Freed Hamas hostages, Gold Star families and rapper Fat Joe: Lawmakers spotlight key issues with invited guests to Biden's State of the Union address

Lawmakers are planning to push pertinent causes and shine light on current issues with carefully selected guests at President Biden's State of the Union on Thursday. 

The night is expected to be a referendum on Biden's advanced age as he gears up for a grueling 2024 campaign swing. It'll feature an address by Biden followed by a GOP rebuttal from Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala.

Viewers can expect raucous heckling, like last year when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., shouted 'liar' at Biden, and loud cheers from Democrats looking to defend to defend their 2024 nominee.  

Here's a list of notable guests who will watch the president deliver his fourth yearly address to a joint session of Congress: 

Cuban democratic opposition leader to troll 'Squad' Democrats

Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Florida, the only Cuban-born congressman, is bringing Cuban dissident Maria Paya Acevedo. 

Her father, Oswaldo Payá, was murdered after spending decades fighting against the Castro communist regime and founded the Christian Liberation Movement. 

Her family is now suing former U.S. Ambassador Manuel Rocha for conspiring in her father’s death. Rocha pled guilty last week to spying for Communist Cuba for over 40 years. 

It comes as after pushback to Reps. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., and Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., secretly traveling  to Cuba to meet with its socialist government. 

'She is joining me to denounce the ongoing brutality of Cuba, demand freedom for all political prisoners, and hold the regime accountable for its crimes against humanity. Recently, colleagues of mine on the fringe traveled to Havana to meet with officials of the Castro regime to serve as apologists and lobby on their behalf. I am proud to stand with Rosa María to continue to loudly denounce the evils of the Cuban regime,' Gimenez said in a statement.

Deadly Afghanistan withdrawal back in the spotlight 

Republicans aren't letting Biden off the hook nearly two and a half years since the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

Last year, Biden was heavily criticized for failing to mention the exit at all, and none of his Cabinet secretaries have been held accountable for the event that killed 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of Afghan allies.

Foreign Affairs Chair McCaul is bringing Christy Shamblin - the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, who was one of the 13 US troops killed in the ISIS-K terror attack in Kabul during the Afghanistan withdrawal.

The Texas Republican's committee has been aggressively probing Biden's withdrawal.  

Foreign Affairs Chair McCaul is bringing Christy Shamblin - the mother-in-law of Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, who was one of the 13 US troops killed in the ISIS-K terror attack in Kabul during the Afghanistan withdrawal

Freed Hamas hostages as Israel's war in Gaza continues 

Speaker Mike Johnson is bringing freed Israeli hostage Mia Schem as one of his guests. Schem spent 50 days in Hamas captivity. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is bringing Andrea Weinstein, the sister of Judy Weinstein Haggai and Gad Haggai. 

Weinstein Haggai was killed by Hamas after being taken hostage and Gad Haggai is believed to have died during the October 7 attack. 

Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., will be bringing Adi Alexander and Jonathan Dekel-Chen, two fathers of Americans who are still currently in Hamas captivity. 

Speaker Mike Johnson is bringing freed Israeli hostage Mia Schem as one of his guests. Schem spent 50 days in Hamas captivity

Parents of wrongly detained journalist Evan Gerschkovich

The speaker is also bringing the parents of Evan Gerschkovich. 

Gerschkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, has been detained in Russia for more than a year. 

'By hosting Evan's parents, a spotlight on the unjust detention of their son,' Johnson said.

Republicans keep immigration top of mind with border officials on the front lines 

GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik will bring along Brandon Budlong, a border patrol agent and leader in the border patrol union. 

Meanwhile Republican Sen. Bill Hagerty is bringing Tennessee Governor Bill Lee after he sent Tennessee National Guard to the border. 

Reps. Nicole Malliotakis and Anthony D'Esposito, Republicans of New York, are bringing a pair of NYPD officers – Lt. Ben Kurian and Officer Zunxu Tian – who were brutally attacked in a now-viral video by migrants in Times Square. 

Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., is bringing Marvin Weatherwax - a leader in the Blackfeet Native American tribe and member of Montana statehouse, to call attention to issues at the northern border. 

'Zinke and I share concerns about the border and fentanyl that is devastating my home on the Blackfeet Reservation and tribes across the country. The Blackfeet Nation shares 70 miles of border with Canada where our patrol is completely understaffed and underfunded,' Weatherwax said in a statement to DailyMail.com. 

'The Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Border Patrol have blocked resources for us to be able to take care of the isseu, and meanwhile the DOJ is nowhere to be found.' 

'Wrongly detained' Americans in China as the U.S. counters rising aggression

Republican Rep. Nick LaLota is bringing two guests to the event: one being Harrison Li, the son of Kai Li, a resident of his New York district who has been 'wrongfully detained' in China since 2016 on spying charges. 

LaLota has long been calling on President Biden to do more to bring the elder Li back to the U.S. 

He's also bringing Lt. Ridge Alkonis, who spent time in a Japanese prison while stationed there with the U.S. Navy because he says he suffered acute mountain sickness, lost consciousness and got into an accident where two others died. 

LaLota has called on the House to take up his bill that would reduce the number of service members in nations where there aren't legal protective agreements. 

Democrats hammer Republicans on IVF after Alabama ruling and abortion rights 

After an Alabama Supreme Court ruling found embryos to have the same rights as children, effectively putting a stop to the practice in the state due to health care providers' fear of being charged for their handling of non-viable embryos. 

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., is bringing Elizabeth Carr, the first baby born by IVF in 1981, as his guest. Carris from Norfolk, Virginia. 

'In the wake of the Alabama Supreme Court's ruling, it's more important than ever that we commit to protecting access to IVF services nationwide. We must work to safeguard IVF so the Elizabeth Carrs of the world can continue to be born,' he said in a statement. 

Caitlin Bernard, the Indiana doctor who controversially gave an Ohio 10-year-old an abortion after Roe v. Wade was struck down, will attend as a guest of Rep. Judy Chu, D-Calif. 

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., is bringing Illinois reproductive endocrinologist and infertility specialist Dr. Amanda Adeleye and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said his guest would be  infertility activist Roshni Kamta.

Rapper Fat Joe promotes healthcare price transparency

Rep. Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., will bring the rapper, who works with advocacy group Power to the Patients to advocate for Congress to pass legislation to force price transparency in the healthcare system. 

Rep. Nanette Barragan, D-Calif., will bring the rapper Fat Joe who works with advocacy group Power to the Patients to advocate for Congress to pass legislation to force price transparency in the healthcare system.

Justice for the Dreamers: Democrats want path forward for immigrants

Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Calif., announced his State of the Union guest would be Dr. Denisse Rojas Marquez, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipient. 

She runs Pre-Health Dreamers, an organization to help immigrants pursuing careers in health and medicine. 

Victims of nuclear contamination in the spotlight  

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is inviting Dawn Chapman, co-founder of Just Moms in St. Louis, a grassroots group that advocates for victims of nuclear contamination, to Thursdays address.

Hawley has been been pushing for a Senate vote on the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, which seeks to compensate victims exposed to radioactive waste nationwide. 

Rare disease advocate 

Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., will be bringing Kari Rosbeck President and CEO of the Tuberous Sclerosis Alliance.

Schmitt's son, Stephen, is diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis, a rare disease causing tumors on major organs. 

Schmitt and Rosbeck have worked together for years, and is proudly bringing her to raise awareness for the condition, his office confirmed to DailyMail.com.