Roll Call/AP
Update, 1/24, 7:20 a.m. EST: Late Wednesday, President Trump said that he would concede to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and deliver the State of the Union after the government reopens.
As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
….alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
Update, 2:37 p.m. EST: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said that she would not allow a vote on a resolution for the State of the Union, effectively barring President Trump from delivering his address in the US House chamber.
BREAKING: @SpeakerPelosi to decline steps to permit a State of the Union Jan 29 pic.twitter.com/ZDbKGjduNT
— Kelly O'Donnell (@KellyO) January 23, 2019
Previously:
It took an entire week, but on Wednesday, President Donald Trump finally responded to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recommendation to postpone the State of the Union address until after the government reopens, saying that he would deliver the speech as originally planned in the chamber of the US House.
Trump claimed that after speaking to officials at the Defense Department and the Secret Service, he concluded that Pelosi’s security concerns due to the partial government shutdown were unfounded. “Therefore I will be honoring your 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,” Trump wrote in the letter.
“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!”
President Trump’s letter to Speaker Pelosi on the State of the Union pic.twitter.com/B4QN9hDJnv
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 23, 2019
This is a breaking news post. We will update as more information becomes available.
