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<\/p>\nWASHINGTON \u2013 When President Joe Biden takes the rostrum Wednesday to deliver his first address to a joint session of Congress, he\u2019ll have a live audience that looks substantially\u00a0different than his predecessors faced\u00a0, including a much smaller contingent of the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n
A spokeswoman for the nation\u2019s highest court confirmed Monday that only Chief Justice John Roberts will attend the address. Roberts, spokeswoman Kathleen Arberg said, was the only one of the nine justices invited due to COVID-19 social distancing protocols.\u00a0<\/p>\n
That will mark a departure from past presidential addresses when most of the justices arrived in the House chamber clad in their black robes to hear the president speak. This year, far fewer lawmakers will also attend the address because of the\u00a0pandemic.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Chief Justice John Roberts. (Photo: Erin Schaff, Pool)<\/span><\/p>\n All of the justices have been vaccinated against coronavirus, the court said earlier this year, and they have begun meeting in-person in some instances, including for\u00a0 conferences in which they decide whether to hear cases. The justices met for their annual photo on Friday, marking the first time the newest member of the court, Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett, was photographed with her new colleagues.<\/p>\n The court has also taken other precautions: For instance, it continues to hold arguments by telephone and will do so for the remainder of this term. Several of the justices, including Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Neil Gorsuch have addressed groups this month and in those cases they have done so virtually.\u00a0<\/p>\n The president’s speech will come just before his 100th day in office, which will give him the\u00a0opportunity\u00a0to\u00a0update the public on his key agenda items.\u00a0In\u00a0the past three months, Biden has taken the reins of a nation contending with political division as the country continues to reopen, distribute\u00a0COVID-19 vaccines and debate hot-button issues like police violence\u00a0and immigration.<\/p>\n