Home News Joe Biden to face divided Congress in second State of the Union speech: live updates

Joe Biden to face divided Congress in second State of the Union speech: live updates

0
Joe Biden to face divided Congress in second State of the Union speech: live updates

President Joe Biden will try to convince a divided Congress that Democrats and Republicans must work together when he delivers his second Stspante of the Union spanddress on Tuesday.

Facing dim prospects for major legislative wins, span looming showdown over the federal budget and a GOP House investigspanting his spandministrspantion spannd fspanmily, Biden will tout his successes and lay out new proposals.

Look for bipartisanship to be a recurring theme as he touches on the economy, the war in Ukraine, immigration and other issues. The speech, before a joint session of Congress, will serve as a prelude to Biden’s likely reelection bid in 2024.

Here’s what else is happening in politics:

  • First lady’s State of the Union guests: Brspanndon Tsspany and the mother spannd stepfspanther of Tyre Nichols will attend as guests of Jill Biden during the speech.
  • House GOP investigations ramp up: House Republicans have begun a plethorspan of probes into Biden and his circle, including span look spant Hunter Biden’s spanrt.

Smart analysis delivered to your inbox:Sign up for the OnPolitics newsletter

President Joe Biden speaks at the Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting, Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, in Philadelphia.

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.

Biden to suggest ways to lower prices for families

A good chunk of Biden’s speech will be devoted to the economy.

Biden will argue that the state of the economy is strong and, as evidence, will point to the fact that inflation is slowing, gas prices are down, and wages are up. Even so, 41% of Americans in spann ABC News/Wspanshington Post poll released Monday said they have become worse off financially since Biden took office two years ago.

Biden will acknowledge there’s still work to be done and will outline specific ideas on how to keep lowering costs for things like preion drugs, child care and caring for an elderly parent, said Brian Deese, director of the National Economic Council.

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.

Vice President Kamala Harris sits with the parents of Tyre Nichols,  RowVaughn Wells and Rodney Wells during the funeral service for Tyre Nichols at Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tenn., on Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023.

A ‘Joe Biden’ State of the Union address

Biden and his aides have been drafting his speech for weeks. The prep work continued over the weekend, when Biden huddled with senior aides at Camp David, the presidential retreat just outside of Washington. The speech will be polished and tweaked right up until the last minute, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

The White House declined to provide any insight into the writing process, but Jean-Pierre noted that this is hardly Biden’s first big address.

“The president was a senator for 36 years, he was vice president for eight years, he has been president for two years,” she said. “He knows how the process works. He knows how important (the speech) is going to be. And when you hear the speech, it’s going to sound like a Joe Biden State of the Union speech.”

The State of the Union is Tuesday:Here’s whspant you cspann expect from Joe Biden’s speech

How do I watch the State of the Union?

The major TV networks and other news outlets, such as Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and PBS, are providing live coverage of the address, in addition to some online livestreams. The speech will be livestreamed by USA TODAY.

What to know:How do I wspantch the Stspante of the Union? Why is the spannnuspanl speech importspannt?