• Home
  • Latest
  • Fortune 500
  • Finance
  • Tech
  • Leadership
  • Lifestyle
  • Rankings
  • Multimedia
MPWMost Powerful Women

Melania Trump Will Host These Guests at the President’s First Address to Congress

Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
Claire Zillman
By
Claire Zillman
Claire Zillman
Editor, Leadership
Down Arrow Button Icon
February 28, 2017, 7:13 AM ET

President Donald Trump will deliver remarks to a joint session of Congress for the first time on Tuesday. From the speaker’s rostrum in the House Chambers, he’s expected to pitch lawmakers on sweeping legislative changes that will go beyond what he’s able to do unilaterally through executive orders. But as Trump touches on likely topics such as overhauling Obamacare, rewriting the tax code, and erecting a massive Southern border wall, elected officials won’t be the only ones in the audience.

Several special guests will be seated with First Lady Melania Trump, and the White House’s picks for this occasion are not-so-subtle nods to the Trump administration’s political priorities of filling the Supreme Court vacancy and cracking down on illegal immigrants with a criminal past.

One guest is Maureen McCarthy Scalia, the widow of late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who died last year. She also attended Trump’s announcement of federal appeals court judge Neil Gorsuch as his nominee to fill Scalia’s spot on the bench.

Subscribe to The World’s Most Powerful Women, Fortune’s daily must-read for global businesswomen.

Two widows of police officers killed in 2014 by a man in the country illegally will also be in attendance Tuesday night. The husbands of Jessica Davis and Susan Oliver— Michael Davis Jr. and Danny Oliver—are the namesakes of a piece of legislation for stricter enforcement of immigration laws. Seated nearby will be another relative of a victim killed by an illegal immigrant. Jamiel Shaw, Sr., has spoken before at Trump’s campaign rallies and he delivered remarks at the Republican National Convention about his son, a high school football player, who was killed in 2008.

The final two guests are Megan Crowley, 20, who’s survived a rare and deadly condition thanks to a drug developed by her father, and Denisha Merriweather, who credits the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program with changing her life by letting her attend a private high school. Trump wants to expand such “voucher” programs that give parents more choices as to where to send their children to school.

The White House guests who will sit with the first lady are a stark contrast to those invited by some Congressional Democrats. Several Democratic lawmakers say they are bringing immigrants with them Tuesday night.

Rep. Nydia Velazquez (D-Nev.), for instance, has invited Hameed Darweesh, an immigrant from Iraq who was detained at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York in early January because of Trump’s travel ban. Darweesh worked with U.S. military forces in Iraq and moved to the U.S. on a special immigrant visa with his family in the first few days of Trump’s presidency.

Likewise, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) has invited a refugee from Iraq to accompany her to the speech.

About the Author
Claire Zillman
By Claire ZillmanEditor, Leadership
LinkedIn iconTwitter icon

Claire Zillman is a senior editor at Fortune, overseeing leadership stories. 

See full bioRight Arrow Button Icon

Latest in MPW

Workplace CultureSports
Exclusive: Billionaire Michele Kang launches $25 million U.S. Soccer institute that promises to transform the future of women’s sports
By Emma HinchliffeDecember 2, 2025
10 days ago
C-SuiteLeadership Next
Ulta Beauty CEO Kecia Steelman says she has the best job ever: ‘My job is to help make people feel really good about themselves’
By Fortune EditorsNovember 5, 2025
1 month ago
ConferencesMPW Summit
Executives at DoorDash, Airbnb, Sephora and ServiceNow agree: leaders need to be agile—and be a ‘swan’ on the pond
By Preston ForeOctober 21, 2025
2 months ago
Jessica Wu, co-founder and CEO of Sola, at Fortune MPW 2025
MPW
Experts say the high failure rate in AI adoption isn’t a bug, but a feature: ‘Has anybody ever started to ride a bike on the first try?’
By Dave SmithOctober 21, 2025
2 months ago
Jamie Dimon with his hand up at Fortune's Most Powerful Women Summit
SuccessProductivity
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon says if you check your email in meetings, he’ll tell you to close it: ’it’s disrespectful’
By Preston ForeOctober 17, 2025
2 months ago
Pam Catlett
ConferencesMPW Summit
This exec says resisting FOMO is a major challenge in the AI age: ‘Stay focused on the human being’
By Preston ForeOctober 16, 2025
2 months ago

Most Popular

placeholder alt text
Success
At 18, doctors gave him three hours to live. He played video games from his hospital bed—and now, he’s built a $10 million-a-year video game studio
By Preston ForeDecember 10, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Investing
Baby boomers have now 'gobbled up' nearly one-third of America's wealth share, and they're leaving Gen Z and millennials behind
By Sasha RogelbergDecember 8, 2025
4 days ago
placeholder alt text
Success
Palantir cofounder calls elite college undergrads a ‘loser generation’ as data reveals rise in students seeking support for disabilities, like ADHD
By Preston ForeDecember 11, 2025
15 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
‘We have not seen this rosy picture’: ADP’s chief economist warns the real economy is pretty different from Wall Street’s bullish outlook
By Eleanor PringleDecember 11, 2025
20 hours ago
placeholder alt text
Economy
‘Be careful what you wish for’: Top economist warns any additional interest rate cuts after today would signal the economy is slipping into danger
By Eva RoytburgDecember 10, 2025
2 days ago
placeholder alt text
Politics
Exclusive: U.S. businesses are getting throttled by the drop in tourism from Canada: ‘I can count the number of Canadian visitors on one hand’
By Dave SmithDecember 10, 2025
2 days ago
Rankings
  • 100 Best Companies
  • Fortune 500
  • Global 500
  • Fortune 500 Europe
  • Most Powerful Women
  • Future 50
  • World’s Most Admired Companies
  • See All Rankings
Sections
  • Finance
  • Leadership
  • Success
  • Tech
  • Asia
  • Europe
  • Environment
  • Fortune Crypto
  • Health
  • Retail
  • Lifestyle
  • Politics
  • Newsletters
  • Magazine
  • Features
  • Commentary
  • Mpw
  • CEO Initiative
  • Conferences
  • Personal Finance
  • Education
Customer Support
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Customer Service Portal
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms Of Use
  • Single Issues For Purchase
  • International Print
Commercial Services
  • Advertising
  • Fortune Brand Studio
  • Fortune Analytics
  • Fortune Conferences
  • Business Development
About Us
  • About Us
  • Editorial Calendar
  • Press Center
  • Work At Fortune
  • Diversity And Inclusion
  • Terms And Conditions
  • Site Map

© 2025 Fortune Media IP Limited. All Rights Reserved. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy | CA Notice at Collection and Privacy Notice | Do Not Sell/Share My Personal Information
FORTUNE is a trademark of Fortune Media IP Limited, registered in the U.S. and other countries. FORTUNE may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice.