Franklin D. Roosevelt s State of the Union Address, 1943

Roosevelt Administration
Presidential Addresses

President Franklin D. Roosevelt

Presidential addresses

Recent addresses:
Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, 2026
Donald Trump's address to joint session of Congress (March 4, 2025)
Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2024
Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2023

* * *

Historical addresses:

Select an address:Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, 2026Donald Trump's address to joint session of Congress (March 4, 2025)Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2024Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2023Joe Biden's State of the Union Address, 2022Joe Biden's address to joint session of Congress (April 28, 2021)Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, 2020Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, 2019Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, 2018Donald Trump's address to joint session of Congress (February 28, 2017)Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2016Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2015Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2014Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2013Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2012Barack Obama's address to joint session of Congress (September 8, 2011)Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2011Barack Obama's State of the Union Address, 2010Barack Obama's address to joint session of Congress (September 9, 2009)Barack Obama's address to joint session of Congress (February 24, 2009)George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2008George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2007George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2006George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2005George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2004George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2003George W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 2002George W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (September 20, 2001)George W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (February 27, 2001)Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 2000Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1999Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1998Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1997Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1996Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1995Bill Clinton's State of the Union Address, 1994Bill Clinton's address to joint session of Congress (September 22, 1993)Bill Clinton's address to joint session of Congress (February 17, 1993)George H.W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 1992George H.W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (March 6, 1991)George H.W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 1991George H.W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (September 11, 1990)George H.W. Bush's State of the Union Address, 1990George H.W. Bush's address to joint session of Congress (February 9, 1989)Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1988Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1987Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1986Ronald Reagan's address to joint session of Congress (November 21, 1985)Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1985Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1984Ronald Reagan's address to joint session of Congress (April 27, 1983)Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1983Ronald Reagan's State of the Union Address, 1982Ronald Reagan's address to joint session of Congress (April 28, 1981)Ronald Reagan's address to joint session of Congress (February 18, 1981)Jimmy Carter's State of the Union Address, 1980Jimmy Carter's address to joint session of Congress (June 18, 1979)Jimmy Carter's State of the Union Address, 1979Jimmy Carter's address to joint session of Congress (September 18, 1978)Jimmy Carter's State of the Union Address, 1978Jimmy Carter's address to joint session of Congress (April 20, 1977)Gerald Ford's State of the Union Address, 1977Gerald Ford's State of the Union Address, 1976Gerald Ford's address to joint session of Congress (April 10, 1975)Gerald Ford's State of the Union Address, 1975Gerald Ford's address to joint session of Congress (October 8, 1974)Richard Nixon's State of the Union Address, 1974Richard Nixon's address to joint session of Congress (June 1, 1972)Richard Nixon's State of the Union Address, 1972Richard Nixon's address to joint session of Congress (September 9, 1971)Richard Nixon's State of the Union Address, 1971Richard Nixon's State of the Union Address, 1970Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1969Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1968Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1967Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1966Lyndon Johnson's address to joint session of Congress (March 15, 1965)Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1965Lyndon Johnson's State of the Union Address, 1964Lyndon Johnson's address to joint session of Congress (November 27, 1963)John F. Kennedy's State of the Union Address, 1963John F. Kennedy's State of the Union Address, 1962John F. Kennedy's address to joint session of Congress (May 25, 1961)John F. Kennedy's State of the Union Address, 1961Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1960Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1959Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1958Dwight Eisenhower's address to joint session of Congress (January 5, 1957)Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1957Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1956Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1955Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1954Dwight Eisenhower's State of the Union Address, 1953Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (June 10, 1952)Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1952Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1951Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1950Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1949Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (July 27, 1948)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (April 19, 1948)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (March 17, 1948)Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1948Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (November 17, 1947)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (March 12, 1947)Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1947Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (May 25, 1946)Harry S. Truman's State of the Union Address, 1946Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (October 23, 1945)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (May 21, 1945)Harry S. Truman's address to joint session of Congress (April 16, 1945)Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (March 1, 1945)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1945Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1944Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1943Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1942Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (December 8, 1941)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1941Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (May 16, 1940)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1940Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (September 21, 1939)Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (March 4, 1939)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1939Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1938Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1937Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1936Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (May 22, 1935)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1935Franklin D. Roosevelt's address to joint session of Congress (May 20, 1934)Franklin D. Roosevelt's State of the Union Address, 1934Herbert Hoover's address to joint session of Congress (February 22, 1932)Herbert Hoover's State of the Union Address, 1932Herbert Hoover's State of the Union Address, 1931Herbert Hoover's State of the Union Address, 1930Herbert Hoover's State of the Union Address, 1929Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1928Calvin Coolidge's address to joint session of Congress (February 22, 1927)Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1927Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1926Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1925Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1924Warren Harding's address to joint session of Congress (February 7, 1923)Calvin Coolidge's State of the Union Address, 1923Warren Harding's address to joint session of Congress (November 21, 1922)Warren Harding's address to joint session of Congress (August 18, 1922)Warren Harding's State of the Union Address, 1922Warren Harding's State of the Union Address, 1921Submit

On Jan. 7, 1943, President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered his 10th State of the Union.

The State of the Union tradition stems from the U.S. Constitution's requirement that the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such Measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”[1] The first State of the Union address was given by  George Washington to both houses of Congress in 1790.

The annual address was not officially known as the State of the Union until  1947, when Harry S. Truman adopted the title that had been used informally during the later years of Roosevelt’s presidency.[2] Before 1947, the address was officially referred to as the Annual Message.[3]

## Contents

* 1 State of the Union address
* 1.1 Audio
* 1.2 Transcript
* 2 Response to the State of the Union address
* 3 Designated survivor
* 4 Background
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Footnotes
* 8 Footnotes

## State of the Union address[edit]

### Audio[edit]

The following is a recording of the original radio broadcast:

### Transcript[edit]

The following text is a transcript of Roosevelt's address, as prepared for delivery:

“  |

Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Seventy-eighth Congress:

This Seventy-eighth Congress assembles in one of the great moments in the history of the Nation. The past year was perhaps the most crucial for modern civilization; the coming year will be filled with violent conflicts- yet with high promise of better things.

We must appraise the events of 1942 according to their relative importance; we must exercise a sense of proportion.

First in importance in the American scene has been the inspiring proof of the great qualities of our fighting men. They have demonstrated these qualities in adversity as well as in victory. As long as our flag flies over this Capitol, Americans will honor the soldiers, sailors, and marines who fought our first battles of this war against overwhelming odds the heroes, living and dead, of Wake and Bataan and Guadalcanal, of the Java Sea and Midway and the North Atlantic convoys. Their unconquerable spirit will live forever.

By far the largest and most important developments in the whole world-wide strategic picture of 1942 were the events of the long fronts in Russia: first, the implacable defense of Stalingrad; and, second, the offensives by the Russian armies at various points that started in the latter part of November and which still roll on with great force and effectiveness.

The other major events of the year were: the series of Japanese advances in the Philippines, the East Indies, Malaya, and Burma; the stopping of that Japanese advance in the mid-Pacific, the South Pacific, and the Indian Oceans; the successful defense of the Near East by the British counterattack through Egypt and Libya; the American-British occupation of North Africa. Of continuing importance in the year 1942 were the unending and bitterly contested battles of the convoy routes, and the gradual passing of air superiority from the Axis to the United Nations.

The Axis powers knew that they must win the war in 1942 -or eventually lose everything. I do not need to tell you that our enemies did not win the war in 1942.

In the Pacific area, our most important victory in 1942 was the air and naval battle off Midway Island. That action is historically important because it secured for our use communication lines stretching thousands of miles in every direction. In placing this emphasis on the Battle of Midway, I am not unmindful of other successful actions in the Pacific, in the air and on land and afloat —especially those on the Coral Sea and New Guinea and in the Solomon Islands. But these actions were essentially defensive. They were part of the delaying strategy that characterized this phase of the war.

During this period we inflicted steady losses upon the enemy -great losses of Japanese planes and naval vessels, transports and cargo ships. As early as one year ago, we set as a primary task in the war of the Pacific a day-by-day and week-by-week and month-by-month destruction of more Japanese war materials than Japanese industry could replace. Most certainly, that task has been and is being performed by our fighting ships and planes. And a large part of this task has been accomplished by the gallant crews of our American submarines who strike on the other side of the Pacific at Japanese ships—right up at the very mouth of the harbor of Yokohama.

We know that as each day goes by, Japanese strength in ships and planes is going down and down, and American strength in ships and planes is going up and up. And so I sometimes feel that the eventual outcome can now be put on a mathematical basis. That will become evident to the Japanese people themselves when we strike at their own home islands, and bomb them constantly from the air.

And in the attacks against Japan, we shall be joined with the heroic people of China—that great people whose ideals of peace are so closely akin to our own. Even today we are flying as much lend-lease material into China as ever traversed the Burma Road, flying it over mountains 17,000 feet high, flying blind through sleet and snow. We shall overcome all the formidable obstacles, and get the battle equipment into China to shatter the power of our common enemy. From this war, China will realize the security, the prosperity and the dignity, which Japan has sought so ruthlessly to destroy.

The period of our defensive attrition in the Pacific is drawing to a close. Now our aim is to force the Japanese to fight. Last year, we stopped them. This year, we intend to advance.

Turning now to the European theater of war, during this past year it was clear that our first task was to lessen the concentrated pressure on the Russian front by compelling Germany to divert part of her manpower and equipment to another theater of war. After months of secret planning and preparation in the utmost detail, an enormous amphibious expedition was embarked for French North Africa from the United States and the United Kingdom in literally hundreds of ships. It reached its objectives with very small losses, and has already produced an important effect upon the whole situation of the war. It has opened to attack what Mr. Churchill well described as "the under-belly of the Axis," and it has removed the always dangerous threat of an Axis attack through West Africa against the South Atlantic Ocean and the continent of South America itself.

The well-timed and splendidly executed offensive from Egypt by the British Eighth Army was a part of the same major strategy of the United Nations.

Great rains and appalling mud and very limited communications have delayed the final battles of Tunisia. The Axis is reinforcing its strong positions. But I am confident that though the fighting will be tough, when the final Allied assault is made, the last vestige of Axis power will be driven from the whole of the south shores of the Mediterranean.

Any review of the year 1942 must emphasize the magnitude and the diversity of the military activities in which this Nation has become engaged. As I speak to you, approximately one and a half million of our soldiers, sailors, marines, and fliers are in service outside of our continental limits, all through the world. Our merchant seamen, in addition, are carrying supplies to them and to our allies over every sea lane.

Few Americans realize the amazing growth of our air strength, though I am sure our enemy does. Day in and day out our forces are bombing the enemy and meeting him in combat on many different fronts in every part of the world. And for those who question the quality of our aircraft and the ability of our fliers, I point to the fact that, in Africa, we are shooting down two enemy planes to every one we lose, and in the Pacific and the Southwest Pacific we are shooting them down four to one.

We pay great tribute—the tribute of the United States of America— to the fighting men of Russia and China and Britain and the various members of the British Commonwealth- the millions of men who through the years of this war have fought our common enemies, and have denied to them the world conquest which they sought.

We pay tribute to the soldiers and fliers and seamen of others of the United Nations whose countries have been overrun by Axis hordes.

As a result of the Allied occupation of North Africa, powerful units of the French Army and Navy are going into action. They are in action with the United Nations forces. We welcome them as allies and as friends. They join with those Frenchmen who, since the dark days of June, 1940, have been fighting valiantly for the liberation of their stricken country.

We pay tribute to the fighting leaders of our allies, to Winston Churchill, to Joseph Stalin, and to the Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek. Yes, there is a very great unanimity between the leaders of the United Nations. This unity is effective in planning and carrying out the major strategy of this war and in building up and in maintaining the lines of supplies.

I cannot prophesy. I cannot tell you when or where the United Nations are going to strike next in Europe. But we are going to strike- and strike hard. I cannot tell you whether we are going to hit them in Norway, or through the Low Countries, or in France, or through Sardinia or Sicily, or through the Balkans, or through Poland- or at several points simultaneously. But I can tell you that no matter where and when we strike by land, we and the British and the Russians will hit them from the air heavily and relentlessly. Day in and day out we shall heap tons upon tons of high explosives on their war factories and utilities and seaports.

Hitler and Mussolini will understand now the enormity of their miscalculations—that the Nazis would always have the advantage of superior air power as they did when they bombed Warsaw, and Rotterdam, and London and Coventry. That superiority has gone—forever.

Yes, the Nazis and the Fascists have asked for it—and they are going to get it.

Our forward progress in this war has depended upon our progress on the production front.

There has been criticism of the management and conduct of our war production. Much of this self-criticism has had a healthy effect. It has spurred us on. It has reflected a normal American impatience to get on with the job. We are the kind of people who are never quite satisfied with anything short of miracles.

But there has been some criticism based on guesswork and even on malicious falsification of fact. Such criticism creates doubts and creates fears, and weakens our total effort.

I do not wish to suggest that we should be completely satisfied with our production progress today, or next month, or ever. But I can report to you with genuine pride on what has been accomplished in 1942.

A year ago we set certain production goals for 1942 and for 1943. Some people, including some experts, thought that we had pulled some big figures out of a hat just to frighten the Axis. But we had confidence in the ability of our people to establish new records. And that confidence has been justified.

Of course, we realized that some production objectives would have to be changed- some of them adjusted upward, and others downward; some items would be taken out of the program altogether, and others added. This was inevitable as we gained battle experience, and as technological improvements were made.

Our 1942 airplane production and tank production fell short, numerically—stress the word numerically of the goals set a year ago. Nevertheless, we have plenty of reason to be proud of our record for 1942. We produced 48,000 military planes—more than the airplane production of Germany, Italy, and Japan put together. Last month, in December, we produced 5,500 military planes and the rate is rapidly rising. Furthermore, we must remember that as each month passes by, the averages of our types weigh more, take more man-hours to make, and have more striking power.

In tank production, we revised our schedule- and for good and sufficient reasons. As a result of hard experience in battle, we have diverted a portion of our tank-producing capacity to a stepped-up production of new, deadly field weapons, especially self-propelled artillery.

Here are some other production figures:

In 1942, we produced 56,000 combat vehicles, such as tanks and self-propelled artillery.

In 1942, we produced 670,000 machine guns, six times greater than our production in 1941 and three times greater than our total production during the year and a half of our participation in the first World War.

We produced 21,000 anti-tank guns, six times greater than our 1941 production.

We produced ten and a quarter billion rounds of small-arms ammunition, five times greater than our 1941 production and three times greater than our total production in the first World War.

We produced 181 million rounds of artillery ammunition, twelve times greater than our 1941 production and ten times greater than our total production in the first World War.

I think the arsenal of democracy is making good.

These facts and figures that I have given will give no great aid and comfort to the enemy. On the contrary, I can imagine that they will give him considerable discomfort. I suspect that Hitler and Tojo will find it difficult to explain to the German and Japanese people just why it is that "decadent, inefficient democracy" can produce such phenomenal quantities of weapons and munitions- and fighting men.

We have given the lie to certain misconceptions—which is an extremely polite word- especially the one which holds that the various blocs or groups within a free country cannot forego their political and economic differences in time of crisis and work together toward a common goal.

While we have been achieving this miracle of production, during the past year our armed forces have grown from a little over 2,000,000 to 7,000,000. In other words, we have withdrawn from the labor force and the farms some 5,000,000 of our younger workers. And in spite of this, our farmers have contributed their share to the common effort by producing the greatest quantity of food ever made available during a single year in all our history.

I wonder is there any person among us so simple as to believe that all this could have been done without creating some dislocations in our normal national life, some inconveniences, and even some hardships?

Who can have hoped to have done this without burdensome Government regulations which are a nuisance to everyone- including those who have the thankless task of administering them?

We all know that there have been mistakes- mistakes due to the inevitable process of trial and error inherent in doing big things for the first time. We all know that there have been too many complicated forms and questionnaires. I know about that. I have had to fill some of them out myself.

But we are determined to see to it that our supplies of food and other essential civilian goods are distributed on a fair and just basis—to rich and poor, management and labor, farmer and city dweller alike. We are determined to keep the cost of living at a stable level. All this has required much information. These forms and questionnaires represent an honest and sincere attempt by honest and sincere officials to obtain this information.

We have learned by the mistakes that we have made.

Our experience will enable us during the coming year to improve the necessary mechanisms of wartime economic controls, and to simplify administrative procedures. But we do not intend to leave things so lax that loopholes will be left for cheaters, for chiselers, or for the manipulators of the black market.

Of course, there have been disturbances and inconveniences -and even hardships. And there will be many, many more before we finally win. Yes, 1943 will not be an easy year for us on the home front. We shall feel in many ways in our daily lives the sharp pinch of total war.

Fortunately, there are only a few Americans who place appetite above patriotism. The overwhelming majority realize that the food we send abroad is for essential military purposes, for our own and Allied fighting forces, and for necessary help in areas that we occupy.

We Americans intend to do this great job together. In our common labors we must build and fortify the very foundation of national unity- confidence in one another.

It is often amusing, and it is sometimes politically profitable, to picture the City of Washington as a madhouse, with the Congress and the Administration disrupted with confusion and indecision and general incompetence.

However—what matters most in war is results. And the one pertinent fact is that after only a few years of preparation and only one year of warfare, we are able to engage, spiritually as well as physically, in the total waging of a total war.

Washington may be a madhouse- but only in the sense that it is the Capital City of a Nation which is fighting mad. And I think that Berlin and Rome and Tokyo, which had such contempt for the obsolete methods of democracy, would now gladly use all they could get of that same brand of madness.

And we must not forget that our achievements in production have been relatively no greater than those of the Russians and the British and the Chinese who have developed their own war industries under the incredible difficulties of battle conditions. They have had to continue work through bombings and blackouts. And they have never quit.

We Americans are in good, brave company in this war, and we are playing our own, honorable part in the vast common effort.

As spokesmen for the United States Government, you and I take off our hats to those responsible for our American production—to the owners, managers, and supervisors, to the draftsmen and the engineers, and to the workers- men and women—in factories and arsenals and shipyards and mines and mills and forests—and railroads and on highways.

We take off our hats to the farmers who have faced an unprecedented task of feeding not only a great Nation but a great part of the world.

We take off our hats to all the loyal, anonymous, untiring men and women who have worked in private employment and in Government and who have endured rationing and other stringencies with good humor and good will.

Yes, we take off our hats to all Americans who have contributed so magnificently to our common cause.

I have sought to emphasize a sense of proportion in this review of the events of the war and the needs of the war.

We should never forget the things we are fighting for. But, at this critical period of the war, we should confine ourselves to the larger objectives and not get bogged down in argument over methods and details.

We, and all the United Nations, want a decent peace and a durable peace. In the years between the end of the first World War and the beginning of the second World War, we were not living under a decent or a durable peace.

I have reason to know that our boys at the front are concerned with two broad aims beyond the winning of the war; and their thinking and their opinion coincide with what most Americans here back home are mulling over. They know, and we know, that it would be inconceivable—it would, indeed, be sacrilegious —if this Nation and the world did not attain some real, lasting good out of all these efforts and sufferings and bloodshed and death.

The men in our armed forces want a lasting peace, and, equally, they want permanent employment for themselves, their families, and their neighbors when they are mustered out at the end of the war.

Two years ago I spoke in my Annual Message of four freedoms. The blessings of two of them- freedom of speech and freedom of religion—are an essential part of the very life of this Nation; and we hope that these blessings will be granted to all men everywhere.

'The people at home, and the people at the front, are wondering a little about the third freedom—freedom from want. To them it means that when they are mustered out, when war production is converted to the economy of peace, they will have the right to expect full employment—full employment for themselves and for all able-bodied men and women in America who want to work.

They expect the opportunity to work, to run their farms, their stores, to earn decent wages. They are eager to face the risks inherent in our system of free enterprise.

They do not want a postwar America which suffers from undernourishment or slums- or the dole. They want no get-rich-quick era of bogus "prosperity" which will end for them in selling apples on a street corner, as happened after the bursting of the boom in 1929.

When you talk with our young men and our young women, you will find they want to work for themselves and for their families; they consider that they have the right to work; and they know that after the last war their fathers did not gain that right.

When you talk with our young men and women, you will find that with the opportunity for employment they want assurance against the evils of all major economic hazards- assurance that will extend from the cradle to the grave. And this great Government can and must provide this assurance.

I have been told that this is no time to speak of a better America after the war. I am told it is a grave error on my part.

I dissent.

And if the security of the individual citizen, or the family, should become a subject of national debate, the country knows where I stand.

I say this now to this Seventy-eighth Congress, because it is wholly possible that freedom from want—the right of employment, the right of assurance against life's hazards—will loom very large as a task of America during the coming two years.

I trust it will not be regarded as an issue—but rather as a task for all of us to study sympathetically, to work out with a constant regard for the attainment of the objective, with fairness to all and with injustice to none.

In this war of survival we must keep before our minds not only the evil things we fight against but the good things we are fighting for. We fight to retain a great past- and we fight to gain a greater future.

Let us remember, too, that economic safety for the America of the future is threatened unless a greater economic stability comes to the rest of the world. We cannot make America an island in either a military or an economic sense. Hitlerism, like any other form of crime or disease, can grow from the evil seeds of economic as well as military feudalism.

Victory in this war is the first and greatest goal before us. Victory in the peace is the next. That means striving toward the enlargement of the security of man here and throughout the world —and, finally, striving for the fourth freedom- freedom from fear.

It is of little account for any of us to talk of essential human needs, of attaining security, if we run the risk of another World War in ten or twenty or fifty years. That is just plain common sense. Wars grow in size, in death and destruction, and in the inevitability of engulfing all Nations, in inverse ratio to the shrinking size of the world as a result of the conquest of the air. I shudder to think of what will happen to humanity, including ourselves, if this war ends in an inconclusive peace, and another war breaks out when the babies of today have grown to fighting age.

Every normal American prays that neither he nor his sons nor his grandsons will be compelled to go through this horror again.

Undoubtedly a few Americans, even now, think that this Nation can end this war comfortably and then climb back into an American hole and pull the hole in after them.

But we have learned that we can never dig a hole so deep that it would be safe against predatory animals. We have also learned that if we do not pull the fangs of the predatory animals of this world, they will multiply and grow in strength- and they will be at our throats again once more in a short generation.

Most Americans realize more clearly than ever before that modern war equipment in the hands of aggressor Nations can bring danger overnight to our own national existence or to that of any other Nation—or island—or continent.

It is clear to us that if Germany and Italy and Japan- or any one of them- remain armed at the end of this war, or are permitted to rearm, they will again, and inevitably, embark upon an ambitious career of world conquest. They must be disarmed and kept disarmed, and they must abandon the philosophy, and the teaching of that philosophy, which has brought so much suffering to the world.

After the first World War we tried to achieve a formula for permanent peace, based on a magnificent idealism. We failed. But, by our failure, we have learned that we cannot maintain peace at this stage of human development by good intentions alone.

Today the United Nations are the mightiest military coalition in all history. They represent an overwhelming majority of the population of the world. Bound together in solemn agreement that they themselves will not commit acts of aggression or conquest against any of their neighbors, the United Nations can and must remain united for the maintenance of peace by preventing any attempt to rearm in Germany, in Japan, in Italy, or in any other Nation which seeks to violate the Tenth Commandment -"Thou shalt not covet."

There are cynics, there are skeptics who say it cannot be done. The American people and all the freedom-loving peoples of this earth are now demanding that it must be done. And the will of these people shall prevail.

The very philosophy of the Axis powers is based on a profound contempt for the human race. If, in the formation of our future policy, we were guided by the same cynical contempt, then we should be surrendering to the philosophy of our enemies, and our victory would turn to defeat.

The issue of this war is the basic issue between those who believe in mankind and those who do not—the ancient issue between those who put their faith in the people and those who put their faith in dictators and tyrants. There have always been those who did not believe in the people, who attempted to block their forward movement across history, to force them back to servility and suffering and silence.

The people have now gathered their strength. They are moving forward in their might and power—and no force, no combination of forces, no trickery, deceit, or violence, can stop them now. They see before them the hope of the world- a decent, secure, peaceful life for men everywhere.

I do not prophesy when this war will end.

But I do believe that this year of 1943 will give to the United Nations a very substantial advance along the roads that lead to Berlin and Rome and Tokyo.

I tell you it is within the realm of possibility that this Seventy-eight Congress may have the historic privilege of helping greatly to save the world from future fear.

Therefore, let us all have confidence, let us redouble our efforts.

A tremendous, costly, long-enduring task in peace as well as in war is still ahead of us.

But, as we face that continuing task, we may know that the state of this Nation is good—the heart of this Nation is sound -the spirit of this Nation is strong—the faith of this Nation is eternal.[4]

| ”

|
|

—President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D), Jan. 7, 1943 [5]

## Response to the State of the Union address[edit]

The first televised response to the state of the union was given in  1966. While opposition responses to the president's State of the Union address existed before then, they "came in the relatively ignored environment of the Senate or House Chamber or at local political events," and records documenting these events are largely unavailable.[6]

## Designated survivor[edit]

Each year, a member of the president's Cabinet is chosen to stay in an undisclosed location outside of Washington, D.C. to assume the presidency in case of an attack on Congress, the president, and other high-ranking officials.

While designated survivors have been chosen since at least the 1960s, the federal government did not begin revealing the identity of the designated survivor to the public until  1984.[7]

## Background[edit]

The following table provides a list of annual and other presidential addresses delivered to joint sessions of Congress between 1790 and 2026. It does not include inaugurations. Click the link in the Occasion or topic column to read more about each address. The information was compiled from the U.S. House of Representatives Office of the Historian.[8]

* President Woodrow Wilson (D), whose administration overlapped with World War I, delivered the most addresses: 23.
* President Franklin D. Roosevelt (D) followed with 19 addresses, which included a joint speech with the ambassador of France in 1934 and an address read before Congress on his behalf in 1945. World War II took place during his administration.
* President Harry S. Truman had the third-most addresses at 16. His administration covered the end of World War II and the beginning of the Cold War.
* Among presidents who served between 1981 and 2026, Presidents Ronald Reagan (R) and Barack Obama (D) delivered the most addresses with 11 and 10, respectively.

Presidential addresses to joint sessions of CongressDate| Session of Congress| Occasion or topic| President and other speaking dignitaries

|
|
|

February 24, 2026| 119th Congress| State of the Union Address| President Donald J. Trump
March 4, 2025| 119th Congress| Address| President Donald J. Trump
March 7, 2024| 118th Congress| State of the Union Address| President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
February 7, 2023| 118th Congress| State of the Union Address| President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
March 1, 2022| 117th Congress| State of the Union Address| President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
April 28, 2021| 117th Congress| Address| President Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Feb. 4, 2020| 116th Congress| State of the Union Address| President Donald J. Trump
Feb. 5, 2019| 116th Congress| State of the Union Address| President Donald J. Trump
Jan. 30, 2018| 115th Congress| State of the Union Address| President Donald J. Trump
Feb. 28, 2017| 115th Congress|  Address| President Donald J. Trump
Jan. 12, 2016| 114th Congress| State of the Union Address| President Barack H. Obama
Jan. 20, 2015| 114th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Barack H. Obama
Jan. 28, 2014| 113th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Barack H. Obama
Feb. 12, 2013| 113th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Barack H. Obama
Jan. 24, 2012| 112th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Barack H. Obama
Sept. 8, 2011| 112th Congress|  Address on American Jobs Act| President Barack H. Obama
Jan. 25, 2011| 112th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Barack H. Obama
Jan. 27, 2010| 111th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Barack H. Obama
Sept. 8, 2009| 111th Congress|  Address on Health Care Reform| President Barack H. Obama
Feb. 24, 2009| 111th Congress|  Address| President Barack H. Obama
Jan. 28, 2008| 110th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George W. Bush
Jan. 23, 2007| 110th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George W. Bush
Jan. 31, 2006| 109th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George W. Bush
Feb. 2, 2005| 109th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George W. Bush
Jan. 20, 2004| 108th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George W. Bush.
Jan. 28, 2003| 108th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George W. Bush.
Jan. 29, 2002| 107th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George W. Bush.
Sept. 20, 2001| 107th Congress|  Address on the War on Terrorism| President George W. Bush.
Feb. 27, 2001| 107th Congress|  Budget Message| President George W. Bush.
Jan. 27, 2000| 106th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President William J. Clinton.
Jan. 19, 1999| 106th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President William J. Clinton.
Jan. 27, 1998| 105th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President William J. Clinton.
Feb. 4, 1997| 105th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President William J. Clinton.
Jan. 23, 1996| 104th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President William J. Clinton.
Jan. 24, 1995| 104th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President William J. Clinton.
Jan. 25, 1994| 103rd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President William J. Clinton.
Sept. 22, 1993| 103rd Congress|  Address on Health Care Reform| President William J. Clinton.
Feb. 17, 1993| 103rd Congress|  Economic Address| President William J. Clinton.
Jan. 28, 1992| 102nd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George Bush.
Mar. 6, 1991| 102nd Congress|  Conclusion of Persian Gulf War| President George Bush.
Jan. 29, 1991| 102nd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George Bush.
Sept. 11, 1990| 101st Congress|  Invasion of Kuwait by Iraq| President George Bush.
Jan. 31, 1990| 101st Congress|  State of the Union Address| President George Bush.
Feb. 9, 1989| 101st Congress|  Address on Building a Better America| President George Bush.
Jan. 25, 1988| 100th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Ronald Reagan.
Jan. 27, 1987| 100th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Ronald Reagan.
Feb. 4, 1986| 99th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Ronald Reagan.
Nov. 21, 1985| 99th Congress|  Address on Geneva Summit| President Ronald Reagan.
Feb. 6, 1985| 99th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Ronald Reagan.
Jan. 25, 1984| 98th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Ronald Reagan.
Apr. 27, 1983| 98th Congress| Address on Central America| President Ronald Reagan.
Jan. 25, 1983| 98th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Ronald Reagan.
Jan. 26, 1982| 97th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Ronald Reagan.
Apr. 28, 1981| 97th Congress|  Address on Economic Recovery--inflation| President Ronald Reagan.
Feb. 18, 1981| 97th Congress|  Address on Economic Recovery| President Ronald Reagan.
Jan. 23, 1980| 96th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Jimmy Carter.
June 18, 1979| 96th Congress|  Address on Salt II agreements| President Jimmy Carter.
Jan. 23, 1979| 96th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Jimmy Carter.
Sept. 18, 1978| 95th Congress|  Address on Middle East Peace agreements| President Jimmy Carter; Joint session attended by Anwar El Sadat, President of Egypt, and by Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel.
Jan. 19, 1978| 95th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Jimmy Carter.
Apr. 20, 1977| 95th Congress|  Address on Energy| President Jimmy Carter.
Jan. 12, 1977| 95th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Gerald R. Ford.
Jan. 19, 1976| 94th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Gerald R. Ford.
Apr. 10, 1975| 94th Congress|  Address on State of the World| President Gerald R. Ford.
Jan. 15, 1975| 94th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Gerald R. Ford.
Oct. 8, 1974| 93rd Congress|  Address on the Economy| President Gerald R. Ford.
Aug. 12, 1974| 93rd Congress|  Assumption of office| President Gerald R. Ford.
Jan. 30 1974| 93rd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Richard M. Nixon.
June 1, 1972| 92nd Congress|  Address on Europe trip| President Richard M. Nixon.
Jan. 20, 1972| 92nd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Richard M. Nixon.
Sept. 9, 1971| 92nd Congress|  Address on Economic policy| President Richard M. Nixon.
Jan. 22, 1971| 92nd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Richard M. Nixon.
Jan. 22, 1970| 91st Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Richard M. Nixon.
Jan. 14, 1969| 91st Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Jan. 17, 1968| 90th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Jan. 10, 1967| 90th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Jan. 12, 1966| 89th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Mar. 15, 1965| 89th Congress|  Voting rights| President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Jan. 4, 1965| 89th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Jan. 8, 1964| 88th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Nov. 27, 1963| 88th Congress|  Assumption of office| President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Jan. 14, 1963| 88th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President John F. Kennedy.
Jan. 11, 1962| 87th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President John F. Kennedy.
May 25, 1961| 87th Congress|  Urgent national needs: foreign aid, defense, civil defense, and outer space| President John F. Kennedy.
Jan. 30, 1961| 87th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President John F. Kennedy.
Jan. 7, 1960| 86th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jan. 9, 1959| 86th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jan. 9, 1958| 85th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jan. 10, 1957| 85th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jan. 5, 1957| 85th Congress|  Address on the Middle East| President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jan. 6, 1955| 84th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Jan. 7, 1954| 83rd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Feb. 2, 1953| 83rd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
June 10, 1952| 82nd Congress|  Address on Steel Strike| President Harry S. Truman.
Jan. 9, 1952| 82nd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Harry S. Truman.
Jan. 8, 1951| 82nd Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Harry S. Truman.
Jan. 4, 1950| 81st Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Harry S. Truman.
Jan. 5, 1949| 81st Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Harry S. Truman.
July 27, 1948| 80th Congress|  Address on inflation, housing, and civil rights| President Harry S. Truman.
Apr. 19, 1948| 80th Congress|  Address on 50th anniversary, liberation of Cuba| President Harry S. Truman; Guillermo Belt, Ambassador of Cuba.
Mar. 17, 1948| 80th Congress|  National security and conditions in Europe| President Harry S. Truman.
Jan. 7, 1948| 80th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Harry S. Truman.
Nov. 17, 1947| 80th Congress|  Address on Aid to Europe| President Harry S. Truman.
Mar. 12, 1947| 80th Congress|  Address on Greek-Turkish aid policy| President Harry S. Truman.
Jan. 6, 1947| 80th Congress|  State of the Union Address| President Harry S. Truman.
May 25, 1946| 79th Congress|  Address on Railroad Strike| President Harry S. Truman.
Oct. 23, 1945| 79th Congress|  Address on Universal Military Training| President Harry S. Truman.
May 21, 1945| 79th Congress|  Address on Bestowal of Congressional Medal of Honor to Tech. Sgt. Jake William Lindsey| General George C. Marshall, Chief of Staff, U.S. Army; President Harry S. Truman.
Apr. 16, 1945| 79th Congress|  Address on Assumption of Office and War| President Harry S. Truman.
Mar. 1, 1945| 79th Congress|  Address on Yalta Conference| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 6, 1945| 79th Congress|  Annual Message| President Roosevelt was not present. His message was read before the Joint Session of Congress.
Jan. 11, 1944| 78th Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 7, 1943| 78th Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 6, 1942| 77th Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Dec. 8, 1941| 77th Congress|  Address on the "Day of Infamy"| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 6, 1941| 77th Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
May 16, 1940| 76th Congress|  Address on National Defense| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 3, 1940| 76th Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Sept. 21, 1939| 76th Congress|  Address on Neutrality| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Mar. 4, 1939| 76th Congress|  Address on Sesquicentennial of the 1st Congress| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 4, 1939| 76th Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 3, 1938| 75th Congress| Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 6, 1937| 75th Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 3, 1936| 74th Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
May 22, 1935| 74th Congress|  Address on Budget Bill Veto| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Jan. 4, 1935| 74th Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
May 20, 1934| 73rd Congress|  Address on 100th anniversary of the death of the Marquis de Lafayette| Andre de Laboulaye, Ambassador of France; President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; ceremony attended by Count de Chambrun, great-grandson of Lafayette.
Jan. 3, 1934| 73rd Congress|  Annual Message| President Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Feb. 22, 1932| 72nd Congress|  Address on bicentennial of George Washington's birth| President Herbert Hoover.
Dec. 6, 1932| 72nd Congress|  Annual Message| President Herbert Hoover.
Dec. 8, 1931| 72nd Congress|  Annual Message| President Herbert Hoover.
Dec. 2, 1930| 71st Congress|  Annual Message| President Herbert Hoover.
Dec. 3, 1929| 71st Congress|  Annual Message| President Herbert Hoover.
Dec. 4, 1928| 70th Congress|  Annual Message| President Calvin Coolidge.
Feb. 22, 1927| 70th Congress|  Address on upcoming George Washington birthday bicentennial| President Calvin Coolidge.
Dec. 6, 1927| 70th Congress|  Annual Message| President Calvin Coolidge.
Dec. 6, 1926| 69th Congress|  Annual Message| President Calvin Coolidge.
Dec. 8, 1925| 69th Congress|  Annual Message| President Calvin Coolidge.
Dec. 6, 1924| 68th Congress|  Annual Message| President Calvin Coolidge.
Dec. 3, 1923| 68th Congress|  Annual Message| President Calvin Coolidge.
Feb. 7, 1923| 67th Congress|  Address on British debt due to the United States| President Warren G. Harding.
Dec. 8, 1922| 67th Congress|  Annual Message| President Warren G. Harding.
Nov. 21, 1922| 67th Congress|  Address on promotion of the American Merchant Marine| President Warren G. Harding.
Aug. 18, 1922| 67th Congress|  Address on coal and railroad strikes| President Warren G. Harding.
Feb. 28, 1922| 67th Congress|  Address on maintenance of the Merchant Marine| President Warren G. Harding.
Dec. 6, 1921| 67th Congress|  Annual Message| President Warren G. Harding.
Apr. 12, 1921| 67th Congress| Federal problem message| President Warren G. Harding.
Aug. 8, 1919| 66th Congress| Cost of living message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Dec. 2, 1918| 65th Congress| Annual Message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Nov. 11, 1918| 65th Congress| Terms of armistice signed by Germany| President Woodrow Wilson.
May 27, 1918| 65th Congress| War finance message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Feb. 11, 1918| 65th Congress| Peace message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Jan. 8, 1918| 65th Congress| Program for world's peace| President Woodrow Wilson.
Jan. 4, 1918| 65th Congress| Federal operation of transportation systems| President Woodrow Wilson.
Dec. 4, 1917| 65th Congress| Annual Message/War with Austria-Hungary| President Woodrow Wilson.
Apr. 2, 1917| 65th Congress| War with Germany| President Woodrow Wilson.
Feb. 26, 1917| 64th Congress| Arming of merchant ships| President Woodrow Wilson.
Feb. 3, 1917| 64th Congress| Severing diplomatic relations with Germany| President Woodrow Wilson.
Dec. 5, 1916| 64th Congress| Annual Message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Aug. 29, 1916| 64th Congress| Railroad message (labor-management dispute)| President Woodrow Wilson.
Dec. 7, 1915| 64th Congress| Annual Message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Dec. 8, 1914| 63rd Congress| Annual Message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Sept. 4, 1914| 63rd Congress| War tax message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Apr. 20, 1914| 63rd Congress| Mexico message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Mar. 5, 1914| 63rd Congress| Panama Canal tolls| President Woodrow Wilson.
Jan. 20, 1914| 63rd Congress| Trusts message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Dec. 2, 1913| 63rd Congress| Annual Message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Aug. 27, 1913| 63rd Congress| Mexican affairs message| President Woodrow Wilson.
June 23, 1913| 63rd Congress| Currency and bank reform message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Apr. 8, 1913| 63rd Congress| Tariff message| President Woodrow Wilson.
Nov. 22, 1800| 6th Congress| Annual Message| President John Adams.
Dec. 3, 1799| 6th Congress| Annual Message| President John Adams.
Dec. 8, 1798| 5th Congress| Annual Message| President John Adams.
Nov. 23, 1797| 5th Congress| Annual Message| President John Adams.
May 16, 1797| 5th Congress| Relations with France| President John Adams.
Dec. 7, 1796| 4th Congress| Annual Message| President George Washington.
Dec. 8, 1795| 4th Congress| Annual Message| President George Washington.
Nov. 19, 1794| 3rd Congress| Annual Message| President George Washington.
Dec. 3, 1793| 3rd Congress| Annual Message| President George Washington.
Nov. 6, 1792| 2nd Congress| Annual Message| President George Washington.
Oct. 25, 1791| 2nd Congress| Annual Message| President George Washington.
Dec. 8, 1790| 1st Congress| Annual Message| President George Washington.
Jan. 8, 1790| 1st Congress| Annual Message| President George Washington.

## See also[edit]

* United States Senate
* United States Congress
* President of the United States

## External links[edit]

* United States House of Representatives: Joint Meetings

## Footnotes[edit]

1. ↑ Congressional Research Service, "The President’s State of the Union Address: Tradition, Function, and Policy Implications," accessed February 3, 2020
2. ↑ CNN, "Harry Truman delivered the first ever State of the Union. (Really.)," Feb. 5, 2019
3. ↑ History, Art & Archives of the United States House of Representatives, "State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 28, 2022
4. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
5. ↑ [LINK The American Presidency Project, “State of the Union Address,” Jan. 7, 1943]
6. ↑ United States Senate, "Opposition Response to the State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 25, 2022
7. ↑ United States Senate, "Cabinet Members Who Did Not Attend the State of the Union Address," accessed Feb. 23, 2022.
8. ↑ United States House of Representatives, "Joint Meetings, Joint Sessions, & Inaugurations," accessed June 14, 2021

United States Congress

Background

United States Senate • United States House of Representatives • United States Constitution • Congressional Budget Office • Federal Election Commission • Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee • National Republican Congressional Committee • Lifetime voting records • Net Worth of United States Senators and Representatives • Staff salaries of United States Senators and Representatives • Filing requirements for congressional candidates • Filling vacancies in the U.S. Senate • Classes of United States Senators • President Pro Tempore of the Senate • United States Speaker of the House • Filibuster

States' delegations

Alabama • Alaska • Arizona • Arkansas • California • Colorado • Connecticut • Delaware • Florida • Georgia • Hawaii • Idaho • Illinois • Indiana • Iowa • Kansas • Kentucky • Louisiana • Maine • Maryland • Massachusetts • Michigan • Minnesota • Mississippi • Missouri • Montana • Nebraska • Nevada • New Hampshire • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • North Dakota • Ohio • Oklahoma • Oregon • Pennsylvania • Rhode Island • South Carolina • South Dakota • Tennessee • Texas • Utah • Vermont • Virginia • Washington • West Virginia • Wisconsin • Wyoming • Non-voting members

2026 election

Congress Elections • Senate Elections • House Elections • List of candidates

Special elections

2025-2026 • 2023-2024 • 2021-2022 • 2019-2020 • 2017-2018 • 2015-2016 • 2013-2014

Historical elections

2024 • 2022 • 2020 • 2018 • 2016 • 2014

Sessions

119th • 118th • 117th • 116th • 115th • 114th • 113th • 112th • 111th • 110th

Joint committees

Deficit Reduction • Printing • Taxation • Library • Economic

U.S. Senate Committees

Aging • Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry • Appropriations • Armed Services • Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs • Budget • Commerce, Science and Transportation • Energy and Natural Resources • Environment and Public Works • Ethics (Select) • Finance • Foreign Relations • Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions • Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs • Indian Affairs • Intelligence (Select) • Judiciary • Rules and Administration • Small Business and Entrepreneurship • Veterans' Affairs

U.S. House Committees

Agriculture • Appropriations • Armed Services • Budget • Education and the Workforce • Energy and Commerce • Ethics • Financial Services • Foreign Affairs • Homeland Security • House Administration • Intelligence (Permanent Select) • Judiciary • Natural Resources • United States House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform • Rules • Science, Space, and Technology • Small Business • Transportation and Infrastructure • Veterans' Affairs • Ways and Means

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

* * *

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond
External Relations:  Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

* * *

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams, Managing Editor of Events • Joseph Greaney, Managing Editor of Policy • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Victoria Edwards • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Andrew McNair • Ellie Mikus • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox

## Footnotes[edit]

v • e

U.S. Executive Branch

Elected offices|

President Donald Trump • Vice President J.D. Vance • Donald Trump presidential administration (second term)

Executive Office of the President|

White House Press Secretary • Trump White House staff (second term) • Department of Government Efficiency • Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs • Office of Management and Budget

Executive departments|

Department of Defense • Department of State • Department of Homeland Security • Department of Justice • Department of Commerce • Department of Education • Department of the Treasury • Department of Agriculture • Department of Energy • Department of Labor • Department of Transportation • Department of the Interior • Department of Health and Human Services • Department of Veterans Affairs • Department of Housing and Urban Development

Cabinet-level agencies|

Environmental Protection Agency • Office of Management and Budget • U.S. Mission to the United Nations • Council of Economic Advisors • Small Business Administration • White House Chief of Staff • Central Intelligence Agency

Department of Agriculture|

Forest Service

Department of Defense|

Federal Voting Assistance Program (FVAP) • National Security Agency

Department of Education|

Institute of Education Sciences • National Center for Education Statistics

Department of Energy|

Energy Information Administration

Department of Health and Human Services|

Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality • Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services • Food and Drug Administration

Department of Homeland Security|

Citizenship and Immigration Services • Customs and Border Protection • Immigration and Customs Enforcement • Transportation Security Administration

Department of the Interior|

Bureau of Land Management • Fish and Wildlife Service • Geological Survey • National Park Service

Department of Justice|

Federal Bureau of Investigation • Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives • Drug Enforcement Administration

Department of Labor|

Occupational Safety and Health Administration • Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs • Office of Foreign Labor Certification

Department of the Treasury|

Federal Insurance Office • Financial Stability Oversight Council • Internal Revenue Service • Office of Financial Research

Department of Veterans Affairs|

Board of Veterans' Appeals (VA)

Independent agencies|

Administrative Conference of the United States • Agency for Global Media • Chemical Safety Board • Commodity Futures Trading Commission • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau • Consumer Product Safety Commission • Corporation for National Community Service • Corporation for Public Broadcasting • Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board • Equal Employment Opportunity Commission • Export-Import Bank of the United States • Farm Credit Administration • Federal Communications Commission • Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation • Federal Election Commission • Federal Energy Regulatory Commission • Federal Housing Finance Agency • Federal Labor Relations Authority • Federal Maritime Commission • Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission • Federal Reserve System • Federal Trade Commission • General Services Administration • Government Accountability Office • Interstate Commerce Commission • Merit Systems Protection Board • National Credit Union Administration • National Labor Relations Board • Office of Personnel Management • Securities and Exchange Commission • Securities Investor Protection Corporation • Social Security Administration • United States Postal Service

Dissolved agencies|

Civil Service Commission • National Recovery Administration • Steamboat Inspection Service

Glossary|

Appointment confirmation process • United States Constitution • Electoral College • Impeachment of federal officials

Ballotpedia

About

Overview • What people are saying • Support Ballotpedia • Contact • Contribute • Job opportunities

* * *

Executive: Leslie Graves, Founder and CEO • Gwen Beattie, Chief Operating Officer

Communications: Alison Graves, Director of Communications • Carley Allensworth • Abigail Campbell • Sarah Groat • Nathaniel Harwood • Dillon Redmond
External Relations:  Geoff Pallay, Director of External Relations • Ken Carbullido, Vice President of Election Product and Technology Strategy • Ashley Fleming • Thomas Mardik • Hannah Nelson
Operations: Meghann Olshefski, Director of Operations • Amanda Herbert • Mandy Morris • Caroline Presnell • Kelly Rindfleisch
Tech: Matt Latourelle, Director of Technology Operations • Ryan Burch • Kirsten Corrao • Beth Dellea • Travis Eden • Tate Kamish • Margaret Kearney • Eric Lotto • Joseph Sanchez • Mary Susmitha

Contributors: Scott Rasmussen

* * *

Editorial Content

Josh Altic, Director of Content • Daniel Anderson, Associate Director of Elections & Data • Cory Eucalitto, Associate Director of Features • Ryan Byrne, Managing Editor of Ballot Measures • Mandy McConnell, Managing Editor of News • Doug Kronaizl, Managing Editor of Local Expansion • Abbey Smith, Managing Editor of Elections • Janie Valentine, Managing Editor of Law • Joel Williams, Managing Editor of Events • Joseph Greaney, Managing Editor of Policy • Andrew Bahl • Jaclyn Beran • Marielle Bricker • Joseph Brusgard • Emma Burlingame • Kelly Coyle • Jon Dunn • Victoria Edwards • Thomas Ellis • Nicole Fisher • Thomas Grobben • Brianna Hosea • Molly Kehoe • Tyler King • Glorie Martinez • Norm Leahy, Senior Editor • Nathan Maxwell • Jimmy McAllister • Brandon McCauley • Andrew McNair • Ellie Mikus • Mackenzie Murphy • Kaley Platek • Samantha Post • Adam Powell • Annelise Reinwald • Spencer Richardson • Victoria Rose • Briana Ryan • Myj Saintyl • Maddy Salucka • Emma Soukup • Alexis Thacker • Mina Vogel • Samuel Wonacott • Trenton Woodcox