As U.S. President Donald Trump delivers his 2019 State of the Union address, Democrats are inviting people who have been directly and negatively affected by Trump’s policies.
The Democratic response will come from the unsuccessful candidate for Georgia governor, Stacey Abrams, a rising star in the party.
Transgender soldiers
At least four Democratic congresspeople will bring transgender military members to the speech, to protest Trump’s ban of trans people in the military.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is bringing Navy Lt.-Comm. Blake Dremann.
“Transgender service members like Lt.-Comm. Dremann make extraordinary sacrifices every day to defend our freedom and our most sacred values, and President Trump’s decision to ban them from military service is cruel and undermines our military readiness,” she said in a statement.
READ MORE: U.S. Supreme Court allows Trump’s transgender ban to take effect while court case rages on
New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas is bringing Navy veteran Tavion Dignard.
“I’m honored that a transgender veteran from New Hampshire will be accompanying me to the State of the Union,” Pappas told NBC News.
Pappas is one of 10 openly LGBTQ congresspeople.
Democrat Jackie Speier announced on Twitter that she was bringing Air Force Staff-Sgt. Logan Ireland, saying: “He’s proof that our #trans troops make us stronger.”
Rep. Donald McEachin is bringing Navy officer Megan Winters. Winters was part of the lawsuit against Trump’s transgender ban, Military.com reports.
Trump’s ban, which was stopped by a lower court, was reinstated by the Supreme Court as the legal challenge continues.
WATCH: State of the Union: What’s its purpose and why does everyone love to clap?
Formerly furloughed workers
Democratic presidential hopefuls are focusing on the government shutdown.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren is bringing labour leader Sajid Shahriar to the address. According to Warren, Shahriar went 35 days without a paycheck during the partial government shutdown.
“Government workers like Sajid shouldn’t be used as bargaining chips. They deserve better,” Warren wrote on Twitter.
Another presidential hopeful, Sen. Kamala Harris, is bringing Trisha Pesiri-Dybvik.
WATCH: One of America’s biggest democratic fundraisers is endorsing Kamala Harris for president
Pesiri-Dybvik and her husband are air traffic controllers who were affected during the shutdown.
“Trisha’s story is just one of many stories I heard during the shutdown of Americans whose lives were upended and who faced those difficult days with strength and resilience,” Harris wrote in a statement.
Pesiri-Dybvik’s family home was also destroyed in a 2017 California wildfire.
Former Trump employee living in U.S. illegally
Illegal immigration is expected to be a top topic from Trump during the State of the Union. The family of a man allegedly killed by an illegal immigrant will be attending as Trump’s guests.
New Jersey Democratic congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman invited Victorina Morales to the event.
Morales worked at the Trump National Golf Club in New Jersey when she went public with her immigration status – that she was an undocumented immigrant.
She never returned to work after alleging her employer knew about her status, and the status of others like her, and verbally abused them.
At the time The Trump Organization said in emailed statement that it has strict hiring practices and that any workers with false papers will be terminated.
WATCH: Victorina Morales speaks out about their work experience and Trump’s rhetoric
Since then, officials at Trump’s organizations have fired multiple undocumented immigrants who are working in the U.S. illegally.
Parkland school shooting survivors, parents
Democratic Rep. Ted Deutch has invited Manny Oliver, whose son Joaquin was killed in the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, in an attempt to “support meaningful policies to make our communities safer.”
Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell will bring survivor Cameron Kasky.
“I’m proud to have Cameron join me at the Capitol, nearly one year after he faced a horror no kid should endure at school, to continue this fight, because there is no right more important than the right to live,” Swalwell said in a statement.
Republican Sen. Rick Scott will be bringing Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Mallory was killed in the shooting.
Pollack has been a staunch supporter of Trump, and visited the White House last year where he said the U.S. has to keep fighting for the safety of their children.
WATCH: Parkland students return for new school year with new security measures in place since Florida shooting (Aug. 2018)
Sexual assault survivor and Jeff Flake protester
New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez invited Ana Maria Archila to the address. Archilla is best known for berating Republican Sen. Jeff Flake in an elevator just before he voted on the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
WATCH: Woman who confronted Sen. Flake on Brett Kavanaugh speaks out
Ocasio-Cortez called Archilla’s protest a “defining moment.”
“She wasn’t planning on leaping into that elevator ahead of the Kavanaugh vote, but after hearing the stories of survivors across the country, she went in,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Twitter.
Archila said she was “filled with hope” by Ocasio-Cortez’s spirit and thanked her for the invitation.
Republican guests
Sen. John Cornyn from Texas is bringing Manny Padilla, a customs and border official, according to the Dallas Morning News.
Rep. Chip Roy is bringing Brandon Judd, from the union for border patrol officers.
Border security and Trump’s proposed border wall are expected to be major topics during the speech.
Texas Rep. John Carter is bringing Robert Chody, the Williamson County sheriff.
Pennsylvania Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick is one of many congresspeople from both sides who are focusing on drugs. Fitzpatrick is bringing Justin Cangro, whose brother died of an overdose.
Trump is also bringing a woman who was freed from prison after Trump commuted her life sentence for drug offences.
The widow of a soldier killed while serving in Afghanistan was invited by Utah Rep. Bob Bishop.
*with files from the Associated Press
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