Addressing his first divided Congress, Biden says 'the soul of this nation is strong'

As she made her way to the House chamber, Rep. Nancy Pelosi told ABC News that she's "thrilled" to hear what Biden has to say to Congress.

"I'm so excited about tonight. The president will talk about what he has accomplished. It'll be a message of progress and hope about how we go forward and what more needs to be done and what the path is to that," Pelosi said.

The California Democrat, who has witnessed several presidents -- Biden included -- deliver State of the Union addresses from the dais as House speaker, insisted that there was much for Biden to "brag about."

"I'm really quite thrilled," she continued. "I can't remember being so thrilled on the State of the Union, because there's so much for him to brag about, but also that he knows needs to be done."

-ABC News' Will Steakin

Biden is going to call on Congress to do a lot in his speech -- he’ll talk about the issues he thinks are ripe for action and the policies he wants Congress to prioritize. But lawmakers probably won’t follow through on most of them.

According to an analysis of legislation passed after every State of the Union address since 1965, conducted by political scientists Donna Hoffman and Allison Howard, Congress only fully enacted 24.3% of a president’s requests, on average, and partially enacted another 13.8%.

In some years -- like 2016 and 2020 -- none of the requests were acted on. So even if Biden makes big, bold proposals for Congress, don’t expect most of them to become reality.

-FiveThirtyEight’s Amelia Thomson-DeVeaux

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders plans to use the Republicans' official State of the Union rebuttal to tear into President Joe Biden and the Democrats, focusing heavily on culture war issues while highlighting where she says the economy has failed.

According to excerpts of her speech shared by her office, Sanders, the country's youngest governor and a White House press secretary under President Donald Trump, will pan Democrats as high taxers who "[light] your hard-earned money on fire." But most of the highlights previewed by her office focused on labeling the Democratic Party as a "woke" group in almost religious terms.

"You get crushed with high gas prices, empty grocery shelves and our children are taught to hate one another on account of their race, but not to love one another or our great country. ... And while you reap the consequences of their failures, the Biden administration seems more interested in woke fantasies than the hard reality Americans face every day," she will say. "Most Americans simply want to live their lives in freedom and peace, but we are under attack in a left-wing culture war we didn’t start and never wanted to fight."

"Every day, we are told that we must partake in their rituals, salute their flags, and worship their false idols … all while big government colludes with Big Tech to strip away the most American thing there is -- your freedom of speech."

Republicans like Trump and others are already preparing to challenge Biden ahead of his expected reelection bid, with party leaders divided over the best approach. Sanders, Trump and others have embraced social issues, while others have focused on inflation and government spending.

Often, those invited to a president's State of the Union address represent the topics he is expected to focus on during his remarks.

First lady Jill Biden's office announced Tuesday morning who will join her in her viewing box at her husband's speech later in the day.

She won't be the only one bringing guests. Here's a look at some of the notable names:

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff will join Jill Biden with his guest, Holocaust survivor Ruth Cohen of Rockville, Maryland.

The Congressional Black Caucus initially invited the family of Tyre Nichols -- the Memphis, Tennessee, man who died after being attacked by police last month -- and the White House announced that Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells, and stepfather, Rodney Wells, will sit in the first lady's box.

Also in the first lady's box will be Brandon Tsay of San Marino, California, who disarmed the shooter in the Monterey Park, California, shooting; former Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband, Paul Pelosi, who was attacked by an intruder last fall; U2's Bono for his work fighting HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty; and Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S.

House Speaker McCarthy says he invited former NBA player Enes Freedom as his guest.

Freedom, an outspoken critic of China's reported abuse of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang, has met with House GOP several times this year. He wrote in a tweet that he was "deeply honored and humbled to attend the State of the Union address" and appreciates McCarthy's "friendship, leadership and support."

-ABC News' Ben Gittleson and Lauren Peller