President Biden will deliver his first State of the Union address on Tuesday during a trying period that some of his closest advisers have described as the most consequential moment of his presidency.
In the speech, Mr. Biden is expected to strike a balance between addressing immediate priorities — a Supreme Court nomination and his administration’s response to an intensifying war in Ukraine — and assessing his progress in solving long-term challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic and the economic problems it has caused.
Among those, the president is expected to speak to rising inflation and highlight his administration’s efforts to ease pressure on consumers and businesses suffering from global supply chain bottlenecks and other disruptions.
The address is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m. Eastern time.
How to watch
The New York Times will stream the address at nytimes.com with live analysis from reporters.
How will lawmakers respond?
Following the president’s speech, the traditional rebuttal from Republicans will be delivered by Kim Reynolds, the governor of Iowa.
A vocal opponent of the president’s public health policy, Ms. Reynolds has worked to sustain resistance to indoor masking and other pandemic restrictions that started under former President Donald J. Trump, especially in Iowa’s public schools.
In an unusual turn of events, the progressive wing of Mr. Biden’s own party will also deliver a separate response in the form of a speech by Representative Rashida Tlaib of Michigan.
Ms. Tlaib and other progressive Democrats have increasingly found themselves at odds with the White House, culminating in a clash over Mr. Biden’s infrastructure bill, which Ms. Tlaib and her allies said was passed at the expense of broader social policy and climate change priorities.
Another Democrat, Representative Colin Allred of Texas, is also expected to deliver a response on behalf of the Congressional Black Caucus.
What will the scene look like?
In a departure from the first joint address to Congress that Mr. Biden delivered a few months after being sworn in last year, all members of Congress have been invited to attend the speech, reflecting positive trends in the pandemic. According to new guidance released Sunday by the Capitol’s attending physician, lawmakers will also have the option to attend without wearing masks if they are fully vaccinated or produce a negative Covid test.
