First Lady Jill Biden has invited 20 guests to join her in the viewing box for President Biden’s State of the Union Address on Thursday, March 7, 2024. The White House said the guests were chosen because they represent the issues or themes that the President will address in his speech, or they exemplify the Biden-Harris Administration’s policies at work for the American people.
Among the guests are women who have been affected by the recent state abortion bans, such as Katie Cox from Texas and Latorya Beasley from Alabama. Cox had to travel out of state to receive an abortion after her fetus was diagnosed with a fatal condition, while Beasley had her in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment canceled after an Alabama court ruled that frozen embryos are people. The White House has argued that these cases are the direct consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Another guest is Jazmin Cazares, a gun violence prevention advocate from Texas, whose sister was killed in the elementary school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Cazares has testified before lawmakers and spoken alongside March for Our Lives leaders to demand tighter background checks and extreme risk protection order laws1. Biden signed into law a bipartisan gun safety bill in 2022, and he has established the first ever White House office on gun prevention.
The White House is also hosting Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who will be the first foreign leader to attend a State of the Union address since 2016. Sweden joined the NATO alliance in 2023, and Biden has praised the country for its support for Ukraine amid Russia’s invasion. Biden has made strengthening NATO and providing aid to Ukraine a core part of his foreign policy agenda.
Other guests include union leaders, civil rights activists, cancer patients, apprentices, and mayors who have benefitted from the Biden-Harris Administration’s initiatives on infrastructure, inflation, health care, and job creation1. The Second Gentleman, Mr. Douglas Emhoff, the President’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, and the Ambassador of Ukraine to the United States, Oksana Markarova, will also join the First Lady in the viewing box.
The State of the Union address will be delivered by President Biden at 9 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 7, 2024, from the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol. The speech will be broadcast live on major television networks and streamed online.