NASHVILLE – While federal Republican lawmakers in some states have said they won’t attend President Joe Biden’s first joint address to Congress on Wednesday, others, including some Tennessee members, do wish to attend and have concerns about not being allowed in due to Democratic U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s tight COVID-19 protocols.
Biden’s joint address – it’s not considered an official State of the Union speech until a president’s second year in office – is scheduled for Wednesday in the House of Representatives. The House has 435 representatives, while there are 100 senators. The chamber can accommodate an estimated 1,000 or so people, which can include guests and administration officials.
But Pelosi is limiting total attendance to about 200, according to multiple news accounts, and the event includes cabinet members and others. Eight of the nine U.S. Supreme Court justices normally attend. This year, just one justice will be there.
“I will not be attending President Biden’s address to a joint session of Congress due to COVID-19 restrictions,” U.S. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., said in a statement to the Times Free Press. “I hope the president will use this opportunity to present a path forward for solving the crisis at our southern border.”
U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais, R-Tenn., said in a statement “members were told that there would be 20 Republicans and 20 Democrats in the House that would be invited to attend President Biden’s address – I have not been invited. This is yet another calculated attempt to protect the Biden administration’s carefully scripted narrative. The House chamber can hold almost 1,000 people. If you combine House and Senate members that is just over 50% capacity.”