Wednesday, April 14, 2021

Biden accepts Pelosi’s invite to address joint session of Congress on April 28


By Tamar Lapin

April 13, 2021 | 8:34pm


House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has invited President Biden to address a joint session of Congress later this month.Tom Williams/Pool via REUTERS

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has invited President Biden to address a joint session of Congress later this month.

The California Democrat sent Biden a letter asking him to give his first speech to Congress on April 28, according to a statement from her office.

“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!,” Pelosi wrote in the letter.

“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 the challenges and opportunities of this historic moment.”

Presidents typically make the address in the first few weeks after entering the White House, but it is not called a “State of the Union” speech, which comes in the second year of the term.

Biden, however, has waited way longer than his modern-day predecessors to give his debut address.

Members of the House and Senate usually cram into the House chamber for joint sessions. But because of the coronavirus pandemic issues like occupancy limits for that room had to be discussed before setting a date, Pelosi previously said.

A White House official said Biden would be accepting the invite.

“The President has accepted the invitation of the Speaker of the House to address a Joint Session of Congress on April 28, the night before his 100th day in office,” the person said in a statement.



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