US President Joe Biden, who is already the oldest in history to hold his position, will not commit to a 2024 run until after he gives the State of the Union address for 2023, sources close to him say.

The sources also added that Biden’s hesitancy to announce a run has nothing to do with an ongoing investigation into his handling of classified documents. The documents were found at the president’s UPenn office from his time as vice president, and at his Delaware home.

The White House deputy press secretary Andrew Bates said that the documents do not play a role in Biden’s decision, despite the controversy that they have caused.

Biden on hiding classified documents in his home, office, and garage for six years: “I have no regrets” pic.twitter.com/rBgDEgMOfv

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 19, 2023

“The president is honoring his promise to respect the independence of the Department of Justice and divorce it from politics. You’ve heard from him directly, including after his agenda resulted in the best midterms for a Democratic president in 60 years, that he intends to run,” Bates said.

“With inflation falling, the lowest unemployment rate in 50 years, more jobs back to America, and lowering drug costs — all in the last week alone — his focus in on delivering even more progress for American families. This week we also saw House Republicans’ vision: raising taxes on the middle class to cut them for the wealthy, worsening inflation, and a national abortion ban,” he said, according to Fox News.

One strategist told the outlet that it would not make sense for Biden to announce his intention to run for office before or directly after the State of the Union address. The strategist said that Biden should instead try to win over Americans by highlighting what accomplishments his regime has made.

Biden is in the middle of a controversy after documents were found in his garage. He addressed the discovery of the documents to Fox News’s Peter Doocy, to which he said that they were safely locked in his garage.

“Classified documents next to your Corvette? What were you thinking?” Doocy asked Biden.

“I’m going to get the chance to speak on all of this, God willing it’ll be soon, but I said earlier this week — and by the way, my Corvette is in a locked garage. It’s not like it’s sitting out in the street,” Biden responded.

Joe Biden — who has not taken a single question in more than a week — again ignores questions on why he hid classified documents in his garage, office, and home. pic.twitter.com/ceX66z2rmq

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) January 19, 2023