Biden set to deliver 2023 State of the Union address. What you need to know

President Biden
AP/Andrew Harnik
President Joe Biden speaks about infrastructure at the Baltimore and Potomac Tunnel North Portal in Baltimore, Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

This story has been updated to reflect the guests for Jill Biden for this year’s State of the Union have not yet been announced. We regret the error.

Less than a year after delivering his first State of the Union address, President Biden is set to speak to a joint session of Congress again, this time under different circumstances.

Biden marked his first year in office on March 1, 2022, with Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate. While Republicans were unable to usher in the “red wave” they expected in November, the midterms gave the GOP the majority in the House of Representatives and Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) the gavel.

With a divided Congress, Biden will have to work in a bipartisan manner to get his agenda passed and will have a chance to voice what he wants to get done in the coming year.

When is the State of the Union address?

President Joe Biden will deliver his second State of the Union Address on Feb. 7. (AP)

Biden will speak to both chambers of Congress on Feb. 7, with plenty of issues, including gun violence, police reform, the economy and the war in Ukraine, at the forefront of many Americans’ minds.

The speech is set to begin at 9 p.m. ET with the Republican response set to follow afterward. Republicans have not announced who will speak.

The announcement comes as a new Marist poll shows that more than 60 percent of Americans believe the state of the union is not strong.

The Hill will carry the State of the Union address live.

What is the State of the Union?

The State of the Union Address is a speech given by the president every year to a joint session of both chambers of Congress. The president will report on the state of the country and outline his policy priorities for the coming year.

Who will be the prominent guests?

Tyre Nichols’s parents have accepted an invitation to be at the State of the Union.

More invitees will be announced closer to the date of the speech.

How long have past SOTU speeches lasted?

Past State of the Union addresses have typically lasted more than an hour but sometimes have been under 60 minutes.

The longest State of the Union was former President Clinton’s last, on Jan. 27, 2000. He spoke for an hour and 28 minutes, according to Forbes.

Updated at 6:58 p.m.

Tags Clinton gun violence Jill Biden Joe Biden Kevin McCarthy Kevin McCarthy police reform President Joe Biden State of the Union State of the Union

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