Capitol Hill buzzed on Tuesday as lawmakers and their guests gathered for President Barack Obama’s annual State of the Union address.
Obama gave his speech in front of a joint session of Congress.
See photos from the event below, and scroll down for more updates on SOTU:
President Barack Obama meets with four of the letter writers who will join the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden at the State of the Union address, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Clockwise, foreground, from left are, Victor Fugate of Kansas City, Md., Rebekah Erler of Minneapolis, the president, Carolyn Reed of Denver and Katrice Mubiru of Woodland Hills, Calif. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa rehearses her remarks for the Republican response to President Obamaâs State of the Union address, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., right, sits with his State of the Union guest, Vanessa Fontaine, right, the mother of Avonte Oquendo, a 14-year-old boy with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, during a visit in his Capitol Hill office, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, in Washington. Oquendo bolted from his school in Queens in October of 2013. Authorities and volunteers searched for Avonte for more than three months, until his remains were tragically discovered three-months later. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi of Calif., center, talks with Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., left, and Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Rep, Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., left, talks with Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell waits for the start of the State of the Union address by President Barack Obama Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/Mandel Ngan, Pool)
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, talks with Sen.Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Vice President Joe Biden shakes hands with House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2015, before President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
live blog Oldest Newest Share + Today 8:47 PM ESTHow Many Will Watch? Last year's SOTU scored 33,299,172 viewers. (Nielsen only counts folks watching at home on TVs; no web streams.) This year: higher or lower?
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) January 21, 2015
RBG in the House. pic.twitter.com/gMhqO3e8L6
— Meredith Shiner (@meredithshiner) January 21, 2015
#SOTU is an important tradition in our shared political history, regardless of party. I’m watching tonight. Are you? http://t.co/Ehs0oBecis
— Madeleine Albright (@madeleine) January 21, 2015
President Barack Obama will be donning his now-infamous tan suit this evening, according to senior White House adviser Dan Pfeiffer.
The President's suiting up for the big speech. Tune into http://t.co/tmsUd5yh5y at 9pm ET #YesWeTan pic.twitter.com/FC8sKb8hda
— Dan Pfeiffer (@pfeiffer44) January 21, 2015
Back in August, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) went on a fairly extensive rant about the president’s attire. The interview was flagged by BuzzFeed:
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Last year’s State of the Union was Jan. 28, 2014. Here’s a chart of President Barack Obama’s average approval the week before and after, which even when set to be as sensitive as possible to change, looks suspiciously like a straight line.
Read more here.
MSNBC’s Ari Melber reports:
When President Obama delivers the State of the Union Tuesday night, he will outline ideas that have been months in the making. The speech is typically the most watched presidential address of the year – 33 million viewers caught it live in 2014 – yet many people may not realize how much goes into the big night.
“This is sort of the World Series, and the Final Four, and the Super Bowl – all rolled into one for the Obama speechwriting operation,” says Dan Pfeiffer, senior adviser to Obama.
Read more here.
#StateOfTheUnion is tonight. This is how I'm going to watch from work! @WhiteHouse http://t.co/ufWIRBCORy
— Connie Britton (@conniebritton) January 20, 2015
The Washington Post’s Aaron Blake reports on an ad running in the Washington area during Obama’s speech that likens “climate change deniers to other science deniers who turned out to be very wrong.” Read about it here.
Sneak peek at my prep for tonight’s Republican Address following #SOTU pic.twitter.com/kF8a9IVfR4
— Joni Ernst (@SenJoniErnst) January 20, 2015
HuffPost is interviewing Obama administration officials immediately after the president’s annual State of the Union address on Tuesday.
For more information, go here.
The AP reports:
Key elements of the economic proposals President Barack Obama will outline in his State of the Union address Tuesday appear to be aimed at driving the debate in the 2016 election on income inequality and middle-class economic issues, rather than setting a realistic agenda for Congress.
Obama’s calls for increasing taxes on the wealthy, making community college free for many students and expanding paid leave for workers stand little chance of winning approval from the new Republican majority on Capitol Hill. But the debate over middle-class economics is looking critical for the coming campaign.
Read more here.
Yahoo’s Meredith Shiner reports:
It may only draw half the viewers it once did, but for staffers at the U.S. Capitol, Tuesday night’s annual State of the Union address by the president is their Super Bowl.
Read more here.
Check back here for updates on Obama’s annual speech.
