Members of the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team are expected to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday, White House officials said.
Team members were spotted Tuesday night in the Capitol for photos with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who previously that said lawmakers would find a way to “squeeze in” the team for Trump’s speech.
Earlier Tuesday, the players met with Trump in the Oval Office and posed for a photo with their medals in front of the White House, according to photos and video posted by White House communications adviser Margo Martin.
Twenty members of the team were at the White House (all but Brock Nelson, Jackson LaCombe, Jake Oettinger, Jake Guentzel and Kyle Connor).
The administration had been working through logistics so the players could attend Trump’s speech, a White House official said.
Most players on the team are making the trip, though some have declined to attend. NHL games resume Wednesday.
Trump invited the players Sunday after they won the Olympic gold medal in an overtime victory against Canada. On a phone call with the players, he joked that he would be impeached if he did not also invite the women’s team. The U.S. women’s hockey team, which also won gold, declined the invitation Monday, citing scheduling conflicts.
Top Republican lawmakers said the men’s team would be honored during the speech Tuesday evening.
Johnson said Trump called him Sunday night to say he wanted the hockey team to attend the speech — a request that presented logistical hurdles because, as Johnson told Trump, the gallery, where guests sit, was already full.
“We’re going to work out logistics, and somehow, some way, we’ll squeeze in the hockey players tonight, and it’ll be a great moment for America,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday. “And it really is a symbol to all of us that we all play for America’s team.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also told reporters that “we’re going to see them, and we’re going to celebrate them tonight as President Trump talks about the 250th birthday of America.”
The House chamber, where the speech takes place, is typically packed with lawmakers, top officials and guests. The president, the first lady and members of Congress bring guests who highlight their political and policy priorities. Trump also invited Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, and the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old National Guard member who was shot and killed in Washington, D.C., last year.
Ellen Hughes, the mother of men’s team players Jack and Quinn Hughes and a player development consultant for the U.S. women’s hockey team, was asked about Trump’s impeachment comments in an interview with NBC’s “TODAY” show.
“I think at the end of the day, it’s just about the country and the moment that these players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,” she said.