By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – As his first year of office draws to a close, Joe Biden will likely face a flurry questions about relations with Russia and America’s COVID-19 response.

Biden will host thirty reporters at the White House East Room for a rare back-and forth at 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time (2100 GMT). The White House’s second official press conference is the first. At other events, he has been a frequent participant in answering questions.

Scheduled a day before his first year anniversary in office, the event comes at a rocky time for Biden: his centerpiece Build Back Better legislative agenda is on ice https://www.reuters.com/world/us/how-white-house-hopes-save-bidens-spending-bill-2022-01-18 after fractious congressional negotiations, COVID-19 hospitalizations are at a record https://graphics.reuters.com/HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS/USA-TRENDS/dgkvlgkrkpb/index.html and his popularity has ebbed as the pandemic drags on.

Russia’s military buildup in Ukraine is causing tensions. Biden’s voting rights push has failed to muster the necessary support in Congress amid universal Republican obstruction, at a time of questions about the fragility of America’s political system https://www.reuters.com/world/us/bidens-2022-pitch-target-trump-acolytes-woo-swing-voters-2022-01-09.

As his advisers, he sees the news conference as a chance to set the tone for Biden’s second year and sell Americans on the successes of the previous. Biden will deliver his State of the Union speech to Congress in March.

Jen Psaki (White House Press Secretary) highlighted Tuesday’s rise in employment and vaccinations over Biden’s first year.

Four-fifths of qualified Americans have gotten at least one vaccine shot even as the virus continues to kill https://graphics.reuters.com/world-coronavirus-tracker-and-maps/countries-and-territories/united-states nearly 2,000 people per day in the United States, and the unemployment rate has dropped amid record job creation.

She stated that although the job was not finished, she had a plan in place to tackle the problems we face and would continue to do so.

Biden, as well as some of his aides have complained about the downbeat reporting on the presidency from the reporters he will be meeting with.

Although 2021 saw key voters focus on other issues, officials from the administration and allies said they expected people to return to politics this year. They believe Biden has the chance to bring a positive message to the nation’s consciousness.

Biden’s fellow Democrats are fighting to retain their control of Congress https://www.reuters.com/world/us/first-months-2022-crucial-biden-agenda-november-midterms-loom-2022-01-10 in the midterm elections https://www.reuters.com/world/us/another-midterm-worry-biden-white-house-probes-impeachment-attempts-2022-01-17 slated for Nov. 8, amid a flood of Republican-backed state laws that civil rights advocates say could suppress Black and other minority votes.

According to the American Presidency Project, University of California Santa Barbara, Biden held nine press conferences, six of them solo. This is a much slower pace than those of his predecessors.