Who sits behind the President at State of the Union addresses?

Politicians will never outright admit it, but the State of the Union address is basically the Super Bowl or World Series of Washington D.C. politics. As a result, a ton of questions are asked by those who tune in each year to watch the prepared speech — although one of the biggest questions actually pertains to who exactly sits behind the president during the SOTU.

This year, President Joe Biden delivered what could be his final SOTU address as the president of the United States. And despite Republicans doing their damndest to make the entire evening about themselves — including MTG flashing a nausea-inducing red MAGA hat and George Santos making a surprise, yet cringeworthy appearance — Biden stood firm on a variety of issues that are happening in the nation as of late.

That being said, a common occurrence during the SOTU is when either Democrats or Republicans stand up and applaud whenever the president touches on particular social and economic issues — including the two individuals who sit directly behind the president during their speech.

So, who sits behind the president?

During the official State of the Union address, both the vice president and speaker of the house sit behind the president during their speech. For the 2024 State of the Union, it was Vice President Kamala Harris and Speaker Mike Johnson sitting behind President Joe Biden in the chamber. The address marked the first time Johnson has attended the SOTU as the house speaker, with the Republican being elected to the job back in October 2023. Previously, Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy both sat behind Biden as Speaker in separate years.

With the 2024 presidential election just around the corner, it’ll be interesting to see who sits behind the president for the 2025 State of the Union address.