SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Utah U.S. Sens. Mitt Romney and Mike Lee announced their guests for the 2023 State of the Union address, scheduled for 7 p.m. MT tonight, Feb. 7.

Lee announced Monday that his guest would be Utah Gov. Spencer Cox. Lee said he’s inviting the governor to highlight Utah’s upcoming challenges, which will require “a robust federal-state partnership,” according to Lee’s office.

“The state of the union and the state of Utah are inextricably linked. In the months and years ahead, Utah will face a host of challenges requiring a strong relationship between our state and federal governments,” said Lee. “I’m honored to be joined by Gov. Cox for this year’s State of the Union address. Gov. Cox is a lifelong Utahn whose grasp of the issues and connection to the state place him in a unique position to help navigate Utah through the challenges ahead.”

“Coming together for the State of the Union is a long-standing American tradition and I’m honored to join Sen. Lee as his guest in representing Utah,” said Cox. “We appreciate Sen. Lee’s leadership in Washington and look forward to continuing to work collaboratively for the people of our great state.”

Romney, meanwhile, announced that Major General Michael J. Turley, adjutant general of the Utah National Guard, will attend the State of the Union as his honored guest.

“The Utah National Guard embodies our state’s core values of patriotism and dedication to service,” Romney said. “Under the leadership of Major General Turley, these outstanding men and women have answered the call of duty to protect Utahns and Americans in times of emergency and responded valiantly to threats around the world. I am honored to have him as my guest to tonight’s State of the Union address.”

Turley, a West Jordan resident, enlisted as a United States Marine in 1985 and was commissioned a U.S. Army Engineer Officer in 1997 after graduating from Army Officer Candidate School. His most recent assignment was commander, 204th Maneuver Enhancement Brigade. Prior to this assignment, he was deputy director, Joint Training and Exercises Directorate-J7 and Chief-Joint Resources and Readiness Division-J74, NORAD and U.S. Northern Command. He is also a graduate of the United States Army War College as a Hoover National Security Fellow in residence at Stanford University for the academic years 2016-2017.