SOTU guest list includes Tyre Nichols' family and U2's Bono


President Biden will deliver his 2023 State of the Union address on Tuesday at 9 p.m., and, like any high-profile political event, the guest list includes a few notable names.
"Each of these individuals were invited by the White House because they personify issues or themes to be addressed by the president in his speech, or they embody the Biden-Harris administration's policies at work for the American people," the White House said in a release detailing the attendees planning to join second gentleman Doug Emhoff and first lady Jill Biden in her viewing box.
Among the 26 VIPs are Brandon Tsay, a bystander credited with disarming the gunman who killed 11 in Jan. 21 mass shooting in Monterey Park, California, as well as Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the United States, who was invited a second time "in recognition of sustained U.S. support for Ukraine nearly a year after Russia launched its unprovoked attack."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
RowVaughn and Rodney Wells — the mother and stepfather of 29-year-old Tyre Nichols, who died in the hospital after a group of Memphis police officers beat him during a traffic stop — will also join Biden and Emhoff in the viewing box. "President Biden has made clear that we must take action to prevent tragedies like this from ever happening again," the White House said in its statement. "In addition to signing an executive order last year, the president continues to call on Congress to send the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to his desk."
Additional selected attendees include Rep. Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) husband Paul Pelosi, who was attacked with a hammer at the couple's home in fall 2022; Saria Gwin-Maye, an ironworker and union member who will get the opportunity to work on "significant projects nationwide as a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law"; and U2 lead singer Bono, who the administration described as a "groundbreaking activist in the fight against HIV/AIDS and extreme poverty."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Southern barbecue: This year’s top three
Feature A weekend-only restaurant, a 90-year-old pitmaster, and more
-
Film reviews: Anemone and The Smashing Machine
Feature A recluse receives an unwelcome guest and a pioneering UFC fighter battles addiction
-
Music reviews: Geese, Jeff Tweedy, and Mariah Carey
Feature “Getting Killed,” “Twilight Override,” and “Here for It All”
-
Bondi stonewalls on Epstein, Comey in Senate face-off
Speed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi denied charges of using the Justice Department in service of Trump’s personal vendettas
-
Court allows Trump’s Texas troops to head to Chicago
Speed Read Trump is ‘using our service members as pawns in his illegal effort to militarize our nation’s cities,’ said Gov. J.B. Pritzker
-
Judge bars Trump’s National Guard moves in Oregon
Speed Read In an emergency hearing, a federal judge blocked President Donald Trump from sending National Guard troops into Portland
-
Museum head ousted after Trump sword gift denial
Speed Read Todd Arrington, who led the Dwight D. Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum, denied the Trump administration a sword from the collection as a gift for King Charles
-
Trump declares ‘armed conflict’ with drug cartels
speed read This provides a legal justification for recent lethal military strikes on three alleged drug trafficking boats
-
Supreme Court rules for Fed’s Cook in Trump feud
Speed Read Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook can remain in her role following Trump’s attempts to oust her
-
Judge rules Trump illegally targeted Gaza protesters
Speed Read The Trump administration’s push to arrest and deport international students for supporting Palestine is deemed illegal
-
Trump: US cities should be military ‘training grounds’
Speed Read In a hastily assembled summit, Trump said he wants the military to fight the ‘enemy within’ the US