President Joe Biden will hold a formal press conference next week, his first such event of 2022, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday.

The press conference will take place on Wednesday, Jan. 19, the eve of the anniversary of Biden's first year in office.

"The president looks forward to speaking directly to the American people," Psaki said.

What You Need To Know

  • President Joe Biden will hold a formal press conference next week, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday

  • The press conference will take place at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday, Jan. 19, the eve of the anniversary of Biden's first year in office

  • While Biden often takes questions from reporters at other events, such as speeches, meetings and while traveling, he has held fewer press conferences than his five immediate predecessors at this point in his presidency, according to a recent analysis

  • Critics of the president, largely Republicans and conservative commentators, as well as the White House Correspondents' Association, have called on Biden to provide more access to the press

While Biden often takes questions from reporters at other events, such as speeches, meetings and while traveling, he has held fewer press conferences than his five immediate predecessors at this point in his presidency – a fact that critics of the president, largely Republicans and conservative commentators, are quick to point out. The White House Correspondents’ Association has also called on the president to provide more access to the press.

The White House has pushed back on that criticism, pointing out how frequently he fields questions from the press at public appearances. According to an analysis from the White House Transition Project and Towson University, through Dec. 31 of 2021, Biden has held 216 informal Q&A sessions, a total exceeded only by former President Bill Clinton in his first year, and far eclipsing those held by former Presidents Donald Trump, Barack Obama, George W. Bush and George H.W. Bush.

But, as Martha Joynt Kumar, professor emerita in political science at Towson University and director of the White House Transition Project, told The Associated Press, those informal sessions have limitations, notably the lack of ability to ask follow-up questions.

“While President Biden has taken questions more often at his events than his predecessors, he spends less time doing so,” Kumar told the AP. “He provides short answers with few follow-ups when he takes questions at the end of a previously scheduled speech.”

The president has held just 9 press conferences in his first year; only Ronald Reagan had fewer in his first year, and his schedule was limited by an assassination attempt in March of 1981.

That said, Reagan did 59 interviews that year. Biden conducted just 22 media interviews in his first year, according to the analysis, far fewer than his six immediate predecessors.

Trump, who was a frequent and vocal critic of media outlets, even going as far as to brand the press as the "enemy of the people" multiple times, did 92 interviews in his first year, though more than two dozen were with Fox News, a more friendly media outlet to the 45th president.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki has pushed back against the criticism, arguing that a formal news conference with “embroidered cushions” on journalists’ seats is unnecessary since Biden answers questions several times a week.

Psaki also holds daily press briefings, unlike her Trump administration predecessors.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.