The State of the Union Address is an annual message delivered by the president of the United States to a joint session of the United States Congress near the beginning of most calendar years on the current condition of the nation. The State of the Union Address generally includes reports on the nation's budget, economy, news, agenda, progress, achievements and the president's priorities and legislative proposals.
In the United States, a designated survivor is a person in the presidential line of succession who is kept distant from others in the line when they are gathered together, to reduce the chance that everyone in the line will be unable to take over the presidency in a catastrophic or mass-casualty event. The person is chosen to stay at an undisclosed secure location, away from such events such as State of the Union addresses and presidential inaugurations. The designation of a survivor is intended to prevent the decapitation of the government and to safeguard continuity in the presidency if the president, the vice president, and others in the presidential line of succession die. The procedure began in the 1950s, during the Cold War, with the idea that a nuclear attack could kill government officials and the U.S. government would collapse.
A concurrent resolution is a resolution adopted by both houses of a bicameral legislature that lacks the force of law and does not require the approval of the chief executive (president). Concurrent resolutions are typically adopted to regulate the internal affairs of the legislature that adopted them, or for other purposes, if authority of law is not necessary.
A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on any special occasion, but are required to be held when the president delivers a State of the Union address, when they gather to count and certify the votes of the Electoral College as the presidential election, or when they convene on the occasion of a presidential inauguration. A joint meeting is a ceremonial or formal occasion and does not perform any legislative function, and no resolution is proposed nor vote taken.
Between seventy-three and seventy-nine days after the presidential election, the president-elect of the United States is inaugurated as president by taking the presidential oath of office. The inauguration takes place for each new presidential term, even if the president is continuing in office for another term.
Henry Calvin Johnson Jr. is an American lawyer and politician serving as the U.S. representative for Georgia's 4th congressional district since 2007. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district is anchored in Atlanta's inner eastern suburbs, including Decatur, all of Rockdale County, Lithonia, Stone Mountain, Covington and a sliver of Atlanta itself.
Floor Services Chief is the title of the staff member in the speaker's or majority leader's office who runs the majority cloakroom in the United States House of Representatives. The current floor services chief for the Republican Cloakroom is Timothy J. Harroun, appointed by Republican Speaker John Boehner. The Democratic floor chief is Barry K. Sullivan, who was appointed by Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Sullivan's predecessor was Donald Anderson, who was appointed by Speaker Thomas P O'Neill. When Harroun is floor services chief, Sullivan is minority cloakroom manager. Similarly, when Sullivan was floor services chief, Harroun was minority cloakroom manager.
The 1991 State of the Union Address was given by the 41st president of the United States, George H. W. Bush, on January 29, 1991, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 102nd United States Congress. It was Bush's second State of the Union Address and his third speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Tom Foley, accompanied by Dan Quayle, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.
The President's Room is one of the most ornate rooms in the United States Capitol, richly adorned with fresco paintings by Greek-Italian artist Constantino Brumidi. The room was completed in 1859 as part of the Capitol's vast extension, which added new Senate and House wings and the new cast-iron dome. The President's Room is room number S-216.
James Michael Johnson is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 56th speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, he is in his fifth House term, having represented Louisiana's 4th congressional district since 2017.
The 118th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened in Washington, D.C., on January 3, 2023, and ended on January 3, 2025, during the final two years of Joe Biden's presidency.
Donald Trump, the 45th president of the United States, addressed a joint session of the United States Congress on February 28, 2017. It was his first public address before a joint session. Similar to a State of the Union Address, it was delivered before the 115th United States Congress in the Chamber of the House of Representatives in the United States Capitol. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Paul Ryan, accompanied by Mike Pence, the vice president in his capacity as the president of the Senate.
The 2018 State of the Union Address was given by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, on January 30, 2018, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 115th United States Congress. It was Trump's first State of the Union Address and his second speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Paul Ryan, accompanied by Mike Pence, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.
The 2019 State of the Union Address was given by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, on February 5, 2019, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 116th United States Congress. It was Trump's second State of the Union Address and his third speech to a joint session of the United States Congress. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by Mike Pence, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.
The 2020 State of the Union Address was given by the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump, on February 4, 2020, at 9:00 p.m. EST, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives to the 116th United States Congress. It was Trump's third and final State of the Union Address and his fourth and final speech to a joint session of the United States Congress during his first term. Presiding over this joint session was the House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by Mike Pence, the vice president, in his capacity as the president of the Senate.
Jasmine Felicia Crockett is an American lawyer and politician who has been a U.S. representative from Texas's 30th congressional district since January 2023. Her district covers most of South Dallas County, Central Dallas, Dallas Love Field Airport, and parts of Tarrant County. A member of the Democratic Party, Crockett previously represented the 100th district in the Texas House of Representatives.
Former U.S. president Joe Biden saw multiple efforts by some members of the Republican Party to impeach him. An impeachment inquiry into Biden was launched in September 2023, without a vote, by House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who designated three House committees led by James Comer, chairman of House Committee on Oversight and Accountability. A number of prominent Republican lawmakers, along with Donald Trump and some of his political allies, have indicated the motivation behind efforts to impeach Biden is also driven by resentment over Trump's previous two impeachments.
Donald Trump's first farewell address was the final official speech of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States, delivered as a recorded, online video message on January 19, 2021. The farewell address was delivered the day before Joe Biden, who defeated him in the 2020 United States presidential election, was sworn in as his successor. Trump was the first president to not attend his successor's inauguration since Andrew Johnson in 1869.
The count of the Electoral College ballots during a joint session of the 115th United States Congress, pursuant to the Electoral Count Act, on January 6, 2017, was held as the final step to confirm then President-elect Donald Trump's victory in the 2016 presidential election over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
The 119th United States Congress is the current term of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, composed of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives. It convened on January 3, 2025, during the final 17 days of Joe Biden's presidency, and the first two years of Donald Trump's second presidency.
