LOCALIZE IT: Fired federal workers and others among lawmaker guests at Trump’s speech to Congress

EDITORS/NEWS DIRECTORS

President Donald Trump will stand before a joint session of Congress on Tuesday to give an accounting of his turbulent first weeks in office as a divided nation struggles to keep pace, with some Americans fearing for the country’s future while others are cheering him on.

It will be the latest milestone in Trump’s total takeover of the nation’s capital where the Republican-led House and Senate have done little to restrain the president as he and his allies work to slash the size of the federal government and remake America’s place in the world. With a tight grip on his party, Trump has been emboldened to take sweeping actions after overcoming impeachments and criminal prosecutions.

The White House said Trump’s theme would be the “renewal of the American dream,” and he was expected to lay out his achievements since returning to the White House, as well as appeal to Congress to provide more money to finance his aggressive immigration crackdown.

Democrats, many of whom stayed away from Trump’s inauguration in January, were largely brushing aside calls for boycotts as they struggle to come up with an effective counter to the president.

Instead, they chose to highlight the impact of Trump’s actions by inviting fired federal workers as guests. They also invited guests who would be harmed by steep federal budget cuts to Medicaid and other programs.

Republicans lawmakers, too, are trying to make a point with their invited guests.

See below for a list of lawmakers who have announced who they are bringing and below that, the announced guests of the president and first lady Melania Trump. President Trump will also call out to some “special guests” during the address, press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” on Tuesday.

This guide may be updated.

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READ AP’S COVERAGE

How to watch the first joint address to Congress of Trump’s second term

Trump will stand before Congress and offer divided nation an accounting of his turbulent first weeks

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USE THIS VIDEO

Why Trump’s joint remarks to Congress won’t be a ‘State of the Union’ address

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HOW TO WATCH THE JOINT CONGRESSIONAL ADDRESS

A number of networks have said they plan to air the Republican president’s address across their broadcast and streaming platforms, with special programming before and afterward. It begins at 9:10 p.m. Eastern. The Associated Press will air a livestream online at apnews.com and on its YouTube channel.

After Trump’s speech, Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin will give the Democrats’ message in response, also televised. Democratic leaders say Slotkin will likely focus on economic issues. Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York will give a Spanish-language response, coming days after Trump signed an executive order designating English as the official U.S. language.

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FIND YOUR STATE: ARE YOUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATES BRINGING GUESTS?

The following is a list of some of the guests that various senators and representatives have announced they’re bringing to the president’s joint congressional address. Note that this is not a comprehensive list, and you may want to check with your local delegates if they’re not included here.

ARIZONA

— Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, guest: Kyle Rahn, a disabled veteran and federal worker who was recently fired as part of DOGE cuts the federal workforce.

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CALIFORNIA

— Democratic Sen. Alex Padilla, guest: Frank Líma, a longtime Los Angeles City fire captain and firefighter union leader.

— Democratic Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), guest: Capt. Vincent Culliver, a federal firefighter for the Vandenberg Space Force Base Fire Department, who was on the frontlines of the Eaton fire and is a firefighter union president.

— Democratic Rep. Laura Friedman, guest: Eric Rowley, president of a local fire fighters union in Burbank.

— Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez, guest: Dr. Ilan Shapiro, a community health pediatrician in Los Angeles whose work includes caring for patients who rely on Medicaid, according to a press release from Gomez’s office.

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COLORADO

— Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet, guest: Jamie Werner, a former program management specialist with the White River National Forest Supervisor’s Office in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, who was impacted by mass firings of probationary employees last month, according to the senator’s press release.

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CONNECTICUT

— Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal, guest: Michael Missal, the former Inspector General for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

— Democratic Rep. Joe Courtney, guest: Gabriel D’Alatri, a Marine veteran laid off from the IRS on Feb. 20 as part of the Trump administration’s federal workforce cuts.

— Democratic Rep. Jim Himes, guest: Mollie Melbourne, CEO of the Southwest Community Health Center in Bridgeport.

— Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro, guest: Julia Miller, Connecticut’s 2025 Teacher of the Year and a civics teacher at Metropolitan Business Academy in New Haven.

— Democratic Rep. John Larson, guest: Kara Satalino, a mother of four from Berlin, Connecticut, and member of the Connecticut Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation whose 9-year-old daughter has cystic fibrosis.

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FLORIDA

— Democratic Rep. Maxwell Frost, guest: Wilna Destin, former labor organizer and a Haitian who holds temporary protected status.

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IOWA

— Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, guest: Scott Root, father of the late Sarah Root, who died on the night of her 2016 college graduation in a vehicle crash involving an immigrant who was in the country without legal authority.

— Republican Rep. Ashley Hinson, guest: Emily Schmitt, chair of the Iowa DOGE Task Force.

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KENTUCKY

— Democratic Rep. Morgan McGarvey, guest: Dr. Kim Schatzel, president of the University of Louisville, a public research university impacted by Trump’s freeze on federal funding, including funds for the National Institute’s of Health, according to a press release from the Congressman’s office.

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LOUISIANA

— Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, guests:

— Noa Argamani, who was taken hostage in the Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war in Gaza. She and three other hostages were rescued by Israeli forces last June.

— Olivia Hayes, the widow of Wesley Hayes, a man killed in a drunk-driving accident in Louisiana by a person in the country illegally, according to a press release from the speaker’s office.

— Tom Homan, border czar

— Ben Dell, Commonwealth LNG chair and managing partner of Commonwealth’s owner, Kimmeridge Texas Gas

— Ben Shapiro and Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire, a conservative media site.

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MARYLAND

— Democratic Rep. Sarah Elfreth, guest: Rob Shriver, a managing director at Democracy Forward, an advocacy group organizing lawsuits against the Trump administration, and former acting director of the Office of Personnel Management.

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MINNESOTA

— Democratic Sen. Tina Smith, guest: Kate Severson, a former Park Ranger at Voyageurs National Park in Northern Minnesota impacted by DOGE firings of federal workers.

— Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar, guest: Gary Wertish, a third-generation farmer from Renville County, Minnesota, and president of the Minnesota Farmers Union.

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NEVADA

— Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, guest: Jason Shipman, principal at Florence Drake Elementary School in Sparks, Nevada.

— Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, guests: a Las Vegas teenager, Dominic Rampa, who has relied on Medicaid since he was a child to treat numerous genetic disorders and other health conditions will be joined by his mother, Rebecca Ennis, according to the Senator’s office.

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NEW HAMPSHIRE

— Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, guest: Cheri Bryer, a Medicaid beneficiary of Lebanon, New Hampshire.

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NEW YORK

— Democratic Rep. Grace Meng, guest: Luke Graziani from Woodside, Queens, a veteran terminated from his job at a New York City veterans hospital, per a press release from the representative.

— Democratic Rep. Laura Gillen, guest: Ricky Sanchez, a U.S. Army veteran, and former Department of Homeland Security from her district.

— Democratic Rep. Tom Suozzi, guest: Ronen Neutra, whose son was an IDF soldier killed in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

— One or more representatives invited the following Long Island law enforcement and first responder union leaders as guests: Lou Civello, the president of the Suffolk County Police Benevolent Association, a union that endorsed Trump, and Andrew Ansbro, president of the Uniformed Firefighters Association of Greater New York.

— Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, guests:

— Emma Larson, a 12-year-old from Smithtown, New York with spinal muscular dystrophy who benefitted from a new drug trial when she was a toddler. The lab in Cold Spring, New York where the treatment was studied receives millions in NIH reimbursements to fund their work, per a press release from the senator.

— Alissa Ellman, a disabled Army veteran from Lockport, New York, who was fired by DOGE from her job at the Buffalo VA where she worked in veteran benefits.

— Tiffany Ramos, a USDA worker. According to Schumer’s press release, Ramos was fired from her position at the rural development office where she worked with businesses and farmers.

— Jessica Martinez, a Medicaid recipient from Peekskill, New York

— Ana Medina Garcia, a Medicaid recipient and home healthcare worker

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OHIO

— Democratic Rep. Greg Landsman, guest: Ken Green, a Cincinnati man living with Type 1 diabetes, who struggles with the high cost of prescription drugs, according to Landsman’s office. Landsman is pushing legislation that he says will reduce prescription costs and create more transparency.

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PENNSYLVANIA

— Republican Rep. Rob Bresnahan, guest: Don Williams, the father of slain federal correctional officer Eric Williams who was killed by an inmate at a federal prison in Canaan, Pennsylvania in 2013.

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OREGON

— Democratic Rep. Andrea Salinas, guest: Yamhill County Commissioner and dairy farmer, Bubba King.

— Democratic Rep. Janelle Bynum, guest: Liz Crandall, a former United States Forest Service Ranger from Bend, Oregon, who was fired by DOGE.

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VIRGINIA

— Democratic Sen. Mark Warner, guest: Ashley Ranalli, a former National Park Service ranger at Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park until last month when she was fired as part of the DOGE cuts of probationary workers.

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FIND YOUR STATE: GUESTS OF THE WHITE HOUSE

ALABAMA

— Jeff Denard, steel plant worker, volunteer firefighter and foster parent, from Decatur, Alabama.

FLORIDA

— January Littlejohn, a parent from Tallahassee, who sued the Leon County School Board in 2021 alleging that school officials excluded her and her husband from conversations about their child’s gender identity and violated their rights.

GEORGIA

— Allyson and Lauren Phillips, the mother and sister of Laken Riley, from Woodstock, Georgia. Laken Riley was a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who was killed last year by a Venezuelan man in the U.S. illegally. President Trump signed the bipartisan Laken Riley Act into law in January, giving federal authorities broader power to deport immigrants in the U.S. illegally who have been accused of crimes.

NEW YORK

— Stephanie Diller, the widow of New York Police Department Officer Jonathan Diller, who was killed in the line of duty during a traffic stop in March 2024.

NORTH CAROLINA

— Payton McNabb, a former high school volleyball player from Murphy, North Carolina who says she suffered a concussion and neck injury in 2022 after a transgender athlete hit her in the head with a volleyball during a school match.

PENNSYLVANIA

— Helen, Allyson, and Kaylee Comperatore of Sarvare, Pennsylvania, are the widow and daughters of Corey Comperatore, the former Pennsylvania fire chief who was killed as he protected his family during an assassination attempt on Trump at a rally in Butler in July 2024.

— Marc Fogel, the Pennsylvania teacher who came home last month after years of detention in Russia, and his 95-year-old mother, Malphine.

TEXAS

— Elliston Berry, a 15-year-old from Aledo, Texas, who was the victim of an explicit deepfake image sent to classmates.

— Alexis Nungaray, of Houston, whose 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, was killed by two suspected Venezuelan gang members

— Roberto Ortiz, a border patrol agent and Navy veteran from Weslaco, Texas.

TENNESSEE

— Haley Ferguson, a senior at Middle Tennessee State University, and the recipient of a scholarship for children who were in the foster care system that’s part of the first lady’s “Be Best” children’s initiative.

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READ ADDITIONAL AP COVERAGE

Trump’s speech to Congress comes as he wields vast power almost daring lawmakers, courts to stop him

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Localize It is a reporting resource produced by The Associated Press for its customers’ use. Questions can be directed to Katie Oyan at koyan@ap.org.