STATE OF UNION | Melania, Donald travel separately

WASHINGTON (AP)

First lady Melania Trump has traveled to Capitol Hill separately from her husband, President Donald Trump, ahead of his State of the Union speech.

That’s a change from last year, when the first couple made the trip up Pennsylvania Avenue in the same vehicle.

Mrs. Trump’s spokeswoman, Stephanie Grisham, says the first lady went early, accompanying a group of guests for the speech whose stories amplify the president’s agenda. Grisham says the first lady and Karen Pence held an “intimate meet-and-greet” at the Capitol for the guests. A White House official says Mrs. Trump is expected to ride back to the White House with her husband after the speech.

Mrs. Trump hadn’t been seen in public with her husband since The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that in 2016, Trump’s lawyer paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an affair she said she had with the future president. Daniels on Tuesday issued a statement denying the affair happened.