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State of the Union 2019: Here are 6 of the most noteworthy guests

Transgender veterans, undocumented Trump resort workers, and border patrol officers will come as Congressional guests.

State of the Union 2019: Here are 6 of the most noteworthy guests

[Photo: Joyce N. Boghosian/The White House/Flickr]

BY Steven Melendez1 minute read

When President Trump delivers the State of the Union address before Congress on Tuesday night, legislators from both parties will be looking to score political points, highlight issues in the news, and honor chosen causes with their invited guests. Among them will be:

  • Victorina Morales, an undocumented immigrant who worked at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey before disclosing her legal status, invited by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-New Jersey.
  • Manny Padilla, head of the Border Patrol’s Joint Task Force-West in San Antonio and former sector chief for the Rio Grande Valley. He’s coming as the guest of Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas.
  • Ana Maria Archila, an activist who became famous for confronting then-Senator Jeff Flake in an elevator over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court. She’ll be the guest of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York.
  • Chris Green, an Ohio police officer who was rushed to the hospital after being exposed to the powerful opioid drug fentanyl during a 2017 drug arrest. He was invited by Bill Johnson, an Ohio Republican representative.
  • Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Megan Winters, who is one of the plaintiffs suing to overturn the administration’s ban on transgender people serving in the military. She was invited by Rep. A. Donald McEachin, D-Virginia, and will be one of several transgender service members and veterans attending the speech as guests of Congressional Democrats.
  • Nadia Murad, an activist and member of Iraq’s minority Yazidi ethnic group who was kidnapped and held by ISIS for roughly three months in 2014. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2018 for work against sexual violence in war and has been invited to the State of the Union by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Nebraska.
  • UPDATE: José Andrés, the chef and humanitarian who recently wrote the book We Fed an Island about his work to provide food to Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria. He was invited by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-California.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Steven Melendez is an independent journalist living in New Orleans. More


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