Updated: 5:48 p.m.

Speaker John Boehner will host a cocktail party for the Republican National Committee at the same time that President Barack Obama will be addressing the nation at the memorial service for victims of the Tucson shooting.

The Ohio Republican is holding a 7 p.m. cocktail reception Wednesday night for 168 RNC members, who are in the Washington area for an annual meeting. The event is sponsored by Boehner’s political action committee and will take place at Maryland’s National Harbor resort.

The RNC party coincides with the 8 p.m. EST memorial ceremony at the University of Arizona in Tucson, where Obama will honor the victims of Saturday’s shooting rampage that left six dead and 14 wounded, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who is in critical condition.

A Boehner aide said the Speaker plans to leave the RNC party before Obama begins his remarks.