Four ATF Special Agent Bomb Technicians and four ATF Explosives Detection K-9 teams arrived at the U.S. Capitol between 12:16 AM and 12:45 AM UTC on February 25, 2026, to support U.S. Capitol Police in securing President Donald Trump's State of the Union address scheduled for later that evening, according to an official ATF statement posted on X. Endless lines of U.S. military equipment and personnel also rolled up to the Capitol during this 29-minute window, as reported by journalist Nick Sortor. TV screens were set up in the Capitol briefing room ready to play the President's address, per journalist Kellie Meyer News. Team USA Men's Hockey entered the building, though they declined to answer questions about expectations from Trump, according to reporter Leah Vredenbregt. Rep. Andy Ogles announced hosting Andrew Kolvet, described as a great patriot, as his guest for the event in an X post within the window. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy stated he will not attend the chamber for the speech and plans to appear on MSNOWNews to explain, as posted on X. Rep. Ro Khanna will bring Epstein files release advocate and survivor Haley Robson as his guest, according to Al Jazeera English citing Khanna. HouseGOP highlighted Rep. Michael Guest's op-ed noting an 83 percent drop in nationwide border encounters from February 2025 through January 2026 compared to the prior year under Biden, per CBP data shared on X. These developments build on House Speaker Mike Johnson's earlier announcement of Artemis II astronauts and Jimmy Lai's daughter as his guests, shared between 11:15 PM and 12:15 AM UTC, to emphasize space achievements and freedom struggles during the address.
