U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Neil M. Gorsuch arrive for the State of the Union address Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018 in Washington. (Win McNamee/Pool via AP)

President Donald Trump boasted Tuesday night that he has appointed “more circuit judges than any new administration in the history of our country,” judges who “will interpret the Constitution as written.”

Trump also praised Neil Gorsuch, “a great new Supreme Court justice,” as he delivered his first State of the Union address before an audience that included Gorsuch and three other justices: Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan. Gorsuch was stone-faced as Trump mentioned his name.

The annual head count of justices at the event became unusually controversial when it was reported over the weekend that Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would not attend. Critics suggested Ginsburg, who was critical of Trump during the 2016 campaign, was boycotting the event. But it turned out that she had agreed to two public appearances in Rhode Island long before the date of the presidential address was set.

As for the other missing justices, Sonia Sotomayor was spotted in Panama, Anthony Kennedy was in California, and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito Jr. are longtime absentees from the speech.

In addition to the four justices, Jeffrey Minear, counselor to the chief justice, and court clerk Scott Harris also attended the event.

Trump's comments about his judicial appointments came on the same day that the Senate voted 56 to 41 to confirm the nomination of Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Stras was the 24th Trump judicial nominee—and the 13th circuit nominee—confirmed by the Senate since Trump became president.

The address touched on few legal topics except for immigration, though Trump also said without elaboration, “We are totally defending our Second Amendment, and have taken historic actions to protect religious liberty.”

Trump also highlighted his deregulation campaign, asserting that “In our drive to make Washington accountable, we have eliminated more regulations in our first year than any administration in history.”

The president announced he would keep open Guantanamo Bay, a cause of legal disputes for years. “In the past, we have foolishly released hundreds of dangerous terrorists, only to meet them again on the battlefield—including the ISIS leader, al-Baghdadi—who we captured, who we had, who we released” Trump said. “So today, I am keeping another promise. I just signed, prior to walking in, an order directing Secretary Mattis—who is doing a great job, thank you—to reexamine our military detention policy and to keep open the detention facilities in Guantánamo Bay.”