Gov. Spencer Cox will be the guest of Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) at a joint session of Congress on Feb. 7 to hear President Joe Biden’s annual State of the Union Address.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is looking forward to a big week in the nation’s capitol.
On Monday, it was announced that Cox would be the guest of Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) when President Joe Biden delivers his annual State of the Union address tonight.
As usual, that speech will be delivered to a standing-room-only joint session of Congress in the House of Representatives, with the House galleries packed with symbolic guests.
“Coming together for the State of the Union is a long-standing American tradition,” Cox said. “I’m honored to join Sen. Lee as his guest in representing Utah.”
“Coming together” doesn’t really seem to be on the agenda for most members of Congress, however.
This will be Biden’s first State of the Union address since Republicans regained control of the House of Representatives.
Although Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have called for a respectful event, Republicans are ready to challenge the president on a series of foreign affairs blunders, including the Chinese balloon that sailed across the U.S. last weekend and the bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan.
Cox will rub shoulders with other Capitol Hill guests invited to highlight those concerns. Among them will be Roya Rahmani of Afghanistan, that country’s former first female ambassador to the United States.
Republicans have also invited guest intended to illustrate that Democrats are soft on crime, including Jordan Zaitz, a Portand police officer who serves on the front lines in that liberal city’s battle with drugs; and Jeffery T. Smith, a county sheriff from upstate New York.
Democrats will fight back by inviting guests whose lives have been impacted by police misconduct. They include RowVaughan and Rodney Wells, the mother and stepfather of the late Tyre Nichols; Michael Brown, Sr., whose son was shot by Ferguson police in 2014, igniting the Black Lives Matter movement; and former Milwaukee Bucks basketball player Sterling Brown, who was tackled and tased by police in 2018; and similar others.
Despite all this virtue signaling, Lee defended his old-fashioned, politically-motivated guest invitation to Cox.
“The state of the union and the state of Utah are inextricably linked,” Lee argued. “In the months and years ahead, Utah will face a host of challenges requiring a strong relationship between our state and federal governments.
“Cox is a lifelong Utahn whose grasp of the issues and connections to the state place him on a unique position to help navigate Utah through the challenges ahead.”
After a day off Wednesday, Cox will attend the National Governors Association winter meeting, also being held in Washington.
During that five-day gathering, the governors of all 55 states, commonwealths and territories plan to join federal officials and leaders from business, academia and philanthropy for solutions-driven conversations around the top issues in states and territories.
Cox’s personal agenda while in the nation’s capitol includes being interviewed by the Washington Post on Thursday; speaking at a White House business session; attending a luncheon at the home of the French ambassador; and a formal dinner at the White House.
Founded in 1908, the National Governors Association (NGA) is the bipartisan voice of the nation’s 55 governors.
Through the NGA, the governors share best practices; address issues of national and state interest; and share innovative solutions that improve state governments and support the principles of federalism.