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When President Joe Biden returns to the House chamber to deliver his second State of the Union address soon, the former longtime senator will be addressing his one-time congressional colleagues as a guest.
Two seats on the dais behind the president are reserved for the vice president and the House speaker. Vice President Kamala Harris, who is also the president of the Senate, will sit to the right behind Biden, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy will be seated to his left.
Presidents and first ladies typically invite about two dozen guests to sit in the House gallery. State of the Union guests help put a human face on a president’s message for both policymakers and viewers at home.
The president’s Cabinet, Supreme Court justices who choose to attend, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former members of Congress and members of the diplomatic corps are seated in front of lawmakers.
House members aren’t assigned seats. Instead, seats in the chamber are doled out on a first come, first served basis the day of the speech. House members must stay seated in the spot they choose until the address begins, according to the Congressional Research Service.
Senators join their House colleagues in the chamber, sitting at the front, the report from the Congressional Research Service states.
Here’s at look at where everyone will be in the chamber: