January 23, 2019

Pelosi Officially Disinvites Trump From Giving State of the Union Address

Hours later, the president finally conceded and said he’d deliver the address after the government reopened.

Roll Call/AP

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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. 

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.

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!”

This is a breaking news post. We will update as more information becomes available.

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“Lying.” “Disgusting.” “Scum.” “Slime.” “Corrupt.” “Enemy of the people.” Donald Trump has always made clear what he thinks of journalists. And it’s plain now that his administration intends to do everything it can to stop journalists from reporting things they don’t like—which is most things that are true.

No one gets to tell Mother Jones what to publish or not publish, because no one owns our fiercely independent newsroom. But that also means we need to directly raise the resources it takes to keep our journalism alive. There’s only one way for that to happen, and it’s readers like you stepping up. Please help with a donation today if you can—even a few bucks will make a real difference. A monthly gift would be incredible.

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