CNN Senior Congressional Producer
(CNN) — President Barack Obama on January 12, 2016 will deliver his final State of the Union address.
As is tradition, House Speaker Paul Ryan announced the date in a formal letter to the President on Monday, saying, “As we look ahead to the new year, we have both an opportunity and an obligation to find common ground to advance the nation’s interests at home and abroad.”
The annual prime time speech is typically scheduled for a Tuesday in late January or early February, and gives the president the chance to lay out his agenda for the year.
The U.S. Constitution requires that that the President must report to Congress “from time to time” on “the state of the union.”
The early January date was selected by the White House, according to a senior House GOP leadership source.
While the President can be expected to focus on items to secure his own legacy for his final year in office, the Republican led Congress will likely ignore much of his policy proposals.
Instead GOP members will spend 2016 framing the party’s plans for a change of leadership in Washington.
The State of the Union address comes roughly three weeks before both Republicans and Democrats begin voting in early state contests to pick their nominees to serve as the next president.
The-CNN-Wire
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