Texans on State of the Union guest list underscore messages on abortion, guns, immigration

WASHINGTON — A Texas woman who said she nearly died from a bacterial infection because doctors could not legally perform an abortion even though the fetus was no longer viable will be a guest in First Lady Jill Biden’s box for President Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address tonight.

Amanda Zurawski and her husband, Josh, are examples of Americans whose lives have been greatly affected in Texas and more than a dozen other states that have effectively banned abortion. Additional restrictions are in the works in many of those states in wake of last year’s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe vs. Wade, a Dallas case that established federal abortion rights protections a half-century ago.

Biden and other Democrats have been strongly critical of the actions still being taken in those states, typically run by Republican lawmakers, so having a guest who endured heartbreak and hardship under those restrictions as a guest in the first lady’s box is not surprising. Biden has vowed to do all he can to preserve access to abortion.

Presidents routinely have guests who underscore key issues they bring up in State of the Union speeches, and Zurawski’s story illustrates the difficulties patients and physicians face in miscarriage and maternal health care after the Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs vs. Jackson in June.

Other White House guests include the parents of Tyre Nichols, the ambassador of Ukraine, the still-recovering Paul Pelosi, the man who stopped the gunman in the Monterey Park shooting and a Holocaust survivor. Musician and activist Bono is on the guest list as well.

Also getting a coveted seat inside the U.S. House chamber for Biden’s speech is Dallas Democratic Mayor Eric Johnson, thanks to an invitation he received from a former Republican colleague of his in the state Legislature.

“We were deskmates in the Texas House,” said Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Terrell, “but more noteworthy than our friendship is the fine job he’s doing for the citizens of Dallas.”

Johnson thanked Gooden for the invitation and “his continuing partnership on issues that affect our mutual constituents.”

Each member of the House and Senate can select one guest to the State of the Union. Those invited have the chance to witness the pomp and pageantry that goes with the prime time, nationally televised speech.

Some Texas lawmakers kept it simple and delivered their golden tickets to a spouse, close friend or valued aide.

Others followed a Capitol Hill tradition of picking guests with an inherent political message.

To highlight concerns over gun violence, Rep. Greg Casar, D-Austin, is bringing Brett Cross, father of 10-year-old Uziyah Garcia, who was killed in the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Casar coordinated with Rep. Maxwell Frost, D-Fla., whose guest lost his son in the 2018 Stoneman Douglas High School rampage.

“Brett Cross has been such a powerful voice for his son and for all Americans,” Casar said in a statement. “No child, no parent, no community should have to go through what Texans suffered in Uvalde or what Floridians suffered in Parkland.”

Casar wants red flag laws, universal background checks, an end to permitless carry and a ban on assault weapon sales.

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, announced on his Monday podcast that his guest will be Levi Beaird, a Navy officer from Fort Worth who has faced repercussions for refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccine.

Beaird sought a religious exemption but that request and his appeals were denied.

Cruz successfully pushed for a provision in the recently enacted National Defense Authorization Act that repealed the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

He also has introduced a proposal to reinstate and provide back pay to service members who were dismissed for refusing to take the vaccine.

Even with the mandate repealed, critics say vaccine status is still being used to determine assignments and deployments.

“It’s rescinded really in name only, not in practice,” Beaird told Fox News.

Cruz said Beaird was threatened with dismissal and told to repay $75,000 he was given ahead of a promotion to department head that was blocked after his refusal to get the vaccine.

“It really underscores how grotesquely unfair Joe Biden’s policies are,” Cruz said.

Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Austin, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, invited former Afghan Ambassador to the United States Roya Rahmani to invoke the dire situation facing women in that country. McCaul plans to have the committee examine the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Since the withdrawal, McCaul said in a statement, women in Afghanistan have lost their rights and can no longer go to school or even venture outside without a male companion.

“I hope my invitation and Ambassador Rahamani’s presence will send a signal to the women of Afghanistan that they have not been forgotten,” McCaul said. “I am going to fight every day to hold those responsible accountable for what happened, and to help Afghan women in any way I can.”

To underscore calls for legislation addressing police misconduct, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, invited Philonise Floyd, the brother of George Floyd, who was killed when Minneapolis police officers pinned his neck to the ground in May 2020.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Austin, invited Scott Smith of Loudoun County, Va. – where Roy grew up. Smith was arrested at a school board meeting where he was speaking against a transgender bathroom policy.

Smith’s daughter was sexually assaulted in a school bathroom. His arrest went viral and helped fuel a surge of parents’ rights activism that was key to Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s upset win over Democrat Terry McAuliffe.

Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Fort Worth, invited Douglas Interiano, CEO of Proyecto Inmigrante Immigration Counseling Services in Dallas.

Interiano “emphasizes the critical role immigrants play” in the nation’s economy, Veasey said.

“As cities and towns across the country continue to grapple with the labor shortage, it’s time for Congress to capitalize on economic migration and pass comprehensive immigration reform,” Veasey said.

Pharah Hogan, principal of Richland Elementary School, will attend as the guest of Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas. As the son of a public school teacher, Allred said, he’s aware top-notch educators don’t always receive the recognition they’re due.

“I will keep working to get schools the resources they need so every kid in North Texas has the tools they need to succeed and chase their version of the American dream,” Allred said.

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