Which guests have been invited to the State of the Union?

President Joe Biden will seek to lay out the case for his re-election and address a range of pressing issues both domestic and international when he delivers his latest State of the Union address to a joint-session of Congress on Thursday evening.

The Democrat is expected to tout his achievements in the White House, allay concerns about his age and warn of the threat to democracy posed by Donald Trump and hard-right Republicans across the country as he readies for a crucial election year.

The president’s address is likely to cover the economic recovery and infrastructure wins he has overseen from the Oval Office and feature a call for greater cooperation in the House of Representatives on spending deals to avert another looming government shutdown and to resolve the illegal immigration crisis at the southern border.

He is also likely to stress the need for international unity in the face of conflicts raging in Ukraine and Gaza, his stance on the latter having become a particular issue in the Democratic primaries where voters in states like Michigan and Minnesota have come together to mark their ballot papers “uncommitted” to express their disapproval of his failure to demand a ceasefire – a tension he will seek to soothe.

“It’s going to be a moment that’s incredibly important to him,” President Biden’s White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said of the speech this week.

“He’s looking forward to talking about the accomplishments that he’s made in the last three years and also the vision that he has for this country.”

The president’s address will commence at 9pm EST (2am GMT) on Thursday night and The Independent will bring you all the very latest coverage in our dedicated liveblog, as well as all the breakout news