State of the Union

[3][4] The speech generally includes reports on the nation's budget, economy, news, agenda, progress, achievements and the president's priorities and legislative proposals.

[5] The address fulfills the requirement in Article II, Section 3, Clause 1 of the U.S. Constitution for the president to periodically "give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.

[7] The practice arises from a duty of the president under the State of the Union Clause of the U.S. Constitution:[8] He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.Though the language of the clause is not specific, since the 1930s, the president has made this report annually in late January or early February.

Newly inaugurated presidents generally deliver an address to Congress in February of the first year of their term, but this speech is not officially considered to be a "State of the Union".

Since the advent of radio, and then television, the speech has been broadcast live in all United States time zones on most networks, preempting scheduled programming.

[9] George Washington delivered the first regular annual message before a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1790, in New York City, then the provisional U.S. capital.

[10] The last president to give a written message without a spoken address was Jimmy Carter in 1981, days before his term ended after his defeat by Ronald Reagan.

Delivered by Lyndon B. Johnson, this address was followed by extensive televised commentary by, among others, Daniel Patrick Moynihan and Milton Friedman.

The Cabinet, Supreme Court justices, members of the Diplomatic Corps, and military leaders (the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Commandant of the Coast Guard) have reserved seating.

[25] Then, the Deputy Sergeant at Arms addresses the Speaker and loudly announces the Vice-President and members of the Senate, who enter and take the seats assigned for them.

[25] The justices take the seats nearest to the Speaker's rostrum and adjacent to the sections reserved for the Cabinet and the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

[27] The President's approach is slowed by pausing to shake hands, hug, kiss, and autograph copies of the speech for Members of Congress.

Customarily, one cabinet member (the designated survivor) does not attend the speech, in order to provide continuity in the line of succession if a catastrophe disables the President, the Vice-President, and other succeeding officers gathered in the House chamber.

[32] For the 2011 address, Senator Mark Udall of Colorado proposed a break in the tradition of seating Republicans and Democrats on opposite sides of the House;[33] this was in response to the 2011 Tucson Shooting in which Representative Gabby Giffords was shot and wounded in an assassination attempt.

[34] Approximately 60 legislators signed on to Udall's proposal;[35] a similar plan for the 2012 address garnered bipartisan seating commitments from more than 160 lawmakers.

[34] Efforts to intersperse the parties during the State of the Union have since waned, and by the 2016 address, seating had largely returned to the traditional partisan arrangement.

[37] It has become customary to use the phrase "The State of the Union is strong," sometimes with slight variations, since President Ronald Reagan introduced it in his 1983 address.

"[38] Since Reagan's 1982 address, it has also become common for presidents of both parties to honor special guests sitting in the gallery, such as American citizens or visiting heads of state.

[40] Since then, the term "Lenny Skutniks" has been used to refer to individuals invited to sit in the gallery, and then cited by the president, during the State of the Union.

As non-political officeholders, members of the Supreme Court or the Joint Chiefs of Staff rarely applaud in order to retain the appearance of political impartiality.

[48] In 2024, the Republican Response was delivered by Senator Katie Britt on March 8 (Women's International Day) from her kitchen table.

The first Independent response was delivered by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.[49] Although much of the pomp and ceremony behind the State of the Union address is governed by tradition rather than law, in modern times, the event is seen as one of the most important in the US political calendar.

Since its creation, it has taken place in every non-election year except for 2021, where Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez was forced to cancel it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.