The White House on Wednesday shared a guest list ahead of the state dinner in honor of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, which included Australian performers Vance Joy and Kid Laroi, and actor John Leguizamo.
It also included North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, President Joe Biden’s campaign co-chair and Hollywood mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg, NBC News’ Andrea Mitchell, Israeli-American violinist Itzhak Perlman, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, AT&T CEO John Stankey and Republican Sens. John Thune and James Risch.
Biden delivered brief remarks in a toast during the dinner, detailing the strength of the bilateral relationship with Australia and the United States, dating back to World War II. “My own son, Maj. Beau Biden in the National Guard, spent a year in Iraq – he told me how you can always count Aussies to have your back,” the president told Albanese.
“Ladies and gentlemen, a great deal of the history of our world will be written in Indo Pacific in the coming years,” Biden said. “Australia and the United States must break that story together. We must continue to advance freedom, security and prosperity for all, continue the vital work of both our nations of building strong partnerships, of upholding nation to nation commitments, and to native peoples, continue to defend the values of creative democracies – freedom of expression, freedom of religion, and freedom from fear, and continue to build a future worthy of our highest hopes, even when it’s tough, especially when it’s tough – we know that’s when it matters the most.”
Biden, in closing, asked those gathered to join him in “a toast, to our partnership, our mateship and the future we’ll create together.”
A number of the president’s family members were on the guest list, including granddaughters Naomi, Finnegan and Maisy, sister Valerie, and nephew Cuffe. Conspicuously missing on Wednesday night, however, was the president’s son, Hunter – though he attended the state dinner for Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in June, his first public appearance after it had been revealed that he reached a plea deal with federal prosecutors on tax charges.
That plea deal later fell apart and Hunter Biden earlier this month pleaded not guilty to three firearms charges brought by special counsel David Weiss. He has been charged with lying on federal firearm forms and illegally possessing a firearm while using illicit drugs.
Members of The B-52s, of “Love Shack” fame, attended the dinner as guests after their scheduled performance at the dinner was canceled on Tuesday.
“While we had initially planned for the legendary B-52s to perform their iconic dance and party music, we are now in a time when so many are facing sorrow and pain,” first lady Dr. Jill Biden said on Tuesday. “So we’ve made a few adjustments to the entertainment portion of the evening.”
The announcement came as the first lady and White House Social Secretary Carlos Elizondo offered a preview of the decor and dishes ahead of the state dinner, which is the fourth held at the Biden White House.
Biden said the decor for the event, which included light blue and purple tones tablescapes and florals, was inspired by “the vibrant Australian spring and crisp American autumn as the seasons ripple across our great painted landscape.” The first lady tapped Bryan Rafanelli, the event planner who crafted her granddaughter Naomi’s wedding at the White House last year, to help with the décor and guest experience for the event.
The first lady developed the menu with guests Chef Katie Button, a James Beard Award nominee who owns a popular tapas restaurant Cúrate in Asheville, North Carolina, White House Executive Chef Cris Comerford, and White House Executive Pastry Chef Susie Morrison.
Here’s the full guest list, as released by the White House:
• Ms. Joyce Aboussie & Mr. Greg Keller
• The Honorable Pete Aguilar, U.S. Representative & Mrs. Alisha Aguilar
• The Honorable Elizabeth Allen, Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs, U.S. Department of State& Mr. Edward Price, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State
• Mr. Chris Ashton
• The Honorable Lloyd Austin, Secretary of Defense, U.S. Department of Defense & Mrs. Charlene Austin
• Dr. Sharada Balachandran Orihuela & Dr. Kali D. Cyrus
• The Honorable Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services & Dr. Carolina Reyes
• Mr. Brendan Bechtel & Mrs. Helen Bechtel
• The Honorable Anthony Bernal, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the First Lady & Mrs. Marisa Bernal Cox
• The Honorable Jared Bernstein, Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors & Ms. Kay Arndorfer
• The Honorable John Berry & Mr. Curtis Yee
• Ms. Naomi Biden & Mr. Peter Neal
• Ms. Finnegan Biden
• Ms. Maisy Biden
• The Honorable Maher Bitar, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Intelligence & Ms. Astrid Dorelien
• Mr. Bran Black
• The Honorable Jeffery Bleich & Ms. Rebecca Bleich
• The Honorable Antony J. Blinken, Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State & The Honorable Evan Ryan, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary
• Mr. Francisco L. Borges & Mrs. Luisa Borges
• General Charles Q. Brown, Jr. & Mrs. Sharene Brown
• Dr. Alex Brown
• Ms. Taryn Brumfitt & Dr. Zali Yager
• Mr. Russell Budd & Reverend Dorothy Budd
• The Honorable William J. Burns, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency & The Honorable Lisa Carty, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Economic and Social Council
• The Honorable Pete Buttigieg, Secretary of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation & Mr. Chasten Buttigieg
• Professor Thomas Calma AO
• The Honorable Kurt Campbell, Deputy Assistant to the President and Coordinator for the Indo-Pacific, National Security Council & The Honorable Lael Brainard, Assistant to the President and Director of the National Economic Council
• The Honorable Ben Cardin, U.S. Senator & Mrs. Myrna Cardin
• Mrs. Laetitia Garriott de Cayeux & Miss. Kinga Garriott de Cayeux
• Mr. Craig Chittick OAM, First Assistant Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
• Dr. Melissa Chiu & Dr. Suzanne Hollman
• The Honorable Derek Chollet, Counselor of the U.S. Department of State & Ms. Heather Hostetter
• The Honorable Katherine Clark, U.S. Representative & Mr. Nathaniel Dowell
• Mr. Bruce Cohen & Mr. Gabe Catone
• Ms. Katie Connolly, Director of Strategic Communications and Outreach, Office of the Prime Minister
• The Honorable Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina & Mrs. Kristin Cooper
• Dr. Lynn Cornelius & Dr. Joseph Cornelius
• The Honorable Joe Courtney, U.S. Representative and Co-Chair of Australia Caucus & Mrs. Audrey Courtney
• Professor Glyn Davis AC, Secretary, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
• The Honorable Michael C. Donilon, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President & Mrs. Patricia Donilon
• Mr. Mark David Ein & Mrs. Sally Ein
• The Honorable Jon Finer, Assistant to the President and Principal Deputy National Security Advisor
• Ms. Elizabeth Fitch, Media Director and Principal Press Secretary, Office of the Prime Minister
• Mr. Yance Ford & Ms. Amanda Lichtenberg
• Mr. Chip Forrester & Ms. Elizabeth Haselkorn
• Dr. Michael Fullilove
• Dr. Juliet V. Garcia
• Mr. Timothy Gartrell, Chief of Staff, Office of the Prime Minister
• Mr. Rory Gates & The Honorable Don Harmon, President of the Illinois State Senate
• Mr. Craig Gering & Mrs. Jane Gering
• The Honorable Rufus Gifford & Dr. Stephen DeVincent
• The Honorable Mark Gilbert & Mrs. Nancy Gilbert
• The Honorable Shuwanza Goff, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs & Mr. Jamie Fleet
• Mr. Jeffrey Goldberg & Ms. Pamela Reeves
• The Honorable Philip Gordon, Assistant to the President and National Security Advisor to the Vice President & Mrs. Rachel Gordon
• Ms. Fatima Goss Graves & Ms. Carol Ann Goss
• Mr. Jon Gray & Mrs. Mindy Gray
• The Honorable Josh Green, Governor of Hawaii & Mrs. Jaime Green
• The Honorable Arthur J. Gregg & Mrs. Alicia G. Collier
• The Honorable Debra Haaland, Secretary of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior & Ms. Aleta Suazo
• The Honorable Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States & Mr. Douglas Emhoff
• Mr. Andrew Hauptman & Mrs. Ellen Bronfman Hauptman
• Mr. Jon Henes & Mrs. Pamela Henes
• The Honorable Jim Himes, U.S. Representative & Mrs. Mary Himes
• Mrs. Barbara Humpton & Mr. David Humpton
• Mrs. Shannon Hunt-Scott & Mr. Kevin Scott
• Ms. Laleh Ispahani & Mr. Tapio Vaskio
• Ms. Bonny Jacobs
• The Honorable Karine Jean-Pierre, Assistant to the President and Press Secretary
• The Honorable Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs, U.S. Department of State & Mr. Matthew D. Steinhelfer, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Conflict and Stabilization Operations, U.S. Department of State
• Mr. Darius Jones & Mrs. Tori Johnson-Jones
• Mr. Joe Kahn & Ms. Shannon Wu
• The Honorable Tim Kaine, U.S. Senator & Ms. Anne Holton
• Mr. Brad Karp & Mrs. Roberta Karp
• Mr. Jeffrey Katzenberg & Mr. Sujay Jaswa
• Ms. Janet Keller & Ms. Katherine Schneider
• The Honorable Caroline Kennedy, Ambassador of the United States to Australia & Dr. Edwin Schlossberg
• The Honorable James F. Kenney, Mayor of Philadelphia & Ms. Letitia Santarelli
• Mr. James Keogh & Ms. Selen Us
• The Honorable John Kerry, U.S. Special Presidential Envoy for Climate & Dr. Vanessa Kerry & Ms. Alexandra Kerry
• The Honorable Madeline King MP, Minister for Resources and Minister for Northern Australia
• Ms. Kathy Klugman, Principal Adviser, International, Office of the Prime Minister
• Mr. Orin Kramer & Ms. Barbara Marcin
• The Honorable Daniel J. Kritenbrink, Assistant Secretary for East Asian and Pacific Affairs & Mrs. Nami Kritenbrink
• The Honorable Ben LaBolt, Assistant to the President and Director of Communications
• Ms. Amanda Lacaze
• The Honorable Sarah Ladislaw, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Climate & Mr. Gregg L. Ladislaw
• Kid Laroi & Ms. Sloane Howard
• Ms. Jane Lauder & Mr. Kevin Warsh
• Dr. Brenda Lauderback & Dr. Antonio D. Tillis
• Dr. Marsha Laufer & Dr. Henry Laufer
• Mr. James Lawrence & Dr. Mary Lawrence
• Ms. Nancy LeaMond & Mr. Colin Finan
• Mr. John Leguizamo & Mrs. Justine Leguizamo
• The Honorable Daniella Levine-Cava, Mayor of Miami-Dade County & Dr. Robert Cava
• Mr. Jeremy Liew & Miss. Ellie Liew
• Ms. Lori Lodes & Mr. Austin Evers
• Mr. Christopher Lowe & Ms. Bonnie Datt
• Mr. Eugene A. Ludwig & Dr. Carol L. Ludwig
• Imam Mohamed Magid & Dr. Amaarah DeCuir
• Ms. Sue Mandel & Mr. Steve Mandel
• Mr. Gerard Martin PSM, Head of Commonwealth Protocol, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
• Mr. Brett Mason, Head of the Press Office, Office of the Prime Minister
• The Honorable Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security, U.S. Department of Homeland Security & Mrs. Tanya Mayorkas
• The Honorable Michael McCaul, U.S. Representative & Mrs. Linda McCaul
• Mr. Ryan McInerney & Mrs. Angela McInerney
• Mr. Andrew McKellar
• Dr. Paul McKenzie
• The Honorable Gregory Meeks, U.S. Representative & Mrs. Simone Marie Meeks
• Ms. Prue Mercer, Senior Adviser, Office of the Prime Minister
• Ms. Andrea Mitchell & Ms. Chloe Arensberg
• Ambassador Paul Myler, Deputy Chief of Mission, Embassy of Australia
• Mr. Sam Nester & Dr. Maya Popa
• The Honorable Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology & Mr. Yehuda Neuberger
• Mr. James Newton, Speechwriter, Office of the Prime Minister
• The Honorable Victoria Nuland, Acting Deputy Secretary of State, U.S. Department of State & Dr. Robert Kagan
• The Honorable Kevin C. O’Connor, Physician to the President & Mrs. Christine F. O’Connor
• The Honorable Jen O’Malley Dillon, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff & Mr. Patrick Dillon
• Dr. Sharada Balachandran Orihuela & Dr. Kali D. Cyrus
• Ms. Michelle O’Neil
• Ms. Valerie Biden Owens & Mr. Jack Owens
• Ms. Missy Owens & Mr. Cuffe Owens
• The Honorable Thomas Perez, Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs & Ms. Ann Staudenmaier
• Mr. Itzhak Perlman & Mrs. Toby Perlman
• Mr. Marc Perrone & Ms. Lori Werner
• Ms. Kate Pierson & Ms. Monica Coleman
• Ms. Ruth Porat & Mr. Anthony Paduano
• The Honorable Natalie Quillian, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff & Mr. Ryan Quillian
• Mr. Bryan Rafanelli & Mr. Mark Walsh
• The Honorable Gina M. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce, U.S. Department of Commerce & Mr. Tommy Moffit
• The Honorable Mira Rapp-Hooper, Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania, National Security Council & Mr. Matthew Brest
• Dr. Ely Ratner & Mrs. Jennifer Ratner
• The Honorable Bruce Reed, Assistant to the President and Deputy Chief of Staff & Ms. Bonnie LePard
• The Honorable Jack Reed, U.S. Senator & Mrs. Helen Reed
• Mr. Blake Resnick & Ms. Katie Resnick
• The Honorable Steve Ricchetti, Assistant to the President and Counselor to the President & Mrs. Amy Ricchetti
• Mr. Gregory Riggs & Ms. Kaye Riggs
• The Honorable James Risch, U.S. Senator & Mrs. Vicki Risch
• The Honorable Charles Rivkin & Ms. Susan Tolson
• Mrs. Stephanie Robinson & Mr. Mark Robinson
• Mr. Ethan Rosenzweig, Acting Chief of Protocol of the United States, U.S. Department of State
• His Excellency The Honorable Kevin Rudd AC, Ambassador of Australia to the United States & Ms. Thérèse Rein
• The Honorable Emmy Ruiz, Assistant to the President and Director of Political Strategy and Outreach & Ms. Stephanie Grabow
• Mr. Lee Saunders & Mrs. Lynne Saunders
• Mr. Frederick Schneider III & Mr. Kevin P. Miller
• Mr. Martin Schroeter & Mrs. Susan Schroeter
• The Honorable Charles E. Schumer, Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate & Mr. Michael Shapiro
• The Honorable Liz Sherwood-Randall, Assistant to the President and Homeland Security Advisor and Deputy National Security Advisor & Dr. Jeffrey Randall
• Mr. Brian Sikes & Mrs. Dana Sikes
• The Honorable Adam Smith, U.S. Representative & Mrs. Sara Smith
• The Honorable Alan Solomont & Mrs. Susan Solomont
• Mr. John Stankey & Mrs. Shari Stankey
• Ms. Laura Strayer
• The Honorable Julie Su, Acting Secretary of Labor, U.S. Department of Labor
• The Honorable Jake Sullivan, Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs & Ms. Margaret Goodlander
• Mr. S. Donald Sussman & Ms. Michelle Howland
• The Honorable Katherine C. Tai, United States Trade Representative & Mr. Robert Skidmore
• Dr. Andrew Thomas & Dr. Shannon Walker
• The Honorable Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador to the United Nations & Mr. Lafayette M. Greenfield II
• The Honorable John Thune, U.S. Senator & Mrs. Kimberley Thune
• Mr. Andrew Tobias & Mr. Rob Frier
• The Honorable Annie Tomasini, Assistant to the President and Senior Advisor to the President and Director of Oval Office Operations & Mrs. Margaret Tomasini
• Mr. Sam Trobe, Director of Policy, Office of the Prime Minister
• Mr. D. James Umpleby III & Mrs. Katherine Umpleby
• The Honorable Lynn Valbuena, Chairwoman, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians (CA) & Mr. Steve Valbuena
• Dr. Rosita Van Coevorden, & Ms. Isabelle Van Coevorden
• Mr. Mark Vassella
• The Honorable Richard Verma, Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, U.S. Department of State & Mrs. Melineh Verma
• Mr. Peter Vlandys
• Ms. Shemara Wikramanayake & Mr. Ben Way
• Mr. Innes Willox
• Ms. Cindy Wilson & Mr. Keith Bennett
• Dr. Justin Wolfers & Dr. Betsey Stevenson
• The Honorable Ron Wyden, U.S. Senator & Mrs. Nancy Wyden
• The Honorable Janet L. Yellen, Secretary of the Treasury, U.S. Department of Treasury & Dr. George Akerlof
• The Honorable Ali Zaidi, Assistant to the President and National Climate Advisor & Dr. Candace Fatima Zaidi
• The Honorable Jeffrey Zients, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the President & Mrs. Mary Zients
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