US President Biden to deliver first State of the Union address on March 1

US President Joe Biden will deliver the traditional State of the Union (SOTU) address March 1, the White House said Friday, as the Democrat struggles to tame Covid-19 and get his stalled legislative agenda through Congress.

March is later than usual for the annual address, which a president typically delivers in late January or early February.

The timing is likely due to the pandemic: the Omicron variant is spreading like wildfire in the United States as in other countries and the presidential address is usually given to a packed audience of both chambers of Congress and many VIP guests.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote the president Friday formally inviting him to “address a Joint Session of Congress” on March 1 and share his vision for the country.

Deputy Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters the president had accepted the invitation.

The delayed SOTU provides Biden with additional time to confront the Covid-19 pandemic - whose resurgence is creating new headaches for the economy and heaping pressure on an already overburdened health care system - and find fresh momentum for his landmark domestic policy package.

Biden’s so-called Build Back Better plan - which includes over a trillion dollars in funding for child care, senior care, education, and climate change mitigation - has stalled in the Senate, due to the current opposition by one member of Biden’s own Democratic Party.

The president also hopes to pass landmark voter rights legislation at a time when Democrats accuse Republicans of seeking to restrict voting options in several states.