President Trump has responded to Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) request that he consider postponing the annual State of the Union address to Congress amid the government shutdown.
On Wednesday he sent a letter stating his intent to deliver the State of the Union as planned on January 29th, writing that he will be honoring her invitation, “and fulfilling my Constitutional duty, to deliver important information to the people and Congress of the United States of America regarding the State of our Union.”
Pelosi requested the postponement in a letter sent last week, citing security concerns, as the agency responsible for ensuring safety of the event, has had their government funding lapse. She explained that if President Trump felt January 29th, was the firm date, he could, as in years past, simply deliver his State of the Union to Congress in writing.
President Trump explains in his letter that “even prior to asking,” he was contacted by the “Department of Homeland Security and the United States Secret Service to explain that there would be absolutely no problem regarding security with respect to the event.”
He concludes his letter by writing, “It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!”
The Washington Post explains that even though Pelosi had requested the State of the Union be postponed she did not “rescind her invitation,” for the President to speak before Congress on January 29th.
The article also notes that it was “unclear how,” President Trump, “would address lawmakers Jan. 29 as the House and Senate must pass a concurrent resolution for a joint session of Congress to hear the president.”
This is not President Trump’s first acknowledgment of the letter, shortly after receiving the request as the News Blender reported, President Trump revoked the use of a military plane for a trip he called a “seven-day excursion,” that Pelosi had intended to take aboard to visit military personal.
For what it’s worth: Chairman of the House Democratic Caucus Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (NY) told reporters, via the New York Times, that “unless the government is reopened, it’s highly unlikely that the State of the Union will take place on the floor of the House of Representatives.”
There is also this via Twitter
Update
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has responded to President Trump’s letter regarding the State of the Union.
In her letter, she explains that the House of Representatives “will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber until the government has opened.”
She adds that she looks forward to “welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened.”
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