House scrambling to host hockey teams at State of the Union, Johnson says

Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday House officials are scrambling to find a way to accommodate the gold-medal-winning U.S. men and women’s hockey teams at Tuesday’s State of the Union address.

Johnson told reporters Monday he’s working to “figure out logistics” now for a potential visit from the teams, which were each invited by the White House and have dozens of players and coaches on their rosters.

“There’s no way to have special guests on the floor because it’s a literal session of Congress,” he said. “But we’re going to work and do what we can to accommodate.”

The speaker added that House officials are “trying to work out logistics to see if there’s some way to perhaps get them into the gallery and the doors, wave and receive the applause that they’re due.”

Neither team has announced plans to attend the speech, though Trump personally invited the men’s team in the immediate aftermath of their overtime win Sunday, offering to send a military jet to bring them to Washington.

A spokesperson for the women’s team told NBC News that while its members are “sincerely grateful” for the invitation, they cannot attend the speech “due to the timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments.”