Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) just asked President Trump to postpone his State of the Union Address unless the government re-opens this week to secure the event.
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The newly reminted Speaker tweeted her ‘request’ this morning, though it’s not really Trump’s option to plow ahead with the speech’s original January 29th prime time slot if she decides to re-schedule because of the President’s government shutdown.
Doubtless, Pelosi understands that Donald Trump is desperate to speak on national television in an hour long, uncut prime-time slot traditionally broadcast on all networks, without real-time fact-checking or commercials.
But the Democratic leader explained that the issue is a declaration from Trump’s own Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen which designates the event a National Special Security Event requiring “the full resources of the Federal Government to bear,” and which cannot be accomplished without workers who are currently furloughed.
Today, I wrote to @realDonaldTrump recommending that we delay the State of the Union until after government re-opens, as the @SecretService, the lead federal agency for #SOTU security, faces its 26th day without funding. https://t.co/K2oL8WGvqo pic.twitter.com/g3fIlxDbbK
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 16, 2019
CNN asked the House Democratic Majority leader Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) what Pelosi’s letter means, and his response was emphatic.
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JUST NOW: "The State of the Union is off."@LeaderHoyer to @KateBolduan
— John Berman (@JohnBerman) January 16, 2019
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Trump’s harmful shutdown began after the GOP-led Senate voted to approve a budget package submitted by the President’s Acting Chief of Staff on his behalf, which included $1.6 billion requests for border security funds, but racist right-wing talk radio hosts like Ann Coulter advised him to request more money for “The Wall.”
Now, Trump’s in a political box and Republicans are totally abdicating their responsibility to govern by passing the Senate’s funding bill when Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell refused to allow a floor vote for the second time yesterday.
Outside of keeping the government shutdown each week Sen. McConnell, is keeping out of sight and speechless while obsequiously doing anything the President wants.
Now, the President’s shutdown is about to cancel the one thing that Donald Trump cares about more than anything else, lots of national television prime-time exposure on all of the networks to spew his lies.
That means Speaker Pelosi’s bold letter to cancel the State of the Union Address could become the proverbial straw which breaks the President’s back on his pipe dream of funding for “The Wall.”
