Who is invited to the 2024 State of the Union address? Complete guest list
Each year the White House and members of Congress invite dozens of guests to attend the State of the Union. Who made the list this year?
The annual State of the Union address will take place on Thursday, 7 March, at 9 PM ET. As is tradition, the White House and members of Congress have extended numerous invites to citizens and foreign nationals. In addition to these guests, key members from all three branches of government will also attend. The speech and the Republican response will be broadcast on all major networks, CSPAN, and the White House’s YouTube channel.
Abortion will take center stage
The president often uses the speech to describe their legislative wishlist, and since it is an election year, the guests reflect the agenda that the campaign hopes to message to the millions that tune in.
This year, abortion is a central issue in the Democratic campaign. In the post-Roe era, the protection of abortion rights is an easy issue for Democrats to use to motivate voters who might consider staying home on election day. An Indiana doctor who provided an abortion to a ten-year-old victim rape victim who was denied care in her home state of Ohio has been invited, shedding light on the vulnerable position even children are left in when abortion rights are restricted or stripped altogether. Additionally, two women who have been denied abortions in situations where doctors determine the fetus to be non-viable have been invited. One of the women is Kate Cox, a resident of Texas, whose horrifying story is just one of many that have begun to spread as dozens of states impose incredibly restrictive measures to limit abortion. Not only do these laws harm patients, but they create serious moral and ethical problems for doctors who have vowed to protect patients but live in fear that their license could be taken away if political representatives deem an abortion they carried out illegal under these draconian laws.
In addition to abortion, the recent decision by the Alamaba Supreme Court that jeopardizes access to invitro fertilization has also become a talking point for the Democrats. GOP lawmakers in Alabama, with votes from the Democratic caucus, passed a law last week to protect access to IVF, but many in Washington are not convinced that the treatment could become another target of the courts. Democratic members of Congress have seized on the Alabama court’s decision to identify new threats to reproductive healthcare in the United States. Congresswoman Lori Trahan (D-MA), who chairs the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, announced that she had invited Dr. Pierto Bortoletto, a Reproductive Endocrinologist working in Boston, to the event as her guest.
Foreign policy section
Typically, domestic issues take center stage, with a small section dedicated to the administration’s foreign policy agenda. The guests usually reflect the points made during this section. The White House confirmed that the widow of deceased Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, Yulia Navalnaya, was invited by the White House but is unable to attend the event. The wife of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Olena Zelenska, was also invited per the White House but will not be in attendance either.
The American Jewish Committee published an article detailing that eight of the American hostages thought to be in Gaza will be represented by six of their family members. The family members are guests of both Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), as well as Senators Joni Ernst (R-IA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Ted Budd (R-NC), and Tom Tillis (R-NC), and Congresspeople Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Donald Norcross (D-NJ), Tom Suozzi (D-NY), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Haley Stevens (D-MI), Greg Steube (R-FL), Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), Brad Schneider (D-IL), Joe Courtney (D-CT), Jason Smith (R-MO), and Jodey Arrington (R-TX).
Congresswoman Cori Bush (D-MO) has invited Dr. Intimaa Salama a graduate student studying in her home state. Thirty-five members of her family have been killed in Gaza as Israel’s military assault continues to claim the lives of civilians and create a humanitarian disaster for the over two million residents who are held captive in the strip.
Lastly, the Prime Minister of Sweden, Ulf Kristersson, on a diplomatic visit to Washington, has been invited and will attend the State of the Union. His country has been the most recent addition to NATO. The president is likely to spend part of the speech speaking about the importance of the alliance, particularly as Congress refuses to pass a bill sending more aid to Ukraine.