The US men’s hockey team is expected to attend Trump’s State of the Union address

Members of the US men’s hockey team are expected to attend President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, White House officials said.

The players met again with Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon, a senior White House official said. They also took a picture with their awards and visited the White House, according to a photo and video posted by White House communications adviser Margo Martin.

Twenty members of the team were in the White House (all players except Brock Nelson, Jackson LaCombe, Jake Oettinger, Jake Guentzel and Kyle Connor.)

The administration was working on logistics to get the players to the speech, a White House official said.

Most of the players in the team are going, although some have refused to go. National Hockey League play resumes on Wednesday.

Trump invited the players to the event on Sunday after the team won the gold medal at the Olympics by defeating Canada in overtime. At that time, the president was called on the phone with the players and he joked that he would be fired if he did not invite the women’s team. The US women’s hockey team, which also won gold, declined the invitation on Monday, citing a scheduling conflict.

Top Republican lawmakers say the men’s hockey team will be honored during the president’s address Tuesday evening.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said lawmakers will find a way to “penetrate” the party. He explained that Trump had called him on Sunday night to say he wanted the hockey team to attend the speech – a request that had presented scheduling constraints because, as Johnson told the president, the gallery, where guests sit, was already full.

“We’re going to get things right, and somehow, some way, we’re going to push the hockey players tonight, and it’s going to be a great moment for America,” Johnson told reporters Tuesday. “And it’s a sign for all of us that we all play for the American team.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also told reporters that “we will see them, and we will celebrate them tonight as President Trump addresses America’s 250th birthday.”

The House chamber, where the speech takes place, is usually full of lawmakers, senior officials and guests. The president, first lady and members of Congress bring guests who highlight political and policy priorities. Trump also invited Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, and the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old National Guard member who was shot and killed in Washington, DC, last year.

Ellen Hughes, mother of teammates Jack and Quinn Hughes and a player development consultant for the USA women’s hockey team, was asked about Trump’s impeachment comments in an interview with NBC’s “Today.”

“I think at the end of the day, it’s about the country, and the moment these players, men and women, can bring so much unity to the team and the country,” he said.