Real Clear Politics White House reporter Phil Wegmann joins FOX Report to discuss the president s anticipated speech
President Biden will appear Wednesday evening before a joint session of Congress to deliver an address, but unlike most times when a president participates in such an event, the speech is not considered an official State of the Union address.
The event bears the trappings of a State of the Union, with the president discussing pertinent issues facing the nation and his administration, and he ll be doing so after accepting the necessary invitation from the speaker of the House. Nearly 100 days ago, when you took the oath of office, you pledged in a spirit of great hope that Help Is On The Way. Now, because of your historic and transformative leadership, Help Is Here! Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote in a letter to Biden. In that spirit, I am writing to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Wednesday, April 28, to share your vision for addressing th
April 26, 2021
Bickering over a presidential speech to Congress this year began more than a week before the event. On April 19, Republican lawmakers wrote to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California, requesting she postpone Joe Biden’s first presidential speech to Congress until the House of Representatives is in session. (The House will be conducting committee work during the week of April 26-30.)
Given widespread vaccination on Capitol Hill, they also asked Pelosi to increase capacity limits from a planned cap of 200 attendees to let all interested members attend the April 28 address.
Republican concerns about the timing of Biden’s speech are valid. But rather than rescheduling the address, they should seek to end the practice of presidents addressing Congress both to reassert the primacy of the legislative branch, and to end political set pieces that often devolve into partisan food fights.