State of the Union: Biden rebukes Putin, offers 'unity agenda'

Ahead Biden's first State of the Union address, House Republicans claimed the "state of our union is in a crisis," which they say is directly caused by Biden and House Democrats' "failed far-left socialist agenda."

"Tonight, President Biden will try to rewrite history of the past year and pass the buck instead of taking responsibility for the failures of his radical far-left Democrat agenda," the third-ranking House Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik said at a press briefing Tuesday.

Republicans are holding Biden personally responsible for several issues, from inflation to high gas prices to supply chain issues to the invasion of Ukraine.

"The war on Ukraine represents one of the greatest foreign policy failures in modern history," Stefanik said. "For months, President Biden failed to engage in meaningful deterrence against Russian aggression."

Ukrainian-American Rep. Victoria Spartz gave an emotional plea calling for the Biden administration to do more to help Ukraine.

"This is not a war, this is a genocide of the Ukrainian people," Spartz, who represents Indiana, told reporters. "They want to be free people. They want to be with the West."

-ABC News' Mariam Khan

Biden will discuss his plan to fight inflation, which he says will aim to lower both costs and the deficit, according to an excerpt of his State of the Union address released by the White House.

"We have a choice. One way to fight inflation is to drive down wages and make Americans poorer. I have a better plan to fight inflation," he said in the prepared remarks.

"Lower your costs, not your wages. Make more cars and semiconductors in America. More infrastructure and innovation in America. More goods moving faster and cheaper in America. More jobs where you can earn a good living in America. And, instead of relying on foreign supply chains -- let’s make it in America," the speech continues.

"Economists call it 'increasing the productive capacity of our economy,'" the president said in the prepared remarks. "I call it building a better America."

Biden will call out Russian President Vladimir Putin by name in his State of the Union address, saying that Putin's actions in Ukraine have solidified the NATO alliance, according to an excerpt of his prepared remarks released by the White House.

"Putin’s war was premeditated and unprovoked. He rejected efforts at diplomacy. He thought the West and NATO wouldn’t respond. And, he thought he could divide us here at home," Biden is expected to say. "Putin was wrong. We were ready."

-ABC News' Justin Ryan Gomez

President Joe Biden tonight will shy away from any suggestion of "mission accomplished" when it comes to the pandemic, or even that the virus had morphed into an "endemic" state -- a term reserved to describe a virus that persists but is mostly predictable -- a White House official told ABC News.

Instead, the official described the president's speech as noting the nation is now able to "move forward safely in a way in which COVID no longer disrupts our lives the way it has previously."

The president also will "emphasize the need for the U.S. to remain vigilant in the face of an unpredictable virus, including by preparing for future variants," said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity in order to discuss details in advance of the speech.

-ABC News' Anne Flaherty