Arkansas governor to deliver Republican response to Biden's State of the Union address

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy holds a press conference in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 2, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)

WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders will deliver the Republican response to U.S. President Joe Biden's State of the Union address next week, Republican leaders said on Thursday.

The announcement was made in a joint statement by U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell.

Sanders, who served as White House press secretary for then U.S. President Donald Trump from 2017 to 2019, was inaugurated as governor of Arkansas last month.

Biden will deliver his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Feb. 7.

This would be Biden's second State of the Union speech and the first before a divided Congress with Republicans taking control of the House of Representatives and Democrats still running the Senate.

Biden, a Democrat, is facing a string of investigations led by House Republicans into his administration and his family.

The State of the Union address is a message from the U.S. president to Congress, usually given in the early months of the year.

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy holds a press conference in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 2, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy holds a press conference in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 2, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy holds a press conference in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 2, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)

U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (C) holds a press conference in the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., the United States, on Feb. 2, 2023. (Photo by Aaron Schwartz/Xinhua)