United States President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress on Feb. 24 night in his first State of the Union address since returning to the White House, with Epstein accusers and Olympians among the guests invited.
The State of the Union address, over the past four decades, has become a ritual for presidents in the US to invite guests and tout their agenda, in a bid to shape his party’s messaging.
The event comes just ahead of this year’s midterm elections. Trump has too much on his plate, including trade with a recent Supreme Court rebuke, immigration and a deadlock over funding the Department of Homeland Security.
Moreover, Americans remain divided on whether Trump’s first year in the White House has been a success or not. Six in 10 Americans believe the country is worse off than last year, as per the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll.
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A few hours ahead of the event, media reports have come up with the categories of guests that are going to be present in the galleries tonight.
Epstein Accusers
Among the guests of the Democratic Representative Ro Khanna of California is Haley Robson. Robson has accused the late convicted sex offender, Jeffry Epstein, of abuse.
Jamie Raskin, also a Democratic Representative of Maryland, and Suhas Subramanyam of Virginia have invited Sky and Amanda Roberts, the brother and sister-in-law of Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre. Giuffre died by suicide in 2025.
Olympians
White House has announced that it was trying to bring in the US Olympic men’s hockey team to Washington. “Hopefully in time for the speech,” the White House has said. The team won the gold medal in Italy on Sunday against Canada.
Mike Jhonson, US House of Representatives speaker, has told reporters that he expected the US Women’s hockey team, as well. This team has also won a gold medal by defeating Canada. Media reports, however, suggested that the Women’s team has declined because of previous commitments.
Johnson also expressed that it was difficult to resolve the issues that had arisen in trying to accommodate the large number of athletes. A complete list of the guests was not available while this report was being filed.
Worried Farmers
Among the invitees is farmer Doug Rebout, president of the Wisconsin Soybean Association. He will be a guest of the Democratic Representative Mark Pocan, whose congressional district includes Madison, Wisconsin.
Many of the Soybean farmers and producers have been worried that Trump’s tariffs on foreign goods would hurt American farmers. This was expected to be met with retaliation from China, which has at times interrupted Soybean trade and has contributed to higher prices.
ICE Detainee
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer has invited Raiza Contreras, the New York City mother of Dylan Lopez Contreras. Schumer has said in a statement that Dylan entered the US legally from Venezuela and was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.
Schumer, who represents the state of New York, said Dylan was the first New York City Public School Student reported to be detained as part of Trump’s mass clampdown on immigrants.
Family Of Louisiana Police Officer
Speaker Jhonson has invited the relatives of slain Louisiana police officer Marc Tyler Brock. Brock was shot dead while serving a search warrant.
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