WITH US GOV’T CLOSED, SPEAKER WANTS TO SHUT DOWN TRUMP’S STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, TOO
WASHINGTON— With the partial US government shutdown now in its 26th day, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday asked President Donald Trump to reschedule his State of the Union Address, a move that could deny him the chance to criticize Democrats over the funding impasse.
Trump’s address is set for Jan. 29, but Pelosi wrote him a letter saying the Secret Service might not be able to provide the needed security because it had not received funding during the dispute.
Oval Office venue
Pelosi suggested that if Trump would not agree to reschedule the speech until the government reopens, he could deliver it from the Oval Office instead.
“Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government reopens this week, I sug- gest we work together to determine another suitable date after government has reopened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress,” Pelosi wrote.
Security services ready
But Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen denied anyone’s safety was compromised and said both the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service “are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union.”
Trump did not immediately respond to Pelosi’s letter, but his Republican allies accused Pelosi of playing politics, with Republican Rep. Steve Scalise tweeting that Democrats are “only interested in obstructing @realDonaldTrump, not governing.”
Rep. Jim Jordan of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of conservative Republicans allied to Trump, said Pelosi’s move showed that Democrats were “more focused on stopping the president than they are on serving the country.”
Pelosi left unclear what would happen if Trump insisted oncoming despite the welcome mat being pulled away, and it takes a joint resolution of the House and Senate to extend the invitation.
“We’ll have to have a security evaluation, but that would mean diverting resources,” she said when asked how she would respond if Trump still intended to come. “I don’t know how that could happen.”
But Nielsen said on Twitter that her department and the Secret Service were prepared to handle a presidential speech at the Capitol.
Trump on Wednesday signed legislation that would ensure 800,000 federal employees would receive back pay when the government reopens.
Trump to veto riders
But the White House threatened to veto a House bill that would provide $12.1 billion in supplemental funding for national disasters if lawmakers combined it with a separate measure to temporarily reopen shuttered agencies without funding for a border wall, saying such a move would be “unacceptable.”
Some government employees are being asked to return to work after being initially told to stay home during the shutdown, although they will not be paid on schedule.
Judiciary funds running out
Funding for the federal courts will run out next week because of the shutdown, Bob Carlson, president of the American Bar Association said on Wednesday, urging the administration and Congress to reach a compromise and restore funding to the federal judiciary.
“Immigration courts, which have no current funding and are already dealing with an 800,000-case backlog, have canceled more than 42,000 hearings, forcing people who have waited years for justice to wait even longer,” Carlson said in a statement.