President Biden's 2024 State of the Union address

President Joe Biden plans to use his State of the Union address Thursday to highlight his initiatives to lower drug prices and expand access to health insurance, as well as to propose expanding his health care efforts, according to a White House fact sheet. 

Biden has repeatedly pointed to his measures to lower drug prices on the campaign trail as he seeks to show he’s reducing costs for everyday Americans struggling with high prices. But most people still have a dour view of the economy and Biden’s presidency.

The Inflation Reduction Act, which congressional Democrats approved in 2022, included multiple provisions aimed at reducing drug prices for senior citizens. It authorized Medicare to negotiate the prices of certain costly medications, the initial round of which is currently underway. The maximum fair prices of the first 10 drugs are scheduled to be announced by September 1, though drugmakers are attempting to halt the effort through multiple lawsuits.

Biden will call on Congress to let Medicare negotiate the prices of at least 50 drugs each year, rather than the 20-drug limit contained in the Inflation Reduction Act.

The 2022 law also places a $2,000 out-of-pocket cap on drugs for Medicare enrollees starting in 2025. Biden will ask lawmakers to expand the program to all Americans with private insurance. The president also wants Congress to make permanent the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of 2025.

The House voted on Wednesday to pass a package of six government funding bills as lawmakers race the clock to get the legislation through both chambers before an end-of-the-week shutdown deadline.

The Senate must next take up the measure as lawmakers face a pair of upcoming shutdown deadlines on Friday and March 22. President Joe Biden is set to deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress tonight, further compressing the timeframe to enact the package.

The finalized package of spending bills — backed by the top Democrats and Republicans in both chambers — represents a major breakthrough for lawmakers.

What's in the package: Democrats and Republicans have both claimed wins in the spending package, which includes funding for the departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Justice, Veterans Affairs, Energy, Interior, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development as well as the Food and Drug Administration, military construction and other federal programs.

The package will support a wide array of programs and initiatives, including hiring new air traffic controllers and rail safety inspectors; medical care and benefits for veterans; and science, technology and research programs aimed at bolstering US economic competitiveness and competition with China in fields such as artificial intelligence.

Democrats have highlighted that the package funds key social safety net programs, including providing $7 billion for the WIC program — which delivers nutrition assistance for women, infants and children — along with funding for rental assistance and other child nutrition programs.

Former President Donald Trump on Thursday focused on border security and illegal immigration in a preemptive rebuttal to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address.

Trump, who is set for a presumptive general election rematch with the president, criticized Biden for undoing several Trump administration policies, including Title 42 and the so-called Muslim ban.

Trump, in a new video posted to Truth Social, repeated the inflammatory anti-immigrant rhetoric that has become a hallmark of his campaign speeches, and said what’s happening at the US-Mexico border is a “horror show.”

Some context: Trump torpedoed a bipartisan border bill earlier this year so he could continue campaigning on Biden’s perceived weakness on the border. He lobbied Republicans both in private conversations and in public statements on social media to oppose the border compromise, according to GOP sources familiar with the conversations – in part because he wanted to campaign on the issue and didn’t want Biden to score a victory in an area where the incumbent president is politically vulnerable.

President Joe Biden’s remarks on border security during Thursday’s State of the Union are expected to be an extension of his repeated calls for Republicans to pass tough border security measures, including in a visit at the US-Mexico last week, according to White House officials.

The White House is weighing executive action that would restrict migrants’ ability to claim asylum at the US southern border if they crossed unlawfully, though no final decisions have been made and no new announcements are expected Thursday.

Biden is trying to seize an issue that has dogged his administration and bedeviled lawmakers for years — using the failed Senate border bill to lay blame on Republicans for not giving him the tools to secure the border. GOP lawmakers have scoffed at the accusation, arguing the administration already has the authority to do more.

But on Thursday, Biden is expected to urge Republicans again to pass that bill as he also leans on stricter border measures.

“I think the president will really lay out why stopping progress on a real problem for the American people only because of politics is wrong,” Tanden added. 

It will be a notable moment for Biden to lean in on issue that an increasing number of Americans have named as a top concern and one that former President Donald Trump has made a centerpiece of his campaign.

Rep. Tom Suozzi, a Democrat, who seized on border security in the special election in New York, told CNN’s Dana Bash that the president should talk about the border Thursday, citing it as a concern held among voters. 

“The most important thing the president has to do is say that ‘I am willing to compromise. I am willing to do a bipartisan compromise. I’m not going to get everything I want the way I want it but I’m willing to be flexible to try and solve this very real problem that exists,’” Suozzi said.

The State of the Union is traditionally delivered in the chamber of the House of Representatives before members of both the House and the Senate.

Traditionally, Senate and House leadership members escort the president into the chamber. This year, those members will be:

Senate:

House:

Seated behind the president are the top members of each chamber of Congress: the president of the Senate, Vice President Kamala Harris and the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson.

Note: If there is no vice president, or if the vice president does not attend, the President Pro Tempore of the Senate sits in the vice president's seat.

Ahead of President Joe Biden’s election-year State of the Union address to Congress, here’s a look at the data behind some of the topics and policies he could bring up Thursday evening.

The economy is solid, but prices are sky-high.

After inflation rose in 2021 and soared for most of 2022, it cooled to more reasonable levels by the end of 2023 and without triggering a recession. Still, Americans are feeling the effects of rising home prices and mortgage rates, putting home ownership and the “American Dream” out of reach for many.

Biden’s student loan debt forgiveness not as big of a dent as planned

The Biden administration has forgiven $138 billion in student loan debt for 3.9 million borrowers through a variety of programs.

The president’s broad, one-time student debt cancellation plan, which would have erased $430 billion in total federal debt for borrowers, was struck down by the Supreme Court last year.

See more graphs that show other key issues facing the US here.

US President Joe Biden is set to announce new steps to establish a port in Gaza for humanitarian aid during his State of the Union address Thursday evening, senior administration officials said.

The port will include a temporary pier, a second senior official said, which “will provide the capacity for hundreds of additional truckloads of assistance each day” to be coordinated with Israel, the United Nations, and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. Initial aid shipments will come via Cyprus, the official said.

It was not immediately clear when the port would be up and running: “This new significant capability will take a number of weeks to plan and execute. The forces that will be required to complete this mission are either already in the region or will begin to move there soon,” a second official said. 

As Israel’s severe restrictions on aid entering the Gaza Strip drain essential supplies, displaced Palestinians have told CNN they are struggling to feed themselves and their children.

While US officials believe delivering aid via land routes is “the most efficient, cost-effective way to get assistance in,” Biden’s announcement underscores the urgency of the moment.

The Biden administration continued its efforts, as aides repeatedly say, to “reach Americans where they are” – beyond traditional media channels – ahead of President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address. 

“The White House hosted about 70 creators, digital publishers, and influencers across three separate events” on Wednesday and Thursday, a White House official told CNN. 

That includes a briefing with Vice President Kamala Harris, who is scheduled to meet the with digital news outlets and creators on Thursday afternoon. 

The group has a combined social media following of “well over 100 million,” the official said. 

The move comes as Americans are increasingly looking to digital platforms to get their news and turning away from radio and print publications, according to the Pew Research Center. 

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer previewed tonight’s State of the Union address during his floor remarks, saying President Joe Biden will make it clear that "after so much adversity, America's economy is growing, inflation is slowing, and Democrats’ agenda is delivering.”

He said Biden's speech will highlight Democratic successes and show the chaos in the House Republican party in stark relief.

“The Republican front-runner for president has made it abundantly clear that he's not running to make people's lives better, but rather on airing his personal political grievances.”

Schumer thanked Biden for his leadership and reiterated his belief that it is "imperative" Democrats "finish the job we began three years ago.”