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WATCH: Biden will hold a press conference ahead of one-year White House anniversary

By Alana Wise

Published January 19, 2022 at 8:01 PM EST

President Joe Biden pauses as he signs his first executive orders in the Oval Office last Jan. 20. [Evan Vucci / AP]

President Biden is expected to hold his first press conference of 2022 on Wednesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m., just ahead of his one-year anniversary in the White House.

For Biden, it's a chance to try to focus on some highlights of his time in office, like the massive COVID-19 aid package and the infrastructure bill — even as major legislative priorities like voting rights, improvements to the social safety net and climate incentives have stalled.

When Biden took over from former President Donald Trump, the coronavirus pandemic was in full force, ravaging the national economy and education system, as well as overwhelming hospital emergency rooms and funeral homes.

Now, soaring inflation and supply-chain snarls have hit Americans in the wallet and grocery store. What's more, the omicron variant of the coronavirus is raging and the Supreme Court ruled against Biden's vaccine-or-test mandate.

He ended 2021 with the lowest approval ratings of his presidency, according to an NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll.