WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is set to deliver his annual State of the Union address on Tuesday.

The speech will be broadcasted, like usual, at 9 p.m. ET, followed by the Republican response by Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders.

But does this annual tradition of addressing Congress still have the same impact that it used to?

A TRADITION

It's the phrase that kicks off the night: "Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States."

It is said traditionally by the sergeant of arms before the president walks into the House chamber.

The annual, prime-time speech doesn't actually have to happen, however.

While President George Washington delivered one in person — and so did President John Adams — President Thomas Jefferson stopped it.

Jefferson believed it felt too much like the King of England speaking to parliament. From 1801 until 1913 presidents delivered written annual reports to Congress instead in order to fulfill their constitutional obligations.

President Woodrow Wilson brought back the practice in 1913 and with the invention of the radio and television, the in-person tradition has happened in most years since then. When Biden speaks Tuesday, it will likely be his most-watched speech of the year.

Over 38 million watched last year's address, which is a chance for Biden to highlight past accomplishments, like legislation to boost computer chips. It's also a chance to express optimism for the year ahead.

Biden is expected to express that sentiment with the economy and with Ukraine's fight against Russia. It's also a chance for the president to demand bipartisanship from Congress, and he is expected to do so when it comes to the issue of the debt limit.

The United States could default for the first time this summer if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling. The State of the Union is typically the only time each year that every Republican member of Congress and every Democratic member of Congress is in the same room listening to a presidential speech.

Sometimes it can feel long. The longest ever was President Bill Clinton's in 2000. Clinton went 1 hour and 28 minutes.

The shortest address in modern times was President Richard Nixon's in 1972. Mr. Nixon spoke for just 28 minutes.

Biden's speech last year was 1 hour and 1 minute. There are critics though who say this speech isn't as influential as it used to be. Viewership has declined in recent years compared to the 1990s, and policy proposals have too.

According to data compiled by the non-partisan Congressional Research Service, from 1965 to 2015, on average only 39.4% of all policy proposals contained in a State of the Union address were approved by Congress that same year.

That means, statistically, most things Biden mentions and wants Congress to accomplish won't actually happen this year.

Not every important political figure will be in the House chamber on Tuesday night. In most years since the Cold War, one member of the president's cabinet has been designated the "designated survivor."

They are kept in a secure location and away from the Capitol to ensure the continuity of government in the event of a mass casualty event.

Watch the State of the Union address live in the video player above.

President Joe Biden is offering a reassuring assessment of the nation's condition rather than rolling out flashy policy proposals as he delivers his second State of the Union address.

He is declaring that America is “unbowed, unbroken” in the face of the pandemic and economic threats. He's appealing to Republicans to work with him to “finish the job" as a weary nation struggles with economic uncertainty, a wearying war in Ukraine and growing tensions with China.

It's Biden's first speech to Congress since Republicans took control of the House in the midterm elections.

Read live updates from Biden's speech below:

9:20 p.m. ET

One of the first issues President Joe Biden goes into detail about is the supply chain and creating jobs, particularly in producing semiconductors.

“We’re going to make sure the supply chain for America begins in America," Biden said.

9:15 p.m. ET

President Joe Biden begins his speech by touting some of his top achievements including the infrastructure bill, the Respect for Marriage Act, low unemployment numbers and guiding the country out of the pandemic.

"The story of America is a story of progress and resilience. We are the only country that has emerged from every crisis stronger than when we entered it," Biden said Tuesday night. "Two years ago, COVID had shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much. Today, COVID no longer controls our lives."

9:03 p.m. ET

President Joe Biden has entered the House Chamber.

8:55 p.m. ET

First lady Jill Biden and the president's cabinet have entered the chambers.

8:45 p.m. ET

President Joe Biden's second State of the Union address is scheduled to begin in 15 minutes.

WASHINGTON —

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds will deliver the Republican response to President Joe Biden's State of the Union address on March 1, GOP congressional leaders announced Tuesday as they look outside Washington to appeal to voters in a midterm election year.

Reynolds is the 43rd governor of Iowa and has served since May of 2017. She was the first governor in the country to require schools to open for full-time in-person learning.

Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell praised her for fighting COVID-19 “without forgetting common sense."

"The President and his team should take notes,” McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement.

Reynolds pushed back against mask and vaccine mandates amid the coronavirus pandemic. She was chided by the Trump administration’s White House Coronavirus Task Force for ending mask mandates while Iowa was seeing a rapid increase in cases and deaths. Defying science, Reynolds sometimes spoke skeptically about the effectiveness of masks in halting the spread of the virus.

Republican lawmakers have chafed at requirements designed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, such as government mandates that certain workers get a vaccine, saying the edicts violated individual Americans' civil liberties.

Many Americans have grown weary of pandemic restrictions and states around the country are easing restrictions as cases begin to drop and as the large majority of people become vaccinated.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said “disastrous decision-making in Washington" has been offset by real leadership in states across the country, citing Iowa as an example.

“She handled COVID by choosing freedom over lockdowns and personal responsibility over mandates — leading to real economic recovery from the pandemic," McCarthy, R-Calif., said of Reynolds.

Reynolds became the first woman to serve as Iowa governor. She was elected in the narrowest victory in modern Iowa politics in 2018 beating Democrat Fred Hubbell by three percentage points, 50.4% to 47.4%.

She has governed as a conservative supporting a ban on same-sex marriage. She was a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump, appearing at Iowa rallies, and said on a recent Iowa Public Television program that she expected he would endorse her when she formally announces plans for reelection.

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Associated Press writer David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa, contributed.