The 20 Guests Who Will Sit With Jill Biden at the State of the Union

Twenty guests will join Jill Biden to watch the State of the Union address from the first lady’s viewing box in the House chamber on Thursday, a lineup set to draw sharp distinctions with Republicans as President Biden seeks to highlight his achievements and press his advantage on issues like reproductive rights.

Among the guests are a woman from Alabama whose in vitro fertilization treatments were stopped after a state court decision, and another from Texas who was denied an abortion in the state despite what her doctors said would be health complications from the pregnancy. Their presence signals Mr. Biden’s emphasis on an issue that has lifted Democrats in recent elections as he faces a rematch with former President Donald J. Trump, whom he trails in many polls.

They are among a number of guests intended to touch on health policy, including Maria Shriver, the journalist who has become a women’s health advocate.

Also on the list are the head of the United Automobile Workers and a number of union members, as the president seeks to burnish his labor bona fides. Other guests, including a mayor, a police officer and the prime minister of Sweden, represent a range of issues, from student debt forgiveness to infrastructure to jobs programs.

The wars in Ukraine and Gaza that have consumed so much of Mr. Biden’s time in the past year received scant representation. The White House had hoped that Olena Zelenska, the first lady of Ukraine, and Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, would attend, but both said they could not make it. The only guest connected with the Middle East crisis will be a U.S. Navy commander who earned a Bronze Star protecting ships from Houthi rebels.

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