WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is looking at his options. After being disinvited from giving his State of the Union address in the House chamber,…
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is looking at his options.
After being disinvited from giving his State of the Union address in the House chamber, Trump is scouting for a new venue to give the annual address.
While the president had been planning to speak in the House – as is customary – his fight over funding for a border wall and the ongoing partial government shutdown led to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi revoking his invitation to address the nation on Tuesday.
« 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, » the California Democrat wrote Wednesday in a letter to Trump.
Pelosi had previously cited possible security concerns because authorities who were in charge of securing the event weren’t being paid due to the shutdown and suggested Trump give the address from the Oval Office. The Secret Service is responsible for such events, but the agency, a part of the Department of Homeland Security, is affected by the shutdown.
Here are some other options for where Trump could give his remarks:
While unprecedented in modern times, it could happen.
The Constitution says the president « shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, » but it does not dictate where or when the address should happen.
A handful of House Republicans, led by Indiana Rep. Jim Banks, have urged Vice President Mike Pence and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to invite Trump to deliver the address from the Senate.
“In the spirit of the Constitution, and for the good of the Republic, we must not allow partisan politics to disrupt time honored Constitutional traditions,” they wrote in a letter.
