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Pelosi: Trump’s State of the Union Address Not Happening on Tuesday

Despite President Donald Trump ending the government shutdown, his State of the Union address remains unsettled. Speaker Nancy Pelosi is still not allowing the House Floor to be used for his speech on 29 January.
Sputnik

"It's not happening on 1/29," said Drew Hammill, a spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, cited by USA Today on Saturday.

Earlier Pelosi postponed Trump’s address due to the longest government shutdown in US history, citing security concerns, as those tasked with protecting the high-profile event were not being paid, in an official letter to the White House.

READ MORE: Pelosi Asks Trump to Delay State of Union Address Until Shutdown Crisis Resolved

"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 the government has opened," the letter read.

On Friday, Trump agreed to temporarily reopen the government until 15 February to focus on talks about a final deal on southern border security – the sticking point that had led to stopping the work of the federal government.

After Pelosi Pulls Plug on SOTU Speech, Trump Acknowledges It's Canceled
After Trump's announcement of the government reopening, Pelosi told reporters that a date would be worked out for the president's address.

"What I said to the president is when the government is opened we will discuss a mutually agreeable date," Pelosi said, adding "I'll look forward to doing that" as well as welcoming Trump to the House Chamber when an agreement has been made.

Trump, who at first reportedly was looking for another venue, agreed to Pelosi’s terms to hold the address until after the end of the shutdown, noting that hosting the address somewhere else would have been "disrespectful."

"I could have got to a big auditorium and got 25,000 people in one day and you've been there many times, but I think that would be very disrespectful to the State of the Union, so what she said, I thought was actually reasonable," Trump said. "We'll have the State of the Union when the shutdown is over."

However, neither Pelosi nor the White House have indicated so far that there have been any discussions about another date for the annual address, which hosts all members of Congress, the president's cabinet and the Supreme Court justices.

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