White House Releases List of Special Guests for Trump's Address to the Joint Session of Congress
President Donald Trump will deliver an address to a joint session of Congress tonight, marking the first time he has spoken before both chambers since returning to the White House.
Traditionally, presidents address Congress shortly after taking office to outline a vision or agenda for the country. However, Trump has waited about six weeks to make his first speech before lawmakers. The first speech to Congress in a presidential term is technically not a "State of the Union Address" but rather an "Address to a Joint Session of Congress."
'Everyday Americans' Invited as Special Guests
First Lady Melania Trump and the president have invited a remarkable group of Americans as their special guests tonight.
"These men, women, and families come from all different walks of life with incredible stories about the disaster wrought by the previous administration, and the historic achievements President Trump has already enacted to usher in the Golden Age of America," reads a press statement from the White House.
Those invited include:
The Family of Corey Comperatore
Helen, Allyson, and Kaylee Comperatore, who are the surviving family members of Corey Comperatore. He was a firefighter who was killed by the gunman who also shot President Trump during a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania in July 2024.
Marc and Malphine Fogel
Marc and Malphine Fogel from Butler, PA will also attend. Marc is an American history teacher who was held hostage by the Russian government and wrongfully sentenced to 14 years in a Russian prison.
On February 12th, President Trump fulfilled his promise to Malphine, Marc's 95-year-old mother, that he would bring Marc home.
"Sometimes, there's nowhere to go except on your knees," Malphine previously told CBN News Digital. "We just prayed on regular intervals. We just put our faith in God — we really did. And it worked."
After arriving on American soil, Fogel thanked the president, adding, "I want you to know that I am not a hero in this at all. And President Trump is a hero."
The Family of Laken Riley
Trump is also honoring the life of Laken Riley, a young female nursing student who was murdered by an illegal alien during a morning jog. The president has invited her mother, Allyson Philips, and sister, Lauren Phillips, to the address.
The Biden administration apprehended and released Laken's murderer into the country under its "reckless open border policies," the White House said in a statement. The very first bill President Trump signed into law this year was named in Laken's honor.
In a series of posts following her death, Allyson said it would be easy to lose "faith in mankind" after her daughter's murder, but expressed that God has guided her family through everything they've faced, and expressed gratitude for the support and love she and her family have been given by their community.
"My family has faced the most devastating, unimaginable loss that anyone could ever be (forced) to endure," she wrote. "I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for being with me and my family during this heartbreaking time."
Phillips continued, "I encourage everyone to have a personal relationship with Jesus. I give Him all the glory for getting us through this."
Alexis Nungaray
The Trumps have also invited Alexis Nungaray of Houston, Texas. Alexis' 12-year-old daughter was murdered at the hands of two illegal aliens during a walk to a corner store.
The Biden administration apprehended and released those migrants into the country just weeks before Jocelyn's murder.
Victims of the Trans Agenda
The president and first lady have also invited two guests who were severely affected by dangerous pro-trans policies adopted by the Biden administration.
January Littlejohn from Tallahassee, FL is a mother and parents' rights advocate who sued the School Board of Leon County after school officials at her daughter's middle school socially transitioned her daughter to a different sexual identity without January and her husband's knowledge or permission.
"The school drove a wedge between January's daughter and her parents, and deceived January about their covert plan to transition her daughter," said a White House press statement.
"I am incredibly grateful to @realdonaldtrump & @melaniatrump for this opportunity to share our story & protect other families from the gross parental rights violations that are occurring in schools across our country," Littlejohn wrote on Instagram Tuesday. "No child is born in the wrong body & schools must stop these secret social transitions that are creating a huge wedge between the parent/child relationship & ultimately harming the child. Thank you, President Trump, for working to restore truth, reality, and a family-first agenda in our great nation! Gob bless you both!"
Payton McNabb from Murphy, NC is a former high school athlete who had her dreams of competing in college sports crushed in a September 2022 volleyball match when a biological man playing on the opposing women's team spiked the volleyball into Payton's face.
It left Payton with a traumatic brain injury, partial paralysis, and loss of peripheral vision on her right side.
"I was hit so severely by a transgender athlete that I was knocked unconscious, lying in a fetal position for about 30 seconds. And then from that I sustained a concussion and neck injury that have long-term effects that I'm still dealing with today," she told CBN News.
Payton joined the Independent Women's Forum and has made it her mission to put an end to this type of brutal unfairness in women's sports.
Her appearance at tonight's speech comes after the Senate failed the 60 votes needed to pass legislation banning transgender athletes from competing in female sports.
On X she shared a list of Senate Democrats who voted against the measure writing, "The @SenateDems had the chance to protect girls and women from experiencing what happened to me. Instead, they chose to abandon women—even those with daughters of their own. This is a betrayal. Vote them out."
Meanwhile, she wrote on X Tuesday that it was an honor to attend tonight's speech.
Such an incredible honor to be a guest of @POTUS and @MELANIATRUMP for the State of the Union. I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to be present and to have my story recognized as part of the fight to protect women’s sports.
— Payton McNabb (@paytonmcnabb_) March 4, 2025
Thank you for giving a voice to this issue!!!
"I am deeply grateful for this opportunity to be present and to have my story recognized as part of the fight to protect women's sports," she wrote. Thank you for giving a voice to this issue!!!"
