Biden to deliver State of the Union address on Feb. 7

(CNN) — House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has invited President Joe Biden to deliver the annual State of the Union address to Congress on February 7, and the White House said Biden has accepted the invitation.

“It is my solemn obligation to invite you to speak before a Joint Session of Congress on Tuesday, February 7, 2023, so that you may fulfill you duty under the Constitution to report on the state of the union,” McCarthy wrote in a letter to Biden that the speaker posted to Twitter.

The annual address to Congress will provide Biden with a chance to highlight key priorities and agenda items.

This year’s State of the Union will take place with Republicans newly in control of the House, a position of power the GOP is using to launch congressional oversight investigations aimed at the Biden administration.

It also comes as Biden faces heightened scrutiny over the handling of classified documents after he left the vice presidency.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday appointed a special counsel to take over the investigation into the Obama-era classified documents found at Biden’s home and former private office.

The special counsel investigation, along with the oversight inquiries planned by the Republican-led House, means Biden may be on the defensive for the next two years.

Thursday’s appointment marks a unique moment in American history, with special counsels investigating the current president and his immediate predecessor at the same time.

Garland in November appointed a special counsel to oversee the criminal investigations into the retention of national defense information at former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort and parts of the January 6, 2021, insurrection.