President Biden will deliver remarks from the White House on Thursday evening, just hours after a special counsel cleared him of criminal charges in the handling of classified documents but described him as an “elderly man with a poor memory.”
The White House did not say what the president would discuss in the 7:45 p.m. remarks, which were announced with less than a half-hour notice. They said he planned to deliver them from the Diplomatic Reception Room.
Mr. Biden could use the opportunity to respond directly to the report from Robert K. Hur, the special counsel in the documents case. But the president also faces other serious developments at home and around the world.
Congress is continuing to fight over whether to provide funding to Ukraine and Israel as both countries engage in wars. The Senate defeated an effort this week that would have tied the funding to demands for more security at the southern border.
In the Middle East, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken is attempting to negotiate a truce between Israel and Hamas that would free hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a cease-fire. Mr. Blinken has been in Israel and several other countries over the last several days.
The United States has also been engaged in conflict with militant groups in Iraq and Syria that are aligned with Iran after one of those groups killed three American troops with a drone attack last month.