Trump to give State of the Union address on Jan 30

WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — US President Donald Trump will deliver his first traditional State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on January 30, officials said Thursday.

“The New Year will bring an opportunity to take account of the progress we have made but also lay out the work that still remains to be done on behalf of the American people,” House Speaker Paul Ryan said in his letter of invitation to Trump.

A few hours later, the White House formally accepted the invitation.

The president, and the Republicans who control Congress, still lack a major legislative accomplishment 10 months into his mandate, after failing to pass health care, immigration or infrastructure reforms.

But Trump is now in reach of a major political victory, with his controversial tax reform bill expected to come to a vote in the Senate by Friday.

The State of the Union address is a presidential obligation that allows the US leader to explain to the American people and their elected representatives his priorities for the coming year.

George Washington gave the first such address on January 8, 1790.

Trump did not give the speech in January because he had just assumed office, but he addressed a joint session of Congress on February 28, a month after his inauguration.

His presentation was well-received as one of his more presidential addresses during a rowdy, atypical start to a mandate in which he cast aside the conventional forms of behavior for a US chief executive.

© Agence France-Presse