Trump to address joint session of US Congress

Washington : US President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress late next month, accepting House Speaker Paul Ryan's traditional invitation to deliver the speech to lawmakers and the nation.

The White House and both chambers of Congress are now controlled by Republicans. Trump will come to Congress as a change agent, but he has entered the White House with poor national approval ratings.

"It is my honor to invite you to address a joint session of Congress on February 28, 2017, in the hall of the House of Representatives," Ryan wrote in a letter to the president that the speaker published on his Twitter feed Tuesday.

"This address will give the people and their representatives the chance to hear directly from you about your agenda to tackle the critical challenges we face at home and abroad."

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the president has accepted Ryan's invitation.

Trump may already have some repair work to do with his Republicans, after he offered a searing repudiation of the Washington establishment in his inauguration speech.

"The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country," Trump told Americans. "Their victories have not been your victories."

Trump is likely to address several objectives he hopes to accomplish in his first 100 days in office, notably a repeal and replacement of the Affordable Care Act, the health reforms implemented by his predecessor Barack Obama.

But the complex issue already appears to have set Trump on course for a possible clash with Republicans.

Before his swearing-in, Trump told The Washington Post that he wants the replacement to provide "insurance for everybody," a proposal that usually has been opposed by his party.

Ryan's formal invitation fulfills a tradition that provides an incoming president with the opportunity to address Congress within weeks of taking office.

A joint session of Congress is usually attended by all 100 US senators and 435 representatives.