Nancy Pelosi asks Donald Trump to reschedule State of the Union amid shutdown

Speaker Nancy Pelosi cited security concerns in her request to reschedule the speech or to have the president deliver it in writing.

Written by Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Nicholas Fandos

Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked President Donald Trump on Wednesday to scrap or delay his January 29 State of the Union address amid the partial government shutdown, an extraordinary request that escalated the partisan battle over his border wall even as bipartisan groups of lawmakers pressed him to reopen the government and make room for compromise.

In a letter to Trump that underscored how the shutdown fight has poisoned hopes of bipartisan comity at the start of divided government, Pelosi cited security concerns as her reason for proposing that the president postpone the annual presidential ritual of addressing a joint session of Congress in a televised speech during prime time — or perhaps submit a written message instead.

Security aside, her move would deprive Trump of one of the brightest spotlights of a president’s year, intensified this year by Democratic control of the House and the drama of the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history.

“Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government reopens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after government has reopened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on Jan. 29,” Pelosi wrote.

The request was a bracing piece of theater, even in a presidency that has bent so many historical norms. Ronald Reagan postponed his 1986 address after the Challenger space shuttle exploded. Franklin D. Roosevelt transmitted a written message in 1944 as his health began to fail. But Trump had no intention of giving up the spotlight.