Editing State of the Union (section)

==Delivery of the speech==
Because the address is made to a joint session of Congress, the House and Senate must each pass a resolution setting a date and time for the joint session. Then, a formal invitation is made by the [[Speaker of the United States House of Representatives|speaker of the House]] to the president typically several weeks before the appointed date.<ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-extends-president-obama-formal-invitation-deliver-state-union-address |archive-date=January 7, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170107054556/http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-extends-president-obama-formal-invitation-deliver-state-union-address |url-status=dead |title=Speaker Boehner Extends President Obama Formal Invitation to Deliver State of the Union Address |date=January 11, 2011 |publisher=Speaker Boehner's Press Office}}</ref><ref>{{cite press release |url=http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-invites-president-obama-report-state-union |archive-date=January 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170103051425/http://www.speaker.gov/press-release/speaker-boehner-invites-president-obama-report-state-union |url-status=dead |location=Washington, DC |title=State of the Union 2015 |date=December 19, 2014 |publisher=Speaker Boehner's Press Office}}</ref>

===Invitations===
Every member of Congress can bring one guest to the State of the Union address. The president may invite up to 24 guests to be seated in a box with the [[First Lady of the United States|first lady]]. The Speaker of the House may invite up to 24 guests in the Speaker's box. Seating for Congress on the main floor is by a first-in, first-served basis with no reservations. The [[United States Cabinet|Cabinet]], [[Supreme Court of the United States|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.<ref name="CRS Tradition Function" />

===Protocol of entry into the House chamber===
By approximately 8:30&nbsp;p.m. on the night of the address, the members of the House have gathered in their seats for the joint session.<ref name="CRH414-2010">{{cite journal |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-01-27/pdf/CREC-2010-01-27-pt1-PgH414-6.pdf#page=1 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-01-27/pdf/CREC-2010-01-27-pt1-PgH414-6.pdf#page=1 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |format=PDF |title=Joint Session of Congress Pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 228 to Receive a Message from the President |journal=Congressional Record |date=January 27, 2010 |page=H414}}</ref> Then, the deputy [[Serjeant-at-arms|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.<ref name="CRH414-2010" />

The speaker, and then the vice president, specify the members of the House and Senate, respectively, who will escort the president into the House chamber.<ref name="CRH414-2010" /> The deputy sergeant at arms addresses the speaker again and loudly announces, in order, the [[dean of the Diplomatic Corps]], the [[Chief Justice of the United States|chief justice of the United States]] and the [[Associate Justice|associate justice]]s, and the Cabinet, each of whom enters and takes their seats when called.<ref name="CRH414-2010" /> The justices take the seats nearest to the speaker's rostrum and adjacent to the sections reserved for the [[Cabinet of the United States|Cabinet]] and the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.<ref name="CNN2008" />

[[File:Livingood Obama State of the Union 2011.jpg|thumb|The sergeants at arms [[Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives|of the House]] (left) and [[Sergeant at Arms of the United States Senate|of the Senate]] (right) wait at the doorway to the House chamber before President [[Barack Obama]] enters to deliver the [[2011 State of the Union Address]].]]

Just after 9:00&nbsp;pm, as the president reaches the door to the chamber,<ref name="CRH415-2010">{{cite journal |url=http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-01-27/pdf/CREC-2010-01-27-pt1-PgH414-6.pdf#page=3 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2010-01-27/pdf/CREC-2010-01-27-pt1-PgH414-6.pdf#page=3 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |url-status=live |format=PDF |title=Joint Session of Congress Pursuant to House Concurrent Resolution 228 to Receive a Message from the President |journal=Congressional Record |date=January 27, 2010 |page=H415}}</ref> the [[Sergeant at Arms of the United States House of Representatives|House sergeant at arms]] stands just inside the doors, faces the speaker, and waits until the president is ready to enter the chamber.<ref name="CNN2008">{{cite news |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0801/28/se.01.html |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909114045/https://transcripts.cnn.com/show/se/date/2008-01-28/segment/01 |url-status=live |first1=Wolf |last1=Blitzer |author-link1=Wolf Blitzer |first2=Suzanne |last2=Malveaux |author-link2=Suzanne Malveaux |first3=Jim |last3=Acosta |author-link3=Jim Acosta |first4=Jessica |last4=Yellin |author-link4=Jessica Yellin |first5=John |last5=King |author-link5=John King (journalist) |first6=Gloria |last6=Borger |author-link6=Gloria Borger |first7=Jeffrey |last7=Toobin |author-link7=Jeffrey Toobin |first8=Ed |last8=Henry |author-link8=Ed Henry |first9=Dana |last9=Bash |author-link9=Dana Bash |first10=William |last10=Schneider |publisher=CNN |type=Transcript |title=President Delivers State of the Union Address |date=January 28, 2008}}</ref> When the president is ready, the sergeant at arms announces the entrance, loudly stating the phrase: "Mister/Madam Speaker, the president of the United States!"<ref name="CRH415-2010" />

As applause and cheering begin, the president slowly walks toward the speaker's [[Podium|rostrum]], followed by members of the congressional escort committee.<ref name="CRH415-2010" /> The president's approach is slowed by pausing to shake hands, hug, kiss, and autograph copies of the speech for members of Congress.<ref name="CNN2008" /> After taking a place at the [[Reading Clerk of the United States House of Representatives|clerk]]'s desk,<ref name="CRH415-2010" /> the president hands two envelopes containing copies of the speech to the speaker and vice president.<ref name="ABC Dukakis 2014-01-28">{{cite news |last=Dukakis |first=Alexandra |title=The 7 Strangest State of the Union Rituals |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=January 28, 2014 |url=https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/01/the-7-strangest-state-of-the-union-rituals |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909115155/https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/01/the-7-strangest-state-of-the-union-rituals |url-status=live |access-date=May 25, 2024}}</ref>

After continuing applause from the attendees has diminished, the speaker introduces the president to the representatives and senators, typically stating: "Members of Congress, I have the high privilege and distinct honor of presenting to you the President of the United States."<ref name="CNN2008" /><ref name="CRH415-2010" /> This leads to a further round of applause and, eventually, the beginning of the address by the president.<ref name="CRH415-2010" /> The speaker may opt not to introduce the president, as was demonstrated in [[2019 State of the Union Address|2019]] and [[2024 State of the Union Address|2024]].

===Designated survivor and other logistics===
Customarily, one cabinet member (the [[designated survivor]]) does not attend the speech, in order to provide continuity in the [[United States presidential line of succession|line of succession]] if a catastrophe disables the president, the vice president, and other succeeding officers gathered in the House chamber. Additionally, since the [[September 11 attacks]] in 2001, a few members of Congress have been asked to relocate to undisclosed locations for the duration of the speech to form a [[Rump legislature|rump Congress]] in the event of a disaster.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Roberts|first1=Roxanne|title=The truth behind the 'designated survivor,' the president of the post-apocalypse|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-truth-behind-the-designated-survivor-the-official-in-charge-of-the-post-apocalypse/2016/09/20/75201a9e-7a95-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html|access-date=January 31, 2018|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=September 20, 2016|archive-date=January 25, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125191644/https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/the-truth-behind-the-designated-survivor-the-official-in-charge-of-the-post-apocalypse/2016/09/20/75201a9e-7a95-11e6-bd86-b7bbd53d2b5d_story.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Since 2003, each chamber of Congress has formally named a separate designated survivor.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Schultheis|first1=Emily|title=Joint session 2017: The history of the "designated survivor"|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/joint-session-2017-the-history-of-the-designated-survivor/|access-date=January 31, 2018|agency=CBS News|date=February 28, 2017|archive-date=December 4, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201204151417/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/joint-session-2017-the-history-of-the-designated-survivor/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last1=Oritz|first1=Erik|title=Designated survivors recount nights as doomsday presidents|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2018-state-of-the-union-address/designated-survivors-recount-nights-doomsday-presidents-n720691|access-date=January 31, 2018|agency=NBC News|date=January 30, 2018|archive-date=January 14, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210114220152/https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/2018-state-of-the-union-address/designated-survivors-recount-nights-doomsday-presidents-n720691|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:2007 State of the Union Address – George W. Bush Library.webm|thumb|start=00:16|thumbtime=00:35|left|President [[George W. Bush]] with [[President of the Senate|Senate President]] (U.S. vice president) [[Dick Cheney]] and House Speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]] during the [[2007 State of the Union Address]]. It marked the first time that a woman occupied the House Speaker chair.]]

[[File:President Biden Addresses a Joint Session of Congress.webm|thumb|left|President [[Joe Biden]] with [[President of the Senate|Senate President]] (U.S. vice president) [[Kamala Harris]] and House Speaker Pelosi during the [[2021 Joe Biden speech to a joint session of Congress|2021 joint session address]]. It marked the first time that a woman had occupied the Senate President chair. As this speech occurred early during Biden's first year, it is not considered an official State of the Union.]]

Both the speaker and the vice president sit at the speaker's desk, behind the president for the duration of the speech. If either is unavailable, the next highest-ranking member of the respective house substitutes. Once the chamber settles down from the president's arrival, the speaker officially presents the president to the joint session of Congress. The president then delivers the speech from the podium at the front of the House Chamber.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Forrest |first1=Jack |last2=Mullery |first2=Will |title=Who sits where at the State of the Union: A visual guide |archive-date=September 9, 2024 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909115714/https://edition.cnn.com/2024/03/07/politics/seating-guide-state-of-the-union-dg/index.html |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/03/03/politics/seating-guide-trump-congress-dg |publisher=CNN |date=March 7, 2024 |access-date=September 9, 2024}}</ref>

For the [[2011 State of the Union Address|2011 address]], Senator [[Mark Udall]] of [[Colorado]] proposed a break in the tradition of seating [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]] on opposite sides of the House;<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0111/47554.html|archive-date=September 9, 2024|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240909120256/https://www.politico.com/story/2011/01/udall-wants-parties-together-at-sotu-047554|url-status=live|title=Mark Udall wants parties together at State of the Union|last=Epstein|first=Jennifer|date=January 13, 2011|work=Politico}}</ref> this was in response to the [[2011 Tucson Shooting]] in which Representative [[Gabby Giffords]] was shot and wounded in an assassination attempt.<ref name="rival">{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2012-jan-21-la-na-congress-civility-20120122-story.html|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909120504/https://www.latimes.com/world/la-xpm-2012-jan-21-la-na-congress-civility-20120122-story.html|title=Rival parties to mix it up – nicely – at State of the Union|last=Hennessey|first=Kathleen|location=Washington, D.C.|date=January 21, 2012|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Approximately 60 legislators signed on to Udall's proposal;<ref>{{Cite news|title=44 - Sixty lawmakers back bipartisan State of the Union seating plan|first=Felicia|last=Sonmez|url=http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/01/nearly-sixty-lawmakers-back-bi.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110122023821/http://voices.washingtonpost.com/44/2011/01/nearly-sixty-lawmakers-back-bi.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 22, 2011|access-date=April 14, 2021|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref> a similar plan for the [[2012 State of the Union Address|2012 address]] garnered bipartisan seating commitments from more than 160 lawmakers.<ref name="rival" /> Efforts to intersperse the parties during the State of the Union have since waned, and by the [[2016 State of the Union Address|2016 address]], seating had largely returned to the traditional partisan arrangement.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Singer|first=Paul|title=State of the Union bipartisan seating stunt fizzles|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/01/11/state-of-union-bipartisan-seating-stunt-fizzles/78624490/|archive-date=September 9, 2024|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240909120743/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/onpolitics/2016/01/11/state-of-union-bipartisan-seating-stunt-fizzles/78624490/|access-date=April 14, 2021|website=USA Today|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Content of the speech===
[[File:President Trump Delivers the State of the Union Address.webm|thumb|President [[Donald Trump]] delivering the [[2018 State of the Union Address]]]]
The contents of the speeches typically contain information and status updates of the country and federal government during the incumbent president's administration.<ref>{{cite news |first=Ted |last=Widmer |title=The State of the Union Is Unreal |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 31, 2006 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/opinion/31widmer.html?ex=1296363600&en=52500d95fa74b0eb&ei=5090 |access-date=January 22, 2007 |archive-date=January 2, 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140102074850/http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/31/opinion/31widmer.html?ex=1296363600&en=52500d95fa74b0eb&ei=5090 |url-status=live}}</ref> 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.<ref name="PBS 2018-01-30">{{Cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-word-nearly-every-president-uses-to-describe-the-state-of-the-union|title=The word nearly every president uses to describe the state of the union|last=Desjardins|first=Lisa|date=January 30, 2018|website=PBS NewsHour|language=en-us|access-date=February 7, 2019|archive-date=February 9, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209021143/https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/the-word-nearly-every-president-uses-to-describe-the-state-of-the-union|url-status=live}}</ref> It has been repeated by every president in nearly every year since, with the exception of [[George H. W. Bush]].<ref name="PBS 2018-01-30" /> [[Gerald Ford]]'s 1975 address had been the first to use the phrasing "The State of the Union is...", though Ford completed the sentence with "not good."<ref name="PBS 2018-01-30" />

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 [[Head of state|heads of state]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Arrigo |first1=Anthony F. |title=Look out for the 'Skutnik' during Trump's State of the Union |url=https://theconversation.com/look-out-for-the-skutnik-during-trumps-state-of-the-union-109762 |access-date=February 4, 2019 |work=The Conversation US |date=February 4, 2019 |archive-date=March 14, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210314181115/https://theconversation.com/look-out-for-the-skutnik-during-trumps-state-of-the-union-109762 |url-status=live}}</ref> During that 1982 address, Reagan acknowledged [[Lenny Skutnik]] for his act of heroism following the crash of [[Air Florida Flight 90]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/three-decades-of-skutniks-began-with-a-federal-employee/2012/01/24/gIQAricyPQ_story.html |title=Three decades of 'Skutniks' began with a federal employee |first=Ed |last=O'Keefe |newspaper=Washington Post |date=January 24, 2012 |access-date=January 26, 2012 |archive-date=December 26, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201226095549/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/three-decades-of-skutniks-began-with-a-federal-employee/2012/01/24/gIQAricyPQ_story.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Since then, the term "[[List of Lenny Skutniks|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.<ref>{{cite news |title=Small Business Owners Should Be Obama's Lenny Skutnik |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/01/25/small-business-owners-should-be-obamas-lenny-skutnik/ |work=Forbes |first=Addison |last=Wiggin |date=January 25, 2011 |access-date=January 24, 2012 |archive-date=January 25, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125192710/https://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/01/25/small-business-owners-should-be-obamas-lenny-skutnik/ |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Bonding">{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0D71639F937A1575BC0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |title=Bonding as New Political Theater: Bring On the Babies and Cue the Yellow Dog |work=The New York Times |first=Francis X. |last=Clines |date=August 24, 1996 |access-date=January 24, 2012 |archive-date=March 1, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090301040658/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0D71639F937A1575BC0A960958260&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=all |url-status=live}}</ref>

State of the Union speeches usually last a little over an hour, partly because of the large amounts of applause that occur from the audience throughout. The applause is often political in tone, with many portions of the speech being applauded only by members of the president's own party. 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. In recent years, the presiding officers of the House and the Senate, the speaker and the vice president, respectively, have departed from the neutrality expected of presiding officers of deliberative bodies, as they, too, stand and applaud in response to the remarks of the president with which they agree.{{Citation needed|date=December 2019}}