Pelosi says State of the Union date to be determined after shutdown ends

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said there are no plans to move forward with the State of the Union next Tuesday, despite President Trump’s announcement that he would sign a short-term measure reopening the government.

“The State of the Union is not planned now,” Pelosi told reporters at a press conference Friday.

“What I said to the president is, when the government is open we will discuss a mutually agreeable date and I’ll look forward to doing that and welcoming the president to the House of Representatives when we mutually agree on that date.”

{mosads}Pelosi retracted President Trump’s invitation to deliver the address in the House on Wednesday, saying it should take place after the government is open.

It now appears the government could reopen very soon after a partial shutdown that began on Dec. 22. 

The House and Senate are expected to pass legislation on Friday afternoon to reopen the government.

Trump gave in on Friday and said he would agree to a three-week measure reopening the government that would give the two sides time to negotiate on border security. The bill will not include funding for Trump’s border wall, the issue that triggered the shutdown.

Trump on Thursday said he was fine with Pelosi’s decision to put off the State of the Union address, even though a week earlier he had canceled a congressional delegation trip she was to have taken to Afghanistan in response to the possibility she would put off the State of the Union.

“It’s really her choice,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “I would have done it in a different location but I think that would be very disrespectful to the State of the Union to pick some other place. 

“What she said, I thought, was actually reasonable,” he added. “We’ll have the State of the Union when the shutdown’s over.”

Pelosi asked Trump to consider postponing the address last week, citing security concerns.