Pelosi may have literally saved the US president's life, as she cited "security" concerns over the State of the Union Address January 16.
"This requires hundreds of people working on the logistics and security of it. Most of those people are either furloughed or victims of the shutdown. The president's shutdown. But that isn't the point." Pelosi remarked hours before receiving Trump's update on her travel plans.
Claiming certainty that the speaker of the House would "agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate," the brief memo ultimately informed Pelosi that her seven-day trek to Brussels, Egypt and Afghanistan would be postponed until the end of the government shutdown.
Perhaps the private military company Academi (formerly known as Blackwater), which has been attempting to replace US troops in Syria, can defend US officials while they attend the State of the Union address.
If not, Trump can always fire up his Sharpie again, sign and send off his speech.