(The Hill) — The White House on Tuesday unveiled the list of guests who will sit with first lady Melania Trump at the Capitol during President Donald Trump’s address to a joint session of Congress.
Fifteen individuals will sit with the first lady, with the invited individuals intended to highlight Trump’s accomplishments six weeks into his second term and, in particular, his administration’s priorities around immigration.
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The White House invited Allyson and Lauren Phillips, who are the mother and sister of Laken Riley. Riley was a college student who was killed roughly a year ago in Athens, Georgia, by a Venezuelan migrant who had been arrested for shoplifting ahead of the attack and paroled in the U.S. Her death became a rallying cry for Trump on the campaign trail.
The president and first lady will also host Alexis Nungaray, whose 12-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, was killed by two individuals who entered the country illegally. Also sitting with the first lady will be Roberto Ortiz, who has served as a Border Patrol agent for nearly a decade.
The White House also invited Marc Fogel and his mother, Malphine. Fogel was released from Russia last month as part of an exchange brokered by the Trump administration. Fogel, a teacher from Pennsylvania, had been detained for more than three years in a Russian prison.
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Two White House guests will highlight Trump’s executive actions to ban transgender athletes from women’s sports and to restrict access to gender-affirming care.
The first lady will host Payton McNabb, a former high school volleyball player who said she sustained a concussion after a transgender athlete spiked a ball that hit her head. Melania Trump will also host January Littlejohn, who sued a Florida school board alleging officials “socially transitioned her daughter to a different sexual identity without January and her husband’s knowledge or permission.”
Other guests include the family of Corey Comperatore, who was killed during an assassination attempt at Trump’s rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, last July; Stephanie Diller, the widow of New York police officer Jonathan Diller, who was killed last March at a traffic stop, and Jeff Denard, a steel plant worker from Alabama.
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Two guests will highlight the first lady’s initiatives specifically.
There is Elliston Berry, a 15-year-old who was the victim of deepfake images. Melania Trump traveled to Capitol Hill on Monday for a roundtable on deepfakes and revenge porn legislation. There is also Haley Ferguson, a college student who benefitted from an initiative championed by the first lady to assist foster children.
The president is set to address the joint session of Congress at 9 p.m. EST on Tuesday.
