US Women's Hockey Team Turns Down Trump's Invite

The US women's hockey team has turned down a trip to Washington. On Monday, the Olympic gold medalists declined President Trump's invitation to attend his State of the Union address on Tuesday, citing school and work obligations now that the Games are over, a USA Hockey spokesperson said. The players "deeply appreciate" the recognition and were "honored to be included," the spokesperson added.

• Trump had extended the invite after joking with the US men's team—also fresh off a gold-medal win over Canada—that he'd risk impeachment if he brought only them and not the women, NBC News reports.

• "I said, we're giving the State of the Union speech Tuesday night," Trump said in his call to the men's team after their Sunday win, inviting them to attend and calling it "the coolest night," per KALB. "What would really be cool, and we'll do the White House next time, we'll just have some fun, we have medals for you guys. And we have to, I must tell you, we're gonna have to bring the women's team, you do know that?" he said, drawing laughter from the team.
• There's no record of Trump calling the women's team after their Friday win, Rolling Stone reports. Trump's remarks to the men's team, and the team's reaction, were criticized on social media. "Women's sports will always be a punchline to them no matter how much phony lip service they pay," one commenter wrote.
• House Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that he was trying to "figure out logistics" for the potential visit, Politico reports. "There's no way to have special guests on the floor because it's a literal session of Congress," he said. "But we're going to work and do what we can to accommodate."