President Trump Says He Will Deliver The State Of The Union, Pelosi Says No

This combination of file pictures created on January 20, 2019 shows US President Donald Trump as he arrives at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 19, 2019,and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-NY) outside the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on January 3, 2019

President Donald Trump said that has no plans to cancel or move his State of the Union address currently scheduled for January 29th, but House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may force his hand. She had requested that Trump reschedule the annual address to a joint session of Congress because of the ongoing partial government shutdown, citing security concerns.

President Trump sent a letter to Pelosi saying that he is rejecting her request to reschedule the State of the Union and that he plans to deliver the speech in the House chamber. 

"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.

He explained that, despite the government shutdown, "there are no security concerns" and that he has been assured by the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security that there will be "absolutely no problem regarding security with respect to the event."

"I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. 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!"

Pelosi responded telling the president 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 government has opened."

After Pelosi released her letter Trump told members of the press that "the State of the Union speech has been canceled because [Pelosi] doesn’t want to hear the truth. She’s afraid of the truth." 

There are reports that White House officials have been working on a plan to host the State of the Union outside of Washington D.C. It is unclear if Trump will take the route or just cancel the speech entirely. 

Photo: Getty Images


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