas and South Carolina – formed a coalition to fight the proposal. They argue that canceling student loan debt extends beyond the administration’s legal authority.
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments for the case later this month. The Biden administration claims it is well within their legal realm to proceed with its plan. It cannot do so unless the Court rules in its favor, however.
– Elisabeth Buchwald
Stock market under Biden
Since President Joe Biden took office in January 2021, the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 10%. Last year the index fell into a bear market, meaning it dropped 20% below a market peak set last January.
During former President Donald Trump’s time in office, the Dow gained 56%. That represents an annualized gain of close to 12%, one of the best stock market performances under a Republican president according to data from LPL Financial.
– Elisabeth Buchwald
What time is the State of the Union speech tonight?
Biden’s State of the Union speech is Tuesday at 9 p.m. EST.
How to stream the SOTU
The speech can be livestreamed by USA TODAY.
Who’s the designated survivor tonight?
The State of the Union tackle, delivered to a joint session of Congress and a crowd that features all 9 Supreme Courtroom justices, poses a novel state of affairs through which each key member of the nation’s management is in a single room.
That makes it each a momentous affair, and a big nationwide safety danger. Because of this, annually one member of the president’s Cupboard dubbed the “designated survivor” hangs again.
The follow dates again to the Chilly Battle, throughout which fears of a Soviet Nuclear assault abounded and a recent urgency surrounded protocols for the order of presidential succession. The designated survivor for 2023 has not but been introduced, however heads of the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, and Vitality have most often been chosen.
– Anna Kaufman
What channel is the State of the Union on?
The foremost TV networks and different information retailers, corresponding to Fox Information, MSNBC, CNN and PBS, are offering stay protection of the tackle.
What’s the State of the Union tackle?
The State of the Union tackle isn’t only a custom within the nation’s capital. It is rooted in the Structure.
Article II of the Structure says the president shall “from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.”
That doesn’t mean the president has to give a speech – as they often do today.
“From that very general mandate in the Constitution has evolved into what we recognize today as a yearly event, with lots of pomp and circumstance,” Claire Jerry, a curator of political history at the National Museum of American History, told USA TODAY.
– Marina Pitofsky
When did the annual message become known as State of the Union address?
From 1790 to 1946, the speech delivered by the president to Congress was known simply as the “Annual Message.”
In 1947 is became the ‘State of the Union’ and has since been referred to by that name.
– Anna Kaufman
What is the origin of the state of the union address?
Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution states that the president will “give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
This language birthed the practice, allowing the executive to deliver to a joint session of Congress and the American people.
In the modern era, the speech has become a vehicle for administrations to roll out their policy priorities for the coming year and spotlight key agenda issues.
– Anna Kaufman