President Barack Obama will deliver a "nontraditional" State of the Union address in January, focusing on his vision for the country during his last year in office rather than a legislative agenda, CNN reports.
"Going into the last year, I don't think you should expect a huge, long list from the president of legislative to-dos," CNN quoted a senior official.
With a Republican Congress unlikely to go along with parts of his vision, Obama will likely use his "pen and phone" method of issuing executive orders, and also expects to be a player in the 2016 presidential election, aides said.
Stricter gun measures and closing the military prison at the Guantanamo naval base are expected to be among his top priorities.
The president will hold a traditional year-end news conference on Friday before leaving on a two-week family vacation to Hawaii, the White House said.
After the press conference Obama will fly on Air Force One to San Bernardino to meet families of the victims of the December 2 attack, before continuing on to Hawaii.
Obama's administration said the media event would be an opportunity to assess progress made in the past year, and set priorities for the year ahead.