Women’s US Olympic hockey team declines State of the Union invite

WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump invited both the U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team and the U.S. women's Olympic hockey team – who both won gold medals at the Milan Cortina Olympics – to the State of the Union on Tuesday. But it seems only one team will be able to make it. 

What we know:

FBI Director Kash Patel was in the locker room with the men's hockey team as they celebrated the win. He held a phone up to the players on speakerphone in order for Trump to deliver his message.

"I’ll tell you what. I just told my people two minutes ago, I didn’t know they’d be calling, I said we’re giving the State of the Union speech on Tuesday night," Trump said. "I can send a military plane or something, but if you would like to, it’s the coolest night, it’s the biggest speech …"

"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?" Trump said with a laugh. "I do believe that I would probably be impeached [if the women’s team was not invited]."

But according to a spokesperson from USA Hockey, the women will not attend the State of the Union address due to the "timing and previously scheduled academic and professional commitments," reports Sports Illustrated. 

What they're saying:

Patel's attendance at the games and locker room celebration has drawn criticism online. 

"The grift & corruption is unreal," Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado posted on X. "Your taxpayer dollars funding the FBI Director’s Italian vacation."

Patel responded to the criticism by posting on his personal X account that "yes, I love American and was extremely humbled when my friends, the newly minted Gold Medal winners on Team USA, invited me into the locker room to celebrate this historic moment with the boys."

The White House signaled its backing for Patel, with communications director Steven Cheung writing on X that "Kash was also in Italy meeting with regional partners and security teams" and telling a reporter "don’t be mad because America won."