Congress? Maybe Check Back in 2027.

WASHINGTON – State of the Union addresses are typically an opportunity for presidents to dictate the legislative agenda to their party colleagues in Congress. Under divided government, this comes across as scolding, where the president tries to embarrass the opposing party into adopting his popular issues. But in unified, one-party government like we have now, it’s a signal: The president has a set of policies that congressional leaders just need to corral the votes for and pass.

This...