Members of the U.S. 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 visited the White House on Tuesday afternoon, where they posed for a photo with their medals and took a tour of the White House, according to a photo and video posted by White House communications adviser Margo Martin.
Twenty members of the team were at White House (all players but Brock Nelson, Jackson LaCombe, Jake Oettinger, Jake Guentzel and Kyle Connor.)
The administration had been working through logistics so the players could attend the speech, a White House official said.
Most players on the team are making the trip, though some have declined to attend. National Hockey League games resume on Wednesday.
Trump invited the players on Sunday after the team won the Olympic gold medal in an overtime victory against Canada. At the time, on a phone call with the players, the president joked that he would be impeached if he did not also invite the women's team. The U.S. women's hockey team, which also won gold, declined the invitation on Monday, citing scheduling conflicts.
Top Republican lawmakers said the men's hockey team would be honored during the president's speech Tuesday evening.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said lawmakers would find a way "squeeze in" the team. He explained that Trump called him Sunday night to say that he wanted the hockey team to attend the speech -- a request that presented logistical hurdles because, as Johnson told the president, the gallery, where guests sit, was already full.
"We're going to work out logistics, and somehow, some way, we'll squeeze in the hockey players tonight, and it'll be a great moment for America," Johnson told reporters on Tuesday. "And it really is a symbol to all of us that we all play for America's team."
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also told reporters that "we're going to see them, and we're going to celebrate them tonight as President Trump talks about the 250th birthday of America."
The House chamber, where the speech takes place, is typically packed with lawmakers, top officials and guests. The president, first lady and members of Congress bring guests who highlight their political and policy priorities. Trump also invited Erika Kirk, the widow of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, and the parents of Sarah Beckstrom, the 20-year-old National Guard member who was shot and killed in Washington, D.C., last yea.
Ellen Hughes, who is the mother of men's team players Jack and Quinn Hughes and also a player development consultant for the U.S. 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 just about the country, and the moment that these players, both the men and women, can bring so much unity to a group and to a country,"
she said.