Several congresswomen are wearing white tonight

State of the Union 2020

By Meg Wagner

Updated 2:25 p.m. ET, February 5, 2020
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8:47 p.m. ET, February 4, 2020

Several congresswomen are wearing white tonight

Representative from Minnesota Ilhan Omar and Democratic members from the House of Representatives wearing white attend the State Of The Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2020. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Representative from Minnesota Ilhan Omar and Democratic members from the House of Representatives wearing white attend the State Of The Union address at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on February 4, 2020. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Several Democratic lawmakers arrived at to the State of the Union address wearing white dresses and suits.

This isn't the first year white outfits have been spotted during the annual address.

Last year, the House Democratic Women's Working Group invited women of both parties to wear white to the address as a symbol of solidarity.

"Wearing suffragette white is a respectful message of solidarity with women across the country, and a declaration that we will not go back on our hard-earned rights," Rep. Lois Frankel of Florida, the chair of the working group, told CNN at the time.

In 2017, the same group coordinated Democratic women wearing white to Trump's joint address to Congress. At the time, the women said they were wearing white not only in memory of the women's suffrage movement but also to show Trump their support for a number of issues affecting women, including affordable health care, reproductive rights and equal pay.

8:46 p.m. ET, February 4, 2020

Trump and the first lady are on their way to the State of the Union

Pool
Pool

President Trump and first lady Melania Trump just left the White House. They're on their way to Capitol Hill for Trump's State of the Union address.

The Trumps are riding in the same car tonight. For the last two State of the Union addresses, Melania Trump traveled solo.

See moment here:

8:28 p.m. ET, February 4, 2020

House impeachment managers will sit together tonight

From CNN's Manu Raju

The House impeachment managers are expected to sit together tonight at the State of the Union, a Democratic aide said.

The managers are the House Democrats who have been prosecuting the case against President Trump at the Senate trial. They gave their closing remarks in the case yesterday.

8:15 p.m. ET, February 4, 2020

What Trump said at his pre-State of the Union lunch

From CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Jim Acosta, Kevin Liptak and Maegan Vazquez

President Trump trashed former national security adviser John Bolton and handicapped the 2020 Democratic primary race as part of a wide-ranging off-the-record lunch with anchors from major news networks today ahead of his State of the Union address, multiple sources have told CNN. 

Like American presidents before him, Trump invited anchors from major news networks to dine with him at the White House in advance of his State of the Union address. The conversation is considered off the record — but CNN was excluded this year, and therefore did not agree to the mandate. Anchors from other news outlets did attend the lunch.

Asked for comment about discussions held between the President and those in attendance, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham told CNN she would not comment on an "off the record lunch."

Read more about the lunch here.

8:21 p.m. ET, February 4, 2020

White House official: It's "highly unlikely" Trump brings up impeachment tonight

From CNN's Jim Acosta

Hogan Gidley, White House deputy press secretary
Hogan Gidley, White House deputy press secretary Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call/Getty Images

A White House official said it's "highly unlikely" President Trump will refer to impeachment in any way during his State of the Union address tonight. 

White House spokesperson Hogan Gidley said the word "impeachment" does not appear in the formal remarks — but didn't rule out that Trump will allude to it in some way. In other words, it's all on "teleprompter Trump" to stay on script.

The White House said Trump will touch on a range of issues during his speech tonight and point to guests to hammer home his agenda. Look for Trump to talk about immigration, the economy and his decision to take out the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani.

8:07 p.m. ET, February 4, 2020

These Supreme Court justices will attend the State of the Union

From CNN's Ariane de Vouge

Chief Justice John Roberts — who has recently spent hours in Congress presiding over President Trump's impeachment trial — will return tonight to attend the President's State of the Union address, a Supreme Court spokesperson said.

In the past, Roberts has expressed mixed feelings about the event, but he has always attended.

A court spokesperson told CNN Roberts will be joined by the two justices whom Trump nominated to the high court: Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. Justice Elena Kagan will also be there.

Although Justice Stephen Breyer usually attends the event, he will miss it this year because he is traveling and came down with flu-like symptoms, the spokesperson said.

The justices' wives — Jane Roberts, Ashley Kavanaugh and Louise Gorsuch — will be in the chamber as well as Maureen Scalia, wife of late justice Antonin Scalia.

7:59 p.m. ET, February 4, 2020

Trump will give his State of the Union one day before his expected impeachment acquittal

From CNN's Kevin Liptak

President Trump will give his State of the Union address tonight in the very chamber where he was impeached by the House late last year, addressing a Congress that remains bitterly divided over whether he committed high crimes and misdemeanors in his effort to pressure Ukraine into investigating a political rival.

The Senate is expected to acquit Trump on the articles of impeachment tomorrow.

Sitting behind him on the dais will be House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who oversaw the impeachment efforts after initial resistance. The two haven't spoken in months.

Trump's aides insist his speech will be forward-looking and optimistic, despite the deep grievances he fosters over being impeached. His Republican allies have encouraged him to steer clear of the divisive impeachment. And Trump himself insisted during a weekend interview he wasn't considering moving the speech to a less auspicious date.

"I've read through the speech and I've not seen the word impeachment," White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters at the White House this afternoon.