President Joe Biden‘s 2024 State of the Union address is likely to underscore abortion access, so-called Bidenomics, and foreign policy, if the White House‘s guest list is any indication.
The list of people who will watch the speech with first lady Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, according to the East Wing, includes Kate Cox, the Texas mother-of-two who traveled out of state for an abortion last year after the Supreme Court repealed Roe v. Wade, United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, and Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson. Notably absent is a guest connected to the Israel–Hamas war.
The way Biden addresses “thorny issues may not change any minds,” according to the University of Michigan’s Aaron Kall, “but he can do his best to express empathy and let people know he has the country’s best interests at heart.”
“Special invited guests that often sit with the first lady can also help bolster specific policy proposals during State of the Union addresses,” Kall, who co-wrote and edited The State of the Union is…: Memorable Addresses of the Last Sixty Years, told the Washington Examiner. “This tradition goes all the way back to Ronald Reagan in 1982.”
Here is who will be sitting in Jill Biden’s viewing box, accompanied by an abbreviated description of each guest provided by the White House:
Latorya Beasley, Birmingham, Alabama — Beasley and her husband had their first child through IVF in 2022 and were in the process of expanding their family through another round of treatments when their embryo transfer was canceled because of last month’s Alabama Supreme Court decision.
Kris Blackley, Fort Mill, South Carolina — Blackley is an oncology nurse and the director of patient navigation for the Atrium Health Levine Cancer Institute, part of Advocate Health.
Jazmin Cazares, Uvalde, Texas — Cazares is a gun control advocate. After her sister Jackie was killed in the 2022 shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde, Texas, Cazares spent her senior year of high school traveling across the country, sharing Jackie’s story.
Kate Cox, Dallas — Cox is a mother-of-two from Texas who traveled out of state to receive an abortion that her doctor had recommended after the Supreme Court overturned Roe in 2022.
Samantha Ervin-Upsher, Pittsburgh — Ervin-Upsher is an apprentice with the United Brotherhood of Carpenters Local 432 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain, Detroit
Bettie Mae Fikes, Selma, Alabama — Known as “The Voice of Selma,” Fikes is a singer and civil rights advocate who was a Bloody Sunday Foot Soldier in Selma, Alabama, in 1965.
Steven Hadfield, Matthews, North Carolina — Hadfield has a rare blood cancer and is diabetic, two conditions that require drug treatments.
Augusta, Georgia, Mayor Garnett L. Johnson
Keenan Jones, Plymouth, Minnesota — Jones is a public middle school educator in Minnesota’s Twin Cities and a member of Education Minnesota.
Natalie King, Detroit — King is the founder and CEO of Dunamis Charge, the country’s first-ever black women-owned electric vehicle charger manufacturing company.
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
Gov. Stephen Roe Lewis, Gu-u-Ki, Sacaton, Arizona — Lewis is the governor of the Gila River Indian Community, Arizona.
Commander Shelby Nikitin, Wakefield, Massachusetts — Commander Nikitin is an officer in the U.S. Navy and recently completed her command tour aboard the USS Thomas Hudner. Under her leadership, the ship deployed to protect maritime shipping from Houthi attacks against vessels transiting the Red Sea. For her ship’s actions in this combat zone, Commander Nikitin was awarded the Bronze Star for her extraordinary leadership and bravery in defending lives and protecting the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways.
Justin Phillips, Indianapolis, Indiana — Phillips is the founder and chief executive officer of Overdose Lifeline, a non-profit organization dedicated to reducing the stigma of substance use disorder and preventing deaths resulting from opioid and fentanyl overdose.
Kameryn Pupunu, Lahaina, Hawaii — Pupunu is a police officer for the county of Maui, Hawaii. In August 2023, his hometown of Lahaina was engulfed in flames during one of the deadliest wildfires in U.S history.
Maria Shriver, Los Angeles — Shriver is an author, journalist, founder of the Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement, and strategic adviser on women’s health and Alzheimer’s at the Cleveland Clinic. She is also a member of the Kennedy family and is the former first lady of California.
Dawn Simms, Davis Junction, Illinois — Simms is a member of United Auto Workers Local 126 and third-generation autoworker on the Belvidere, Illinois assembly line.
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Rashawn Spivey, Milwaukee — Spivey is the founder and owner of Hero Plumbing in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Tiffany Zoeller, Fayetteville, North Carolina — Zoeller is a military spouse and works as a medical coder at Fort Liberty’s Womack Army Medical Center.
