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The U.S. women’s hockey team said it has to decline an invitation from President Donald Trump to attend the state of the union address on Tuesday night.
“We are sincerely grateful for the invitation extended to our gold medal-winning U.S. women’s hockey team and deeply appreciate the recognition of their extraordinary achievement,” the team said in a statement released Monday. “Due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments following the Games, the athletes are unable to participate. They were honoured to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”
Logistics played a role in the decision, as many of the players were not scheduled to arrive in North America until Monday evening. The men’s team flew by charter to Miami earlier Monday. The women took a commercial flight and were scheduled to land in Atlanta.
Trump invited the U.S. men’s gold medal-winning team on a phone call to congratulate the team as it celebrated in the dressing room in Italy after its win over Canada.
“I could send a military plane or something, if you would like to — it’s the coolest night, it’s the biggest speech,” Trump said, according to a recording of the phone call obtained by multiple media outlets.
Trump was interrupted before finishing his thoughts, with multiple unidentified players saying, “We’re in.”
Trump in his phone call also alluded to having the team come to the White House at some point for a ceremony.
“I’m gonna shake hands with everybody, but I gotta shake hands with that goalie,” said Trump in reference to Connor Hellebuyck, the Winnipeg Jets goalie who stonewalled Canada in the final.
‘I probably would be impeached’
When extending the state of the union invitation to the men’s team on Sunday night, Trump said, “I must tell you, we’re going to have to bring the women’s team, you do know that.”
Several players appear to laugh, while one can be heard saying, “Absolutely.”
Trump joked that if he did not also invite the women’s team, “I do believe I probably would be impeached.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the status of both teams.
Matthew Tkachuk, after arriving in Miami, said it was an honour to hear from Trump after the win.
“We are definitely honoured to represent him and the millions and millions across the country,” said the Florida Panthers forward.
The wins by the men’s and women’s hockey teams were among 12 gold medals for the United States at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, with the country racking up 33 medals in total.
The NHL regular season resumes with five games on Wednesday, and there are nine players on the U.S. men’s roster whose teams play that night.
The PWHL slate of games picks up again after the Olympic break on Thursday.
Nearly 1,000 attend a typical address
Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson, in comments reported by several media outlets, including Politico and Fox News, said the logistics of hosting such a large group were being figured out.
“There’s no way to have special guests on the floor because it’s a literal session of Congress,” he said. “But we’re going to work and do what we can to accommodate.”
A typical state of the union address has about 950 people jamming into the House chamber, including senators, White House officials and Supreme Court justices.
The address on Tuesday may depart from tradition in that several Democratic legislators say they will not attend in protest of the policies and actions of Trump’s second presidential administration.
Sen. Adam Schiff, of California, said he will not be present, for the first time ever since entering Congress in 2001.
“Donald Trump is violating the law and constitution. He is ignoring court orders, he is weaponizing the Justice Department to go after his enemies, he is letting loose [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] troops in our streets that are getting people killed.”
Dozens of special guests usually attend the address, but rarely large groups. Johnson has invited the family of a slain Louisiana police officer, while other guests who have been invited include a daughter of imprisoned Hong Kong media baron Jimmy Lai, several women who say they were victimized by the late Jeffrey Epstein, and Marimar Martinez, a Chicago woman who survived being shot five times by a federal immigration agent.
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