House Speaker Nancy Pelosi informed President Donald Trump Wednesday that she would not allow him to deliver his State of the Union address.
“I am writing to inform you 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,” she wrote in a letter to the president.
Pelosi reversed her January 3rd invitation to the president, expressing disappointment that parts of the federal government would still be shut down on January 29th — the agreed date of the president’s speech.
Trump stated earlier Wednesday in a letter to Pelosi that he still planned to accept the invitation to speak at the House of Representatives.
Last week, Pelosi urged the president to cancel his speech due to security concerns as a result of the shutdown. Both the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security said that the partial shutdown would not impact their ability to provide security for the event.
Despite her invitation, a House resolution is required to authorize Trump’s State of the Union address in the House chamber. Pelosi sent a letter to the president informing him that she would not allow that resolution to take place.
Pelosi’s letter did not mention her concerns about security but demanded that the government be reopened before she would allow Trump to deliver his State of the Union speech.
“Again, I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened,” she concluded.
President Trump responded to the news with reporters during a White House event on prescription drug prices.
“I’m not surprised,” he said. “It’s really a shame, what’s happening with the Democrats — they’ve become radicalized.”
He condemned Democrats for refusing to negotiate with him to build the wall and reopen the government.
“This will go on for a while,” he predicted.
Earlier this week, the White House expressed confidence that the president would deliver a State of the Union Speech next Tuesday — inside or outside of Congress.