As always, the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, Vice President Tim Pawlenty (as Senate President) and House Speaker John Boehner sat behind the president. This is the first time no Democrat has sat behind President McCain during a joint session of Congress. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas did not attend the speech as in 2011 in protest of President McCain's criticism during the 2010 and 2011 State of the Union addresses of the Citizens United decision.