OAN Newsroom
UPDATED 1:05 PM PT — Wednesday, January 23, 2019
The State of the Union battle is heating up, following Nancy Pelsoi’s official response to President Trump’s letter accepting her previous invitation to deliver the address next week.
The House speaker sent a letter to the White House Wednesday, saying the House will not consider a resolution allowing him to deliver the speech to a joint session of Congress until the government reopens.
This comes after the president sent her a letter formally accepting a January 3, 2019 invitation and acknowledging her January 16, 2019 letter citing security concerns due to the shutdown. He said he was assured there were no security issues.
A portion of a letter sent to President Donald Trump from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2019 in Washington. Pelosi is officially postponing President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address until the government is fully reopened. The California Democrat told Trump in a letter Wednesday the Democratic-controlled House won’t pass the required measure for him to give the nationally televised speech from the House floor. Pelosi acted just hours after Trump notified her that he was planning to deliver the speech next Tuesday in line with her original invitation. (AP Photo/Wayne Partlow)
Pelosi’s move effectively blocks the president from delivering his address next week.
The House speaker appears to be pushing Democrat lawmakers to continue efforts to reopen the government without addressing border security. According to press on Capitol Hill, Pelosi urged the Democrat Caucus to stay united and stick with their plan to resist the Trump administration during a private meeting Wednesday.