Biden to deliver farewell address from Oval Office on Wednesday night

Washington — President Biden will deliver a farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday, Jan. 15, the White House announced Friday, as he prepares to hand over power to President-elect Donald Trump. 

It will be his fifth and likely final Oval Office address. His most recent Oval Office address came when he explained his decision not to run for reelection. 

The president is expected to reflect on his legacy, and on the challenges facing the nation ahead. 

Mr. Biden began his only term in 2021 in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the Capitol by Trump’s supporters. From his perspective and that of other Democrats, he sought to rebuild what Trump had damaged, or undone completely. Now, four years later, he hands the reigns of power back to the man he has depicted as a “genuine threat to democracy.”

The tradition of delivering a farewell address dates back to George Washington, the nation’s first president, who warned Americans against factionalism and party politics when announcing he would not seek a third term in 1796. Washington never delivered his speech publicly, but it was published in papers across the country. 

The Senate has read Washington’s farewell address every year on his birthday since 1893.