His administration has not revealed what he might say, but certainly it will now have a bigger audience.
Democrats in New Jersey sharpened their aim at Republican Gov. Chris Christie on Monday, forming special legislative committees to explore the role politics played in traffic jams last fall and announcing that the investigation has grown into an abuse of power probe.
The intensifying investigation, which threatens to undermine Christie's second term and his chances at a 2016 presidential run, revealed last week that high-ranking Christie aides and appointees were involved in ordering lane closings in September as apparent political payback that led to massive gridlock in the town of Fort Lee.
Growing scrutiny in Trenton comes amid Christie's first State of the State address today since being re-elected in November.
A new special Assembly committee, given subpoena power and a special counsel, will be charged with finding out how high the plot went up Christie's chain of command, said a leading state Democrat, Assembly Majority Leader Lou Greenwald.
"It is clearly an abuse of power," he said. "The question is, who abused their power and how high did it go?"
The committee will focus exclusively on the traffic jams in Fort Lee, whose mayor has said he believes the lanes were closed to punish him for not endorsing Christie's re-election bid. The panel will be chaired by the head of the Assembly transportation committee who launched the initial investigation into the lane closings, John Wisniewski.
The state Senate announced that it planned to establish its own committee, also with subpoena power.
Christie denies link
Christie has apologized over the lane closings but denied involvement. He also fired a top aide and cut ties with a political adviser who'd been widely seen as a potential campaign manager if Christie runs for president. Wisniewski said Monday that both of them could receive subpoenas soon, though he could subpoena their emails first.
Wisniewski also referred contempt charges against another Christie loyalist, David Wildstein, to a county prosecutor. A former Christie appointee to a powerful New York City-area transit agency, Wildstein was subpoenaed to testify before lawmakers but invoked his right against self-incrimination and refused to answer questions or even confirm that he worked for the agency.
Wildstein's lawyer indicated that an appeal would be filed, according to prosecutor Joseph Bocchini. The lawyer didn't return messages seeking comment.
The scandal widened last week when documents were released showing that, in addition to the apparent political retribution by Christie's team, the mayor of Fort Lee asked Christie's top deputy at the transit agency whether the lane closings were a punishment for him and why.
The mayor, Democrat Mark Sokolich, had noted that he didn't endorse Christie for re-election but told CNN last week that he couldn't recall "a specific request to endorse" from the governor's campaign staff, though other events could be seen as an attempt to attract his endorsement.
Sokolich shifted away from that assertion Monday, saying in an interview at his law office that he did consider a request from the Christie campaign but ended up supporting the Democratic candidate. He declined to say why he changed his account or answer other questions about his interaction with the campaign.
The scandal has changed the tone of state politics.
No hint on address
Christie must figure out how to address it when he gives his State of the State address at 3 this afternoon in Trenton. His administration has not revealed what he might say, but certainly it will now have a bigger audience and announcements about tax cut plans will no longer be the most anticipated part.
The same could be true at the governor's inauguration for a second term next week, set to take place on Ellis Island, historically a gateway to the United States for millions of immigrants. The setting is meant to showcase Christie's inclusiveness and ability to appeal to a broad swath of voters.