Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead/Getty Images
- The State of the Union address is the biggest event of the year in the US Capitol building.
- There are all kinds of unique procedures and customs pertaining to the annual speech to a joint session of Congress.
- The 2019 State of the Union address is scheduled for February 5.
The State of the Union address brings both chambers of Congress together, along with the cabinet, the Supreme Court, and the joint chiefs of staff to listen to the president deliver his annual address.
There are countless procedures that take place in the lead up to the State of the Union, as well as customs during the speech that people watching at home on the television cannot exactly see.
Read more: The complete history of the US State of the Union address
President Donald Trump delivers his second State of the Union address on February 5. Here are some of the behind-the-scenes details you might miss while watching on TV.
Congress enters a joint session.
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)
Before the State of the Union can even begin, the speaker of the House offers a resolution to enter a joint session of Congress, meaning both the House and Senate come together for the president’s speech. This typically passes by unanimous consent.
The president is entirely surrounded.
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead/Getty Images
During the president’s speech, he is entirely surrounded by almost every single member of Congress, the cabinet, the Supreme Court, the joint chiefs of staff, and a large share of the Capitol Hill press corps.
The event is the most packed the Capitol will be all year.
Aisle hogs will park themselves up to six hours before the address.
Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead/Getty Images
There is a small group of lawmakers who will camp out in the aisle seats of the House chamber as much as six hours in advance in order to be in position to shake hands with the president, ask for an autograph, or whisper something in his ear about a policy pet project.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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Source: Business Insider