Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, will soon deliver his first official State of the Union address, under the cloud of war and a lingering pandemic.
The speech, which will be delivered in front of a joint sitting of Congress — all 535 members of the House of Representatives and the Senate — is due to kick off at 9pm local time (1pm AEDT). Here's what to expect.
Wait a sec, what is the State of the Union?
Over the years, the State of the Union address — once known simply as the Annual Message — has evolved from a lengthy bureaucratic sermon into a primetime platform for the US president to sell their vision for the nation.
The tradition is drawn from a line in the constitution, which says the president shall "from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union".
The formerly administrative speech was first televised in 1947, delivered by President Harry Truman, and moved to an evening slot in the mid-1960s.
In April 2021, Biden addressed a joint session of Congress when he was just shy of 100 days in office, but it wasn't the real deal.
US presidents typically don't deliver the customary congressional address in their first year.
This will be the first State of the Union address with two women, Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, seated in prime positions.
What happened last year?
On his 99th day in the job, Biden struck an optimistic tone about the future. He was coming off a win, having delivered the sweeping American Rescue Plan — a key plank of his 2020 election pitch.
He heralded a new era of cooperation and revitalisation after the divisive tenure of Donald Trump, urging Americans to choose "hope over fear, truth over lies, and light over darkness".
"America is moving — moving forward — but we can't stop now," he said.
Nearly a year on, the urgency has only heightened and the challenges are still compounding.
More than 900,000 Americans have now died of COVID-19, the Democrats' bold legislative agenda is in tatters, and Biden is facing arguably the defining challenge of his presidency: a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"That is certainly something that is present in all of our lives and certainly in the president's life in this moment,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said during a recent TV appearance.
"What people will also hear from President Biden is his optimism and his belief in the resilience of the American people and the strength of the American people."
The United States' role in the Russian-stoked war will now take centre stage
In recent weeks, Biden, who took a record nine weeks to hold his first presidential press conference, has faced the American public often.
Following Russia's late-night attack on Ukraine, he condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin's "sinister vision for the future of our world".
"When the history of this era is written, Putin's choice to make a totally unjustifiable war on Ukraine will have left Russia weaker and the rest of the world stronger," he said.
It's likely Biden will use the 2022 State of the Union address to build on the theme of unity in the face of aggression, and the contest between democracy and autocracy — similar to the concerns he expressed in 2021, borne out on a global scale.
His administration has been steadily ramping up its sanctions against Russia, announcing on Friday that the United States would join the European Union in directly targeting Putin, along with his wealthy inner circle.
While there is a tentative bipartisan consensus among US lawmakers that Mr Biden should take a hardline approach, a recent poll found the American public's enthusiasm waned in the face of financial knock-on effects, such as higher energy prices.
Mr Biden's speech, which was revised last-minute to reflect the global mood, is still expected to focus heavily on domestic issues.
Americans want to move on from the pandemic and so does Joe Biden
With the Omicron wave subsiding, Biden appears keen to put the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror.
All members of Congress are invited to attend the State of the Union address in person, pending negative PCR tests, which will feel starkly different to last year's speech, where seating was capped at 20 per cent.
Attendees will need to wear high-quality, medical-grade masks, however, and adhere to social distancing guidelines.
The more relaxed approach reflects a broader shift in the White House's rhetoric around the pandemic, with many states dropping mask mandates and other well-worn public health measures.
What else could be on the agenda?
While the conflict in Ukraine may be Biden's top priority for now, his address will also be a chance to spruik his record and drum up support for the Democrats ahead of midterm elections later this year.
Last week, the President announced his first nominee to the Supreme Court bench. If confirmed by the Senate, Ketanji Brown Jackson will be the first Black woman to serve on the nation's highest court.
Judge Jackson will replace liberal Justice Stephen Breyer, taking the total number of women on the bench to four but leaving the conservative supermajority intact.
For Biden, however, Jackson fulfils a two-year campaign promise to diversify the bench which is stacked with Trump appointees and has been dominated by white men throughout its 233-year history.
For better or worse, the success or failure of a presidency is often framed around a series of electoral tests.
Just over a year into his presidency, many Americans say they are displeased with Biden's overall performance and want him to focus on domestic issues, such as soaring inflation.
A recent poll found more than half of respondents considered his first year in office a failure, with many saying he has yet to live up to his key promises of restoring the economy and uniting the country.
By some measures, however, and despite global headwinds, the US economy is performing well — wages are up, unemployment is down, and GDP is growing.
But cost-of-living pressures consistently rank high on lists of Americans' concerns and Biden's approval rating is hovering around 40 per cent.
The State of the Union address may be his last chance to shift the narrative before the impending midterms.
In a statement released ahead of the speech, the White House flagged the President would call on Congress to deliver a legislative agenda for clean energy and climate action, billing tax credits and climate spending as a chance to save American families an average of $US500 a year.
A trillion-dollar 'Build Back Better' social safety net plan that included tax credits for renewable power was spun off from a broader economic package last year, but struggled in the Senate thanks in part to opposition from conservative Democrat Joe Manchin.
Right now, the Democrats hold the slimmest of majorities in the Senate, which they will need to hold onto if Biden hopes to get his agenda back on track and the American public on side.
All 435 House of Representatives seats and 34 of 100 Senate spots will be up for grabs in November, and considering midterms are notoriously unkind to the incumbent's party, it's set to be a tense race.
It all kicks off at 9pm EST (1pm AEDT). Join our live blog from midday AEDT, where we'll bring you the highlights from the address and all the reaction on Capitol Hill.
