A bipartisan group of lawmakers wore blue and yellow clothes and pins and flew Ukrainian flags at President Joe Biden’s first State of the Union address on Tuesday evening to show support for Ukraine after Russia invaded the country last week.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), seated behind Biden, wore a blue dress and had an interlaced U.S.-Ukraine flag pin attached to her dress. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) wore a pin and pocket square with Ukrainian colors.
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) wore a blue and yellow pin “to honor Ukraine and the bravery of the Ukrainian citizens, military, and government.”
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) and other members pinned blue and yellow ribbons to their clothes “in a show of solidarity with Ukraine.”
U.S. Ambassador Rufus Gifford wore a tie with Ukraine’s colors and tweeted that “it just seemed like the right call to wear blue and yellow.” “I can’t stop thinking about the unprovoked and needless death and suffering,” Gifford added.
Rep. Lori Trahan (D-MA) shared a photo to Twitter of her and six other members wearing blue and yellow before Biden’s speech started.
“Tonight, I’m wearing blue and yellow at the #SOTU to stand together with the people of Ukraine,” tweeted Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA).
Many members waved handheld Ukrainian flags that Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), co-chair of Congress’s Ukraine and Ukrainian American Caucus, reportedly handed out on the House floor.
Ukrainian-born Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN) wore a yellow dress with a blue blazer to support her birthplace. Additionally, first lady Jill Biden wore blue and invited Ukraine’s U.S. ambassador, Oksana Markarova, to the State of the Union address.
Color-coding to send a political message has become more prevalent at the State of the Union addresses after some female Democrat lawmakers wore white during former President Donald Trump’s annual addresses.
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