President Donald Trump has accepted an invitation from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to give his State of the Union speech on Feb. 5.
Trump said in a letter to Pelosi on Monday that it is his “great honor” to accept her invitation to speak before a joint session of Congress next week.
“We have a great story to tell and yet, great goals to achieve!” he wrote.
“I look forward to seeing you on the 5th.”
The speech had initially been scheduled for Jan. 29, but Pelosi postponed it amid what turned into a 35-day partial government shutdown over Trump’s demand for border wall funding.
“Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after the government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29th,” Pelosi’s Jan. 16 letter to the president said.
On Jan. 23, Pelosi told Trump she would not let him address the nation during the shutdown.
It was the first known time that a speaker had rescinded an invitation to deliver the State of the Union.
As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an….
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
….alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber. I look forward to giving a “great” State of the Union Address in the near future!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
“When I wrote to you on January 23rd, I stated that we should work together to find a mutually agreeable date when government has reopened to schedule this year’s State of the Union address,” Pelosi wrote in her Monday invitation. “In our conversation today, we agreed on February 5th.
“Therefore, I invite you to deliver your State of the Union address before a Joint Session of Congress on February 5, 2019 in the House Chamber.”
The House and Senate still must pass a resolution officially inviting Trump to speak to a joint session of Congress.
Via
