How you can watch Biden’s first State of the Union address
President Biden is scheduled to deliver on Tuesday night his first State of the Union, an extravagant affair attended by hundreds of lawmakers, administration officials and Supreme Court justices. It is Biden’s second speech to a joint session of Congress as president. His first, last April, was not technically a State of the Union address.
Here’s what you need to know:
What time is the State of the Union?
The speech will take place at 6 p.m. Pacific (9 p.m. Eastern).
Where can I watch it?
If you are extremely cool and don’t own a cable box, you can stream it on the homepage of the Los Angeles Times. My extremely hip colleague Eli Stokols will be hosting. (Feel free to drop him a note saying hello on Twitter). You can stream it on YouTube, the White House’s website and on the websites of the major news networks. It will also be broadcast on a bunch of television stations (for those of you who haven’t decoupled from cable or have HDTV antennas).
President Biden delivers his first State of the Union speech amid geopolitical and domestic crises that challenge his presidency.
What can I expect?
Much of Biden’s speech will focus on the state of the pandemic, inflation and how he thinks his domestic agenda will help lower costs for American consumers, according to White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.
Biden is also expected to call on Congress to pass the core components of his domestic agenda, including subsidies for child care, paid parental leave and tax breaks to incentivize clean energy. Psaki said Biden will also talk about the war in Ukraine and how Western nations have rallied against Russian aggression.
Outside the building, Capitol Police have erected perimeter fencing around much of the campus “out of an abundance of caution,” Capitol Police Chief J. Thomas Manger said.
Who will give the rebuttal address?
GOP leaders have tapped Iowa Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to give the party’s rebuttal in Des Moines. In a statement, Reynolds said that Biden is “ignoring the problems of working-class Americans while pushing an agenda that stifles free speech, free thought, and economic freedom.”
“The American people have had enough, but there is an alternative and that’s what I look forward to sharing on Tuesday evening,” said Reynolds, who is the first woman to hold that office.
During the pandemic, Reynolds was the first governor to mandate that schools reopen for full-time, in-person learning. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hailed Reynolds for leading the country in “cutting taxes, parental choice in education, election integrity, child care and mental health.”
How will COVID-19 affect the address?
Only about 200 people attended the joint session speech last year because of pandemic-related capacity restrictions. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) is taking a different approach on Tuesday night. She has invited all 535 senators and representatives, the Supreme Court, Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, most of the president’s Cabinet and members of the news media. Guests will not be allowed to attend. But masks will be optional and attendees must submit a negative PCR test ahead of the event.
Biden will not wear a mask when he’s addressing the session, according to Psaki.
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