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US President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night (or Wednesday, 7.30 am in India) for the first time after assuming office less than two months ago for his second term.
In general, the US President’s annual televised addresses are known as the “State of the Union” speeches, where the government’s accomplishments in the previous year and its agenda for the upcoming year are highlighted. However, it has been called “a Joint Address to Congress” this time.
What happens as part of the speech and why has its name been changed? We explain.
The SOTU address is the American President’s annual report to the people, and fulfils his constitutional obligation to give to Congress “from time to time… information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient” (Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the US Constitution).
A 2018 report from the Congressional Research Service said, “As the address is now broadcast and webcast to a “prime time” national and international audience, it serves several functions: as a report to Congress and the nation on national conditions; as a platform to announce and rally support for the President’s legislative agenda for the coming year; and as a unique opportunity for the chief executive to convey a vision for the nation to Congress and the American people.”
There is no specific date mentioned for the address but it usually happens in the first few months of the year. However, the President’s inauguration date is fixed as January 20 under the Constitution. This means that the first SOTU address following the election happens shortly after the President’s term begins.
The SOTU address can be traced back to early years of American democracy and previously known by different names. From 1790, when President George Washington delivered the first of these messages, to 1946, the address was formally known as the “Annual Message”. Between 1942 and 1946, it was informally called the “State of the Union” message/address; since 1947, when President Harry S Truman gave his message to Congress, it has been officially known as the State of the Union Address.
However, many Presidents have chosen different titles for the speech delivered in their first years. During the first term of President Ronald Reagan in 1981, Reagan addressed a joint session of Congress called “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress on the Program for Economic Recovery,” according to The American Presidency Project, at the University of California at Santa Barbara.
Presidents George HW Bush and Bill Clinton termed their first year speeches, delivered in 1989 and 1993 respectively, as “Administration Goals.” In 2001, George W Bush’s speech was his “Budget Message.” During Trump’s first term in 2017, the speech was called the “Address Before a Joint Session of the Congress.”
According to the American Presidency Project, the impacts of these first-year speeches should be considered to have the same heft as the State of the Union addresses that follow in subsequent years. Further, just like the State of the Union address, the opposing party to the one that occupies the White House gives a brief speech in response, which, like the President’s remarks, is televised. This year’s will be delivered by Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.
(With Associated Press inputs)
