Above video: Jobs report shows stimulus urgently needed, President Biden saysNo news conference. No Oval Office address. No primetime speech to a joint session of Congress.President Joe Biden is the first executive in four decades to reach this point in his term without holding a formal question-and-answer session. It reflects a White House media strategy meant both to reserve major media set-pieces for the celebration of a legislative victory and to limit unforced errors from a historically gaffe-prone politician.Biden has opted to take questions about as often as most of his recent predecessors, but he tends to field just one or two informal inquiries at a time, usually in a hurried setting at the end of an event.In a sharp contrast with the previous administration, the White House is exerting extreme message discipline, empowering staff to speak but doing so with caution. Recalling both Biden’s largely leak-free campaign and the buttoned-up Obama administration, the new White House team has carefully managed the president’s appearances, trying to lower the temperature from Donald Trump’s Washington and to save a big media moment to mark what could soon be a signature accomplishment: passage of the COVID-19 bill.The message control may serve the president's purposes but it denies the media opportunities to directly press Biden on major policy issues and to engage in the kind of back-and-forth that can draw out information and thoughts that go beyond the administration's curated talking points.“The president has lost some opportunity, I think, to speak to the country from the bully pulpit. The volume has been turned so low in the Biden White House that they need to worry about whether anyone is listening," said Frank Sesno, former head of George Washington University's school of media. “But he’s not great in these news conferences. He rambles. His strongest communication is not extemporaneous.”Other modern presidents took more questions during their opening days in office.By this point in their terms, Trump and George H.W. Bush had each held five press conferences, Bill Clinton four, George W. Bush three, Barack Obama two and Ronald Reagan one, according to a study by Martha Kumar, presidential scholar and professor emeritus at Towson University.Biden has given five interviews as opposed to nine from Reagan and 23 from Obama.“Biden came in with a plan for how they wanted to disseminate information. When you compare him with Trump, Biden has sense of how you use a staff, that a president can’t do everything himself,” Kumar said. “Biden has a press secretary who gives regular briefings. He knows you hold a news conference when you have something to say, in particular a victory. They have an idea of how to use this time, early in the administration when people are paying attention, and how valuable that is.”The new president had taken questions 39 times, according to Kumar’s research, though usually just one or two shouted inquiries from a group of reporters known as the press pool at the end of an event in the White House's State Dining Room or Oval Office.Those exchanges can at times be clunky, with the cacophony of shouts or the whir of the blades of the presidential helicopter idling on the South Lawn making it difficult to have a meaningful exchange.“Press conferences are critical to informing the American people and holding an administration accountable to the public,” said Associated Press reporter Zeke Miller, president of the White House Correspondents' Association. “As it has with prior presidents, the WHCA continues to call on President Biden to hold formal press conferences with regularity.”White House press secretary Jen Psaki on Friday defended the president's accessibility to the media and suggested that a news conference was likely by the end of March.“I would say that his focus is on getting recovery and relief to the American people and he looks forward to continuing to engage with all of you and to other members of the media who aren’t here today,” Psaki said. “And we’ll look forward to letting you know, as soon as that press conference is set.”The president’s first address to a joint session of Congress — not technically a State of the Union address but a speech that typically has just as much pomp — is also tentatively planned for the end of March, aides have said. However, the format of the address is uncertain due to the pandemic.The president has received high marks for two major scripted addresses, his inaugural address and his speech marking the 500,000th death to COVID-19.Having overcome a childhood stutter, Biden has long enjoyed interplay with reporters and has defied aides’ requests to ignore questions from the press. Famously long-winded, Biden has been prone to gaffes throughout his long political career and, as president, has occasionally struggled with off-the-cuff remarks.His use of the phrase “Neanderthal thinking” this week to describe the decision by the governors of Texas and Mississippi to lift mask mandates dominated a new cycle and drew ire from Republicans. That created the type of distraction his aides have tried to avoid and, in a pandemic silver lining, were largely able to dodge during the campaign because the virus kept Biden home for months and limited the potential for public mistakes.Firmly pledging his belief in freedom of the press, Biden has rebuked his predecessor’s incendiary rhetoric toward the media, including Trump's references to reporters as “the enemy of the people.” Biden restored the daily press briefing, which had gone extinct under Trump, opening a window into the workings of the White House. His staff has also fanned out over cable news to promote the COVID-19 relief bill.And while Biden’s own Twitter account, in a sharp break from Trump’s social media habits, usually offers rote postings, his chief of staff Ron Klain has become a frequent tweeter, using the platform to amplify messages and critique opponents.Delaying the news conference and joint address also, symbolically, have kept open the first chapter of Biden's presidency and perhaps extended his honeymoon. His approval rating stood at 60% in a poll released Friday from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.Tobe Berkovitz, a professor at Boston University’s college of communications, said Biden’s “rope-a-dope” strategy was right for the moment.“Presidential press conferences are not on the top of the agenda for Americans who are worried about COVID and the economic disaster that has befallen so many families,” he said.___Lemire reported from New York.

Watch Biden's address live in the video player abovePresident Joe Biden is using his first joint address to Congress to declare the nation is "turning peril into possibility, crisis into opportunity," urging a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that would fundamentally transform roles the government plays in American life.The prime-time speech comes on the eve of his 100th day in office. Follow along below for live updates. All times eastern9:55 p.m.Biden highlighted the major military move to pull back American troops from Afghanistan during his speech. "American leadership means ending the forever war in Afghanistan," Biden said Wednesday. "After 20 years of American valor and sacrifice, it’s time to bring our troops home."The president announced earlier this month that America's longest war would end by the fall.Biden plans to pull out all American forces — numbering 2,500 now — by this Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks. The drawdown would begin rather than conclude by May 1, which has been the deadline for full withdrawal under a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.9:50 p.m.Pivoting to foreign policy, President Biden says he is open to competition from China, but not conflict."America will stand up to unfair trade practices that undercut American workers and industries, like subsidies for state-owned enterprises and the theft of American technologies and intellectual property," Biden said. "I also told President Xi that we will maintain a strong military presence in the Indo—Pacific just as we do with NATO in Europe – not to start conflict – but to prevent conflict."On Russia, Biden said he "made very clear to President Putin that while we don’t seek escalation, their actions have consequences. I responded in a direct and proportionate way to Russia’s interference in our elections and cyberattacks on our government and businesses — and they did both of those things and I did respond."9:35 p.m.Biden outlined details of his American Families Plan. The plan focuses on so-called human infrastructure — child care, health care, education and other ways to support households.Biden's proposal calls for universal preschool, two years of free community college, $225 billion for child care and monthly payments of at least $250 to parents. Biden wants to pay for it by hiking taxes on very high-income households. The president has drawn a firm red line that no household earning less than $400,000 a year will pay more in taxes.9:30 p.m.President Biden is marking his first 100 days in office by highlighting passage of the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief legislation known as the American Rescue Plan and he’s noting that his administration has provided more than 220 million COVID-19 vaccine shots.Biden says he inherited a nation in crisis and now he can report that “America is on the move again.”In his first address to Congress as president, Biden says the United States is already seeing the results of “one of the most consequential rescue packages in American history.” He’s emphasizing that the package included $1,400 checks to 85% of U.S. households. And he says more than 160 million checks are already out the door.As to the vaccine, he says it is available in nearly 40,000 pharmacies and more than 700 community health centers.Now, 90% of Americans live within 5 miles of a vaccination site, and Biden’s message is, “Go get vaccinated America.”Biden is also emphasizing that the economy is on the mend under his watch.9:25 p.m.President Biden touted his proposed infrastructure plan during his address to Congress. Here's a look at what's in it:Biden wants $2 trillion to reengineer America's infrastructure. Biden’s infrastructure projects would be financed by higher corporate taxes. The White House says the largest chunk of the proposal includes $621 billion for roads, bridges, public transit, electric vehicle charging stations and other transportation infrastructure. The spending would push the country away from internal combustion engines that the auto industry views as an increasingly antiquated technology. Another $111 billion would go to replace lead water pipes and upgrade sewers. Broadband internet would blanket the country for $100 billion. Separately, $100 billion would upgrade the power grid to deliver clean electricity. Homes would get retrofitted, schools modernized, workers trained and hospitals renovated under the plan, which also seeks to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.9:05 p.m.President Biden is introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to begin his address.Biden is marking his 100th day in office with a prime-time address to Congress and he's declaring that the United States is "turning peril into possibility."Biden is using his nationally televised speech to promote a $1.8 trillion spending package. He says it will fundamentally transform and expand government’s role in the lives of everyday Americans.If Congress approves the plan, it would provide universal preschool, two years of free community college, $225 billion for child care and monthly payments of at least $250 to parents.The president is also presenting a vision for post-pandemic life nationwide. He’s working to showcase the hundreds of millions of vaccinations and relief checks his administration has delivered, even as the coronavirus remains dangerous and deadly. The pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 574,000 Americans. 9 p.m. Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are making history as the first women to share center stage in Congress during a presidential address.Harris and Pelosi are seated behind Biden on Wednesday night for his joint address to Congress. When they greeted each other before Biden's arrival, Harris and Pelosi clasped hands before giving each other a COVID-19-friendlier elbow bump. Pelosi has sat at the rostrum in the House chamber before but always next to a male vice president: Dick Cheney, Biden and Mike Pence. Harris is the first female vice president in U.S. history.Women’s advocates have said seeing Harris and Pelosi seated together behind Biden will be a "beautiful moment." But they noted that electing a woman to sit in the Oval Office remains to be achieved, along with the addition of an equal rights amendment to the Constitution.8:55 p.m.Security is tight and the crowd is thin at the Capitol, under strict coronavirus restrictions for President Joe Biden’s address to Congress.The first address by a president to Congress is usually an electrifying evening. But this time it's a more subdued affair.A few dozen lawmakers milled about the House chamber not long before Biden's speech, and a reduced crowd of about 200 is expected. That's compared with an audience of 1,600 members of Congress, officials and guests who typically gather for the event.Face masks are mandatory in the House chamber. Place cards marked the seats, with just one or two lawmakers per row. Some are sitting high in the visitors’ galleries. No guests were invited.National Guard troops protecting the Capitol since the Jan. 6 insurrection are stationed in and around the building.

WASHINGTON —

Watch Biden's address live in the video player above

President Joe Biden is using his first joint address to Congress to declare the nation is "turning peril into possibility, crisis into opportunity," urging a $1.8 trillion investment in children, families and education that would fundamentally transform roles the government plays in American life.

The prime-time speech comes on the eve of his 100th day in office.

Follow along below for live updates. All times eastern

---

9:55 p.m.

Biden highlighted the major military move to pull back American troops from Afghanistan during his speech.

"American leadership means ending the forever war in Afghanistan," Biden said Wednesday. "After 20 years of American valor and sacrifice, it’s time to bring our troops home."

The president announced earlier this month that America's longest war would end by the fall.

Biden plans is to pull out all American forces — numbering 2,500 now — by this Sept. 11, the 20th anniversary of the attacks. The drawdown would begin rather than conclude by May 1, which has been the deadline for full withdrawal under a peace agreement the Trump administration reached with the Taliban last year.

9:50 p.m.

Pivoting to foreign policy, President Biden says he is open to competition from China, but not conflict.

9:35 p.m.

Biden outlined details of his American Families Plan. The plan focuses on so-called human infrastructure — child care, health care, education and other ways to support households.

Biden's proposal calls for universal preschool, two years of free community college, $225 billion for child care and monthly payments of at least $250 to parents. Biden wants to pay for it by hiking taxes on very high-income households.

The president has drawn a firm red line that no household earning less than $400,000 a year will pay more in taxes.

9:30 p.m.

President Biden is marking his first 100 days in office by highlighting passage of the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief legislation known as the American Rescue Plan and he’s noting that his administration has provided more than 220 million COVID-19 vaccine shots.

Biden says he inherited a nation in crisis and now he can report that “America is on the move again.”

In his first address to Congress as president, Biden says the United States is already seeing the results of “one of the most consequential rescue packages in American history.”

He’s emphasizing that the package included $1,400 checks to 85% of U.S. households. And he says more than 160 million checks are already out the door.As to the vaccine, he says it is available in nearly 40,000 pharmacies and more than 700 community health centers.

Now, 90% of Americans live within 5 miles of a vaccination site, and Biden’s message is, “Go get vaccinated America.”

Biden is also emphasizing that the economy is on the mend under his watch.

9:25 p.m.

President Biden touted his proposed infrastructure plan during his address to Congress. Here's a look at what's in it:

Biden wants $2 trillion to reengineer America's infrastructure. Biden’s infrastructure projects would be financed by higher corporate taxes.

The White House says the largest chunk of the proposal includes $621 billion for roads, bridges, public transit, electric vehicle charging stations and other transportation infrastructure. The spending would push the country away from internal combustion engines that the auto industry views as an increasingly antiquated technology. Another $111 billion would go to replace lead water pipes and upgrade sewers.

Broadband internet would blanket the country for $100 billion. Separately, $100 billion would upgrade the power grid to deliver clean electricity. Homes would get retrofitted, schools modernized, workers trained and hospitals renovated under the plan, which also seeks to strengthen U.S. manufacturing.

9:05 p.m.

President Biden is introduced by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to begin his address.

Biden is marking his 100th day in office with a prime-time address to Congress and he's declaring that the United States is "turning peril into possibility."

Biden is using his nationally televised speech to promote a $1.8 trillion spending package. He says it will fundamentally transform and expand government’s role in the lives of everyday Americans.

If Congress approves the plan, it would provide universal preschool, two years of free community college, $225 billion for child care and monthly payments of at least $250 to parents.

APJim Watson/Pool via AP

The president is also presenting a vision for post-pandemic life nationwide. He’s working to showcase the hundreds of millions of vaccinations and relief checks his administration has delivered, even as the coronavirus remains dangerous and deadly. The pandemic has claimed the lives of more than 574,000 Americans.

9 p.m.

Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are making history as the first women to share center stage in Congress during a presidential address.

Harris and Pelosi are seated behind Biden on Wednesday night for his joint address to Congress. When they greeted each other before Biden's arrival, Harris and Pelosi clasped hands before giving each other a COVID-19-friendlier elbow bump.

Jim Watson/Pool via AP

Pelosi has sat at the rostrum in the House chamber before but always next to a male vice president: Dick Cheney, Biden and Mike Pence. Harris is the first female vice president in U.S. history.

Women’s advocates have said seeing Harris and Pelosi seated together behind Biden will be a "beautiful moment." But they noted that electing a woman to sit in the Oval Office remains to be achieved, along with the addition of an equal rights amendment to the Constitution.

8:55 p.m.

Security is tight and the crowd is thin at the Capitol, under strict coronavirus restrictions for President Joe Biden’s address to Congress.

The first address by a president to Congress is usually an electrifying evening. But this time it's a more subdued affair.

A few dozen lawmakers milled about the House chamber not long before Biden's speech, and a reduced crowd of about 200 is expected. That's compared with an audience of 1,600 members of Congress, officials and guests who typically gather for the event.

Face masks are mandatory in the House chamber. Place cards marked the seats, with just one or two lawmakers per row. Some are sitting high in the visitors’ galleries. No guests were invited.

National Guard troops protecting the Capitol since the Jan. 6 insurrection are stationed in and around the building.