Trump told to delay State of the Union address – or put it down in writing
Ben Riley-smith
Rozina Sabur
DONALD TRUMP was yesterday told by the most senior Democrat in the US House of Representatives to delay his State of the Union address until after the government shutdown was over.
Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, wrote to demand he either postpone the Jan 29 speech or just submit a written version to Congress.
Ms Pelosi said the Secret Service and Homeland Security, which normally guarded the event, had been “hamstrung” by lack of funding.
The move appeared to be an attempt to shift the focus of the shutdown back on to Mr Trump, while denying the president a prominent stage from which to chastise Democrats over the impasse. Steve Scalise, the second most senior Republican in the House, wrote on Twitter: “This decision makes clear what we already know: Democrats are only interested in obstructing Donald Trump, not governing.”
The procedural clash came as two congressmen tried to force an end to the shutdown, already the longest in US history and which was due to enter its 27th day today.
Around 800,000 federal government workers were affected, with half continuing to work for free and half sent home without pay. A quarter of the government is affected.
Mr Trump hosted a cross-party group of House members, known as the Problem Solvers Caucus, in the White House yesterday in the latest attempt to break the deadlock. The president insisted he would not sign a spending bill that would reopen government unless it included the $5.6billion (£4.4billion) he wanted to build his wall on the Mexican border, a key campaign pledge.
In a second move, a cross-party group of US senators circulated a letter urging Mr Trump to agree to reopen the government for 30 days, during which immigration reform could be negotiated. The Democrats, who hold the majority in the House, have refused to give Mr Trump the sum he has demanded and insisted they would not talk about immigration reform until the government was working again.
Ms Pelosi, a 78-year-old congresswoman from California, has been at loggerheads with Mr Trump, 72, throughout the shutdown, with the pair trading barbs and trying to pin the blame on each other’s party.
The State of the Union address is seen as one of the big Washington events of the year, with the president speaking to virtually every member of the political elite.
Security is tight, with roads around the Capitol closed off hours before the speech. One member of the president’s cabinet, dubbed the “designated survivor”, does not attend in case a disaster should happen.
Ms Pelosi wrote in her letter: “Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government reopens this week, I suggest that 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 Congress on Jan 29.”
It is unclear what would happen should Mr Trump refuse. Congressional sources said there was no alternative plan as this had always been an informal agreement which until now had not been challenged.