JROTC Cadet Nicole Rosario-Flores, a student at T.C. Williams High School, was U.S. Senator Tim Kaine’s guest at the Presidential State of the Union Address on Tuesday.
Rosario-Flores was handpicked by the Virginian lawmaker, who serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, after meeting her during his visit to the school last month.
Last Tuesday, the junior was his guest as President Donald Trump delivered the annual message at a joint session of Congress in the House of Representatives.
“I am thrilled and honored to be Senator Tim Kaine’s guest at the State of the Union Address,” she said prior to the event.
“I am equally grateful for the JROTC program at T.C. Williams High School, which is truly one of a kind, has opened doors for me and given me the opportunity to attend such an important event as this one.”
“Having the opportunity to witness the way our government functions first hand will definitely be something that I will always remember,” she added.
Senator Kaine spent an afternoon with Junior ROTC cadets at T.C. Williams on January 10 to hear their thoughts about the recent conflict with Iran. He also talked about his years-long efforts to reclaim Congress’s constitutional duty to weigh in on whether or not the nation goes to war.
At the beginning of the year, the former vice presidential candidate introduced a war powers resolution to prevent further escalation of hostilities with Iran.
“I’m excited Cadet Rosario-Flores will join me as my State of the Union guest on Tuesday,” he said. “I was so impressed with her and all the T.C. Williams High School JROTC cadets I recently met with to discuss my bipartisan war powers resolution.”
“The legislation is about ensuring we don’t send our troops into harm’s way unless there’s a carefully reached consensus in Congress that war is in the national interest.”
“Any time we’re in the middle of a discussion about matters of war and peace in Congress, it’s important to hear from young people who have a large stake in this debate.”