Speaker Johnson Invites Biden to Deliver State of the Union Address in Early March

(Bloomberg News/TNS) − President Joe Biden will give his State of the Union address to Congress on March 7, a relatively late date that places the speech after the Super Tuesday primaries and any early 2024 congressional showdown over federal funding.

The speech will give Biden a chance to lay out his 2024 agenda as he seeks a second term and potentially to draw a contrast with his likely Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who issued the invitation to Biden in a letter posted to X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, said it comes at a “moment of great challenge for our country.”

Biden responded in a post Saturday, saying that he is “looking forward to it.”

Biden and Trump squared off Friday in dueling speeches keyed to the third anniversary of the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters seeking to prevent lawmakers from certifying Biden’s victory in the 2020 presidential election.

In last year’s State of the Union, Biden prioritized calls for unity as a partisan deadlock over the federal debt ceiling threatened a U.S. sovereign default. Several Republicans heckled Biden in 2023 after he claimed that some members of the GOP wanted to cut Medicare and Social Security.

Congress remains in negotiations with the White House over legislation to fund the government long-term. Republicans have demanded significant changes to immigration policy before approving any substantial aid overseas, including to allies Ukraine and Israel, as the deadline for a potential government shutdown draws nearer.