January 13
By Kaia Hubbard
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Friday formally invited President Joe Biden to deliver the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress next month.
“It is my solemn obligation to invite you to speak before a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, so that you may fulfill your duty under the Constitution to report on the state of the union,” the California Republican wrote in a letter to Biden.
The annual address to Congress is an opportunity for the president to highlight achievements and key priorities. This year, it comes amid tensions on Capitol Hill, as the Republican Party has gained control of the House and pledged to launch investigations into the Biden administration.
Nevertheless, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Friday that Biden had received McCarthy’s “kind invitation” and has accepted it.
McCarthy used the letter as an opportunity to nod to his party’s new majority.
“The new year brings a new Congress, and with it, a responsibility to work toward an economy that is strong, a nation that is safe, a future that is built on freedom and a government that is accountable,” McCarthy wrote in the letter to Biden. “The American people sent us to Washington to deliver a new direction for the country, to find common ground and to debate their priorities.”