The Hill News

Two senators who led the effort to promote bipartisan seating at President Obama’s State of the Union speech earlier this year will sit together again Thursday night in a show of bipartisan cooperation.

Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R) announced she will sit with Colorado’s Democratic Sen. Mark Udall Thursday night for the president’s speech before a joint session of Congress.

Murkowski tweeted Thursday that the two would sit together “on the Republican side of the aisle.”

Although Murkowski and Udall were not seat-mates at the State of the Union, both took advantage of the opportunity to urge colleagues to find more ways to spend time with colleagues across the aisle.

Udall sent a letter to Congress, followed by a joint letter from Udall and Murkowski, urging f! ellow lawmakers to sit together at Obama’s speech in January. Udall indicated it was an important symbolic effort to cultivate bipartisanship.

Udall said last week that he would not renew his call for lawmakers to sit together for Obama’s upcoming speech focusing on jobs. However, his office said Udall planned to sit with a Republican.