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The Government Is Re-Opened But Trump's SOTU Address Is Still On Hold

It is unclear when the State of the Union address will take place, even after Trump and Democrats reached a temporary agreement to reopen the government.
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U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference with Giuseppe Conte, Italy’s prime minister, not pictured, in the East Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, July 30, 2018. Conte took his cues from Donald Trump at their first White House meeting, backing the president’s views on trade, migration, security and defense spending and setting himself up as an advocate for U.S. policy in the heart of the European Union. Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
By Breanna Edwards ·
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The government is open…for now after President Donald Trump and Democrats reached a “tentative deal” to end the shutdown, temporarily, until Feb. 15. That being said, the president’s State of the Union address is still on hold, with no date scheduled at this time. Last week, while the tensions of the shutdown still roiled, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it clear that the president would not be welcome to give his address as long as the government remained closed. The president is not able to speak in front of a joint session of Congress without both of the chambers’ express permission. And though tensions have temporarily eased, it seems as if the expected Tuesday date is still off the table.

“It’s not happening on 1/29,” Drew Hammill, a spokesman for Pelosi, told USA Today.

Pelosi told reporters following Trump’s announcement that the government would reopen that a date was still being worked out for the address.

“The State of the Union is not planned now,” she said.

“What I said to the president is when the government is opened we will discuss a mutually agreeable date,” Pelosi added. “I’ll look forward to doing that.”

Trump had previously blasted the Speaker for digging in her heels and refusing to allow his address, claiming that “she doesn’t want to hear the truth. She doesn’t want the American public to hear what’s going on.” In the earlier parts of the President’s and Pelosi’s standoff, the White House had considered moving the speech to another location, however toward the end, Trump conceded, and backed off on his insistence of giving the address despite the House’s disapproval, claiming “….alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber.”
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