House Speaker Mike Johnson is scrambling to get the U.S. men’s hockey team to the State of the Union following the president’s last-minute invitation.
After a historic gold medal win by both the men’s and women’s hockey teams at the Winter Olympics, the president invited both teams to his Tuesday night speech, even joking that he might need to bring in a military plane to get the players to Washington, D.C., on time.
The president invited the men’s team after hockey-mad FBI Director Kash Patel, 45, called him while celebrating with Team USA in their locker room, spluttering, “I got it, boss, I got it!” when Trump, 79, suggested that the squad should come to watch his State of the Union address.
Yet it seems that it is not Patel, but House officials, who are left scrambling to fulfill the president’s wishes.
On Monday, Johnson told reporters that he is working to “figure out logistics” for a potential visit from the teams, which include dozens of players and coaches. Though the women’s team just made the task slightly easier.
On Monday afternoon, the U.S. women’s hockey team declined Trump’s invitation, with a USA Hockey spokesperson saying the athletes are unable to participate due to “the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games.”
The men’s team has not officially responded to Trump’s invitation, but the House speaker noted that it is not just the travel that needs to be arranged, but also where the team would sit upon arriving at the Capitol.
“There’s no way to have special guests on the floor because it’s a literal session of Congress,” Johnson said, adding, “But we’re going to work and do what we can to accommodate.”
The State of the Union (SOTU) is an annual address in which the president of the United States reports to a joint session of Congress on the current state of the nation.
Members of Congress may invite one guest to highlight a policy issue, while the president may invite up to 24 guests to sit with First Lady Melania Trump, 55.
So far, members of Congress have invited YouTuber Nick Shirley and lobbyist/activist David Hoch, who accused Somali daycare operators in Minnesota of defrauding the federal government; victims of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein; as well as individuals affected by immigration enforcement, law enforcement officers, and company executives.
Johnson said the House is trying to figure out if “there’s some way” the potential gold-medalists can get “into the gallery and the doors, wave, and receive the applause they’re due.”
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