The United States women’s ice hockey team has declined the White House’s invitation to attend the State of the Union address on Tuesday evening due to scheduling problems.
“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,” a USA Hockey spokesperson said in a statement. “They were honored to be included and are grateful for the acknowledgment.”
The women’s Olympic team, which won the gold medal on Thursday as it bested Canada 2-1 in overtime, told NBC News that it could not make the event “due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”
President Donald Trump invited the women’s and men’s teams to his State of the Union address after the latter also took home the gold medal in a 2-1 overtime thriller against Canada. The president congratulated the men’s team in a postgame phone call as FBI Director Kash Patel, a hockey fan, celebrated with the team in the locker room.
“We’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night. I can send the military plane or something. But if you would like to, it’s the coolest night,” Trump said on the phone call as the players answered with cheers.
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On Monday, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said he was “trying to work out logistics” to seat the two teams in the House chamber for the president’s speech.
“There’s no way to have special guests on the floor because it’s a literal session of Congress,” Johnson told reporters. “But we’re going to work and do what we can to accommodate.”