US president Joe Biden will give his first State of the Union address to Congress on the evening of Tuesday 1 March after accepting the customary formal invitation for that date from House speaker Nancy Pelosi.

       “Thank you for your bold vision and patriotic leadership which have guided America out of crisis and into an era of great progress, as we not only recover from the pandemic but Build Back Better!” the veteran California Democrat wrote to the commander-in-chief.

       “Indeed, this past year has been historic: with the life-saving American Rescue Plan, once-in-a-century Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and, soon, the truly transformational Build Back Better Act!

       “In that spirit, I am writing to invite you to address a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, March 1, to share your vision of the State of the Union.”

       In offering his verdict on his first year in office, after a long career in the Senate and eight at Barack Obama’s side as vice president, Mr Biden has a somewhat mixed story to tell.

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       He can champion the success of the US vaccine rollout and the gradual economic recovery after two years of pandemic hardship but faces inflation and unrest at home and war in Eastern Europe thanks to Vladimir Putin’s aggressions against Ukraine, which the diplomatic efforts of his secretary of state Antony Blinken were unable to avert.

       Article Two of the US Constitution requires every occupant of the White House to “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”.

       The custom was begun by Founding Fathers George Washington and John Adams but discontinued by Thomas Jefferson, who delivered his thoughts on the current state of American prosperity by letter and the address was not given in person again until Woodrow Wilson revived the practice in 1913.

       The annual State of the Union address is held in the House of Representatives with members of the Senate, Supreme Court justices and Mr Biden’s cabinet all present, alongside an audience of specially invited guests.

       This year’s instalment will be available to stream on C-SPAN and its accompanying website and will be broadcast across most major US news networks.

       The Independent will be running a liveblog to cover it in full, in addition to bringing you all the breakout stories from Mr Biden’s big night.