President Donald Trump will use Tuesday’s State of the Union to champion his immigration crackdowns, his slashing of the federal government and his push to preserve widespread tariffs that the Supreme Court just struck down.
The address is likely to be a test run of the message Republicans will give to voters in November’s midterm elections for control of the House and the Senate.
The president will have multiple guests in the House gallery to highlight his policies, including some who will “make for touching moments,” according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“You’re going to hear the president share the stories of everyday Americans who have benefited from his policies,” Leavitt told reporters at the White House. “You’re going to hear the president share tear-jerking stories of American heroes past and present who really exemplify what it means to be a patriotic American.”
Trump’s guests will include a worker who is benefitting from a new tax exemption on tip and overtime income and a woman who is saving money on infertility treatments.
The president isn’t the only one with guests in attendance. Lawmakers and even the first lady traditionally bring guests in an effort to draw attention to particular issues of concern.
Here’s who has been announced so far to attend the State of the Union:
Epstein Survivors
Several House Democrats have invited survivors of Jeffrey Epstein to be their guests. Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., one of the authors of the Epstein Transparency Act, is bringing Haley Robson, who’s said she was trafficked by Epstein starting when she was 16.
Rep. Hakeem Jeffries is welcoming Marina Lacerda, who is among the Epstein survivors attending as guests of the Democratic Women’s Caucus, all of whom are dressing in all white to model themselves after the early 20th-century women who pressed for the right to vote and other rights.
The family of the late Virginia Roberts Giuffre was invited to attend the joint session by Reps. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Va. and Jamie Raskin, D-Md. Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., invited Annie Farmer, the sister of Epstein survivor Maria Farmer.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York will bring Dani Bensky, who was a 17-year-old ballerina when she met Epstein.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said that another Epstein survivor, Marijke Chartouni, who is also one of her constituents, would attend the speech in her place.
Moon-bound astronauts
House speaker Mike Johnson has invited astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen, who are preparing for Artemis II, NASA’s first crewed mission in more than half a century to venture around the moon.
Johnson is also hosting other guests, including Claire Lai, the daughter of Jimmy Lai, the pro-democracy former Hong Kong media tycoon who was sentenced to 20 years in prison after his criticism of Beijing.
Team USA men’s hockey
Trump invited the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team to his State of the Union address after it brought home a gold medal by defeating Canada at the just-concluded Olympics in Italy.
Immigration
Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., invited four constituents who were impacted by the administration’s ICE raids in the state. They include Aliya Rahman, a disabled U.S. citizen who was filmed being pulled from her car by ICE officers on her way to a medical appointment; and Mary Granlund, chair of the Columbia Heights School Board, who championed 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos, an Ecuadorian boy who was detained with his father and sent to a detention center in Texas.
But GOP Rep. Pete Stauber, from northeastern Minnesota, invited two conservative YouTubers — Nick Shirley and David Hoch — whose report alleging fraud at Minnesota child care centers caught Trump’s attention and provided an impetus for the surge.
Rev. Jesse Jackson’s family
Minority leader Jeffries has also invited the family of the late civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. It comes after the House speaker denied a request from the family to have Jackson’s remains lie in honor at the Capitol.
The Brooklyn congressman also invited Vonetta Rougier, a bus operator and a caregiver for her family, from his district. He said she is “picking up extra shifts just to keep up with the skyrocketing price of housing, food and healthcare.”
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AI education and foster youth
First lady Melania Trump has invited 10-year-old Everest Nevraumont, a student at the Alpha School in Austin, Texas, where learning is powered by artificial intelligence. Everest is a public speaker and advocate for AI education who gave a TEDx talk on how she uses the technology in her learning.
The first lady champions the use of AI and launched the Presidential AI Challenge, a White House-sponsored contest for students.
Foster care advocate Sierra Burns, 24, of Greenville, South Carolina, is also the first lady’s guest. Burns grew up in foster care and benefited from the first lady’s Foster Youth to Independence Program. Last year, Melania Trump secured $30 million in funding to help young people transition out of foster care.
Erika Kirk
Charlie Kirk’s widow will also be one of President Trump’s guests, Leavitt said on X.
“The president will call on Congress to ‘firmly reject political violence against our fellow citizens’ with Charlie Kirk’s widow in the chamber,” Leavitt posted.
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