WASHINGTON—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.) asked President Trump on Wednesday to delay his State of the Union address to Congress until the government is reopened, citing security concerns.

It is custom for the speaker of the House to formally invite the president to give a State of the Union speech to a joint session of Congress at the beginning of the year. That address is scheduled for Jan. 29. </s> House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on President Donald Trump on Wednesday to delay making the State of the Union address or deliver it by writing due to the partial government shutdown.

“Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after 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 wrote in a letter to Trump.

The speaker noted that last September, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen designated State of the Union addresses as “National Special Security Events,” necessitating “the full resources of the Federal Government to be brought to bear.”

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“The extraordinary demands presented by NSSEs require weeks of detailed planning with dozens of agencies working together to prepare for the safety of all participants,” the California Democrat wrote.

“However, both the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security have not been funded for 26 days now — with critical departments hamstrung by furloughs,” Pelosi said.

She further pointed out the State of the Union addresses were delivered in writing until the presidency of Woodrow Wilson in the early 1900s.

CNBC reported that the speaker suggested on Wednesday that Trump “can make it from the Oval Office if he wants.”

The president’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., claimed the real reason Pelosi is calling for a delay is because she is “terrified” of the chief executive getting another chance to directly speak to the nation, following his Oval Office address regarding the shutdown and border security last week.

“Speaker Pelosi is clearly attempting to block my father from giving his State of the Union speech, not because 20 percent of the government is shut down, but because she is terrified of him having another opportunity to speak directly to the American people about her party’s obstruction, unfiltered and without her friends in the media running interference for her,” Trump Jr. told The Daily Caller.

“Pelosi correctly recognizes that the more President Trump shines a spotlight on the very real human tragedies that occur because of her and her party’s open border policies, the more of a political loser it becomes for them,” he added.

Daily Wire editor-in-chief Ben Shapiro suggested that Trump deliver the speech from the U.S.-Mexico border instead of the Capitol and include Border Patrol agents and Angel Moms.

Fox Business host Charles Payne mocked Pelosi, tweeting, “Perhaps President Trump could order the addition of drones and sensors to make Speaker Pelosi feel safe enough to attend the State of the Union address.”

After Pelosi called a wall between nations “an immorality” last month, Trump noted that additional drones and other technology measures the speaker has supported will not, in themselves, physically stop anyone from crossing the border.

The president has requested $5.7 billion to build approximately 230 miles in new border barriers, while Democrats have offered $1.3 billion for border security but specified it cannot be used for a border wall.

Trump tweeted on Wednesday, “It is becoming more and more obvious that the Radical Democrats are a Party of open borders and crime.”

He continued, “They want nothing to do with the major Humanitarian Crisis on our Southern Border.”

We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards. </s> tupungato/iStock(WASHINGTON) — The back and forth between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Donald Trump over when and where the State of the Union will be delivered — if at all — came to a conclusion, if temporary, late Wednesday night.

Trump will not give a speech until after the partial government shutdown is over.

The president tweeted the news in a two-part missive just before midnight, saying, “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.”

He ended speculation he might look to give the speech in a location other than the House of Representatives as well, saying he’s not looking for another venue.

In response, Pelosi took the opportunity to encourage the president to support a bill to fund the government while discussions over border security continue.

“Mr. President, I hope by saying ‘near future’ you mean you will support the House-passed package to #EndTheShutdown that the Senate will vote on tomorrow,” she said. “Please accept this proposal so we can re-open government, repay our federal workers and then negotiate our differences.”

The bill is most likely dead on arrival in the Republican-controlled Senate.

It’s the latest twist in their political and seemingly personal feud. Earlier Wednesday, Pelosi sent a letter to Trump saying there would be no State of the Union address in the House chamber until after the partial government shutdown ends, effectively rescinding her invitation to the president.

“When I extended an invitation on January 3rd for you to deliver the State of the Union address, it was on the mutually agreed upon date, January 29th. At that time, there was no thought that the government would still be shut down,” her letter said. “I am writing to inform you that the House of Representatives will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber until government has opened,” Pelosi, D-Calif., said.

The resolution is necessary to authorize the president to address a joint session of Congress.

“Again, I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened,” Pelosi’s letter continued.

At the White House, Trump told reporters he was “not surprised” by Pelosi’s letter.

“I’m not surprised. It’s really a shame what’s happening with the Democrats, they’ve become radicalized,” Trump said when asked for reaction to Pelosi’s letter during a photo-op in the Roosevelt Room.

Later, at another photo-op, Trump said, “The State of the Union has been canceled by Nancy Pelosi because she doesn’t want to hear the truth, she doesn’t want the American people to hear what’s going on.”

“Now Nancy Pelosi, or Nancy as I call her, she doesn’t want to hear the truth and she doesn’t want to hear the American people to hear the truth,” Trump said.

“I think that’s a great blotch on the great country we all love, it’s a great, great horrible mark. I don’t believe it’s ever happened before,” Trump said. “It’s always good to be part of history but this is a negative part of history. This is where people are afraid to open up and say what’s going on.”

“If we can handle Iraq, we can handle the middle of Washington and the very spectacular building and a beautiful room that we should be in and that’s where it’s been for a long time,” Trump said.

Upon returning to the Capitol after an afternoon speech, Pelosi made clear that Trump is not welcome to address a joint session of Congress until the shutdown is over.

“I still make the offer: let’s work together on a mutually agreeable date, as the original date was, mutually agreeable, so we can welcome him properly to the Capitol,” she said.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise told reporters that Pelosi’s decision to rescind the invitation is “a big mistake” and “a disgraceful move.”

“The fact that Nancy Pelosi’s not only holding the paychecks of federal workers hostage, now she’s going to try to hold the State of the Union hostage, shows that she is beholden right now to the most radical left elements of her base,” Scalise, R-La., said. “She’s not trying to solve this problem.”

Just a couple of hours earlier, Trump on Wednesday rejected Pelosi’s earlier suggestion he delay his State of the Union speech until after the partial government shutdown ends, writing Pelosi to formally affirm he was sticking to plans to deliver the address on Jan. 29 in the House chamber.

“I will be honoring your invitation, and fulfilling my Constitutional duty, to deliver important information to the people and Congress of the United States of America regarding the State of our Union,” Trump wrote in a letter to Pelosi on Wednesday afternoon.

Trump closed the letter by hinting that the onus would be on Pelosi to cancel the invitation. “I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th in the Chamber of the House of Representative. It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!”

Recognizing that Pelosi’s invitation was never officially taken off the table, Trump had seemingly called her bluff, resisting pressure to pull out and deliver the address from another venue elsewhere in Washington, such as at the White House or Senate chamber, or even, as one Republican member of Congress suggested, at the southern border.

Pelosi wrote Trump on Jan. 16, appealing to the president to work with her to find “another suitable date” after the partial government shutdown ends, or provide his address in writing – justifying her suggestion with a warning that “critical” operations at the Department of Homeland Security are “hamstrung by furloughs.”

In his letter, Trump said DHS and the U.S. Secret Service told him “there would be absolutely no problem regarding security with respect to the event.”

Despite the uncertainty prior to the letter, preparations were already moving forward to welcome Trump next Tuesday, as Pelosi has not explicitly disinvited him from an invitation to deliver the annual address from the House chamber.

“She didn’t disinvite him. She suggested another date which would be consistent with a government that was open and was paying the people that we expect to protect us,” House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 ranked Democrat, told reporters during a pen and pad briefing Wednesday. “It is a very high-security event.”

As a matter of congressional protocol, both the House and Senate must pass a concurrent resolution authorizing the president to deliver an address from the House chamber, though neither chamber has acted yet and no votes on such measures are planned this week.

Hoyer, who is empowered with control over which measures are considered on the House floor, said a resolution could be considered as late as next Tuesday – the same day Pelosi has invited Trump to deliver the address – without impacting security or logistical planning.

“I’m told that that could be passed Tuesday the 29th and be equally effective as if we passed it today,” Hoyer said. “I think the Capitol Police and Sergeant at Arms have assured us we’ll be fully prepared if in fact there’s a State of the Union address on the 29th.”

Rep. Mike McCaul, the top Republican on the House Foreign Affairs committee, signaled he hopes the president’s efforts will generate a solution to the impasse.

“This is a time we need the president to come to the Hill and talk to the Congress,” McCaul, R-Texas, said. “And so I would hope that Speaker Pelosi would just do the right thing – rise above the partisanship and let the president come talk to the Congress.”

While the shutdown continued in its 33rd day, Hoyer says House Democrats are crafting a letter outlining “substantial” spending on border security to “articulate what we believe is effective.” He urged the president to end the shutdown, enabling lawmakers to negotiate a border security package and even comprehensive immigration reform without the president using 800,000 federal employees as leverage.

“I think her suggestion was a reasonable one,” Hoyer said of Pelosi’s suggestion to delay the speech until after government reopens. “The response we got was that the Secret Service will do its job and other security officers will do their job. There’s no doubt that they will. They’re very dedicated, patriotic people, very contentious people. Paying them or not, they’re going to be doing their job. We understand that but the fact is the president needs to open up the government.” </s> WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump's Republican allies are dismissing as a political ploy House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's request that the president postpone his planned State of the Union address.

In a letter Wednesday, Pelosi noted that the Secret Service and the Homeland Security Department are entangled in the ongoing partial government shutdown and suggested Trump should address Congress another time.

Neither Trump nor the White House has responded to the suggestion. A top House Republican, Louisiana's Steve Scalise, tweeted that Democrats are interested only in obstruction, not governance.

Trump could postpone the address, already set for Jan. 29, or deliver it in writing as was the norm before the 20th century. The tradition for generations has called for a nationally broadcast address that provides the president a massive audience. </s> The Department of Homeland Security and Secret Service have been impacted by the government shutdown, too.

Citing safety concerns, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has suggested that President Donald Trump postpone his State of the Union address to the nation until the government shutdown ends.

That’s because the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security have been without funding for almost four weeks.

According to the Associated Press, Pelosi’s letter was made public after being delivered to the White House.

“On Jan. 3, it was my privilege as Speaker to invite you to deliver the State of the Union address on Jan. 29. The Constitution calls for the President to ‘from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union.'” Pelosi stated in a letter sent to Trump.

Pelosi noted that televised State of the Union addresses before Congress haven’t always been the norm, and especially during a government shutdown.

“During the 19th Century and up until the presidency of Woodrow Wilson, these annual state of the union message were delivered to Congress in writing. And since the start of modern budgeting in Fiscal Year 1977, a State of the Union address has never been delivered during a government shutdown,” she wrote.

In September 2018, U.S. Secretary Nielsen designated State of the Union addresses as National Special Security Events, meaning they would need “the full resources of the federal government” to make sure the event and all participants are secure.

“The extraordinary demands presented by NSSEs require weeks of detailed planning with dozens of agencies working together to prepare for the safety of all participants,” Pelosi wrote. “The U.S. Secret Service was designated as the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating, planning, exercising and implementing security for National Special Security Events.”

Pelosi pointed out that since the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security haven’t been funded for 26 days and have been “hamstrung by furloughs.”

“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,” she wrote.

Pelosi did suggest that the president consider delivering his State of the Union address in writing to Congress on Jan. 29 as presidents of the past used to do.

As of Wednesday morning, the White House has not responded to Pelosi’s letter.

The Associated Press also reported that Congressional members intend to skip the upcoming planned recession if the government shutdown continues. At this point, neither side seems to be interested in backing down. </s> House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) on Wednesday called for President Trump to postpone his upcoming State of the Union address, citing the likelihood that the government would be shut down during the day he’s slated to give it.

“Sadly,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to Trump, “given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after 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.”

The letter, which comes as the White House is attempting to persuade moderate House Democrats to break ranks and vote for border-wall funding, demonstrably raises the political stakes of a shutdown fight that now is the longest in American history.

While there is no formal obligation that the president deliver an actual address before Congress on a yearly basis—merely that he or she update lawmakers on the state of the union—a high-profile speech has become a ceremonial rite of passage for a president. Pelosi’s insistence that one not take place while the government is closed is both a clear assertion of power on her part and a strategic attempt to deprive Trump of the stage he craves.

“She understands the symbolism of [the speech] happening when the government is shut down is inappropriate,” one Democratic lawmaker said. “It’s kind of bizarre that you shut the government down and then would come and give a speech on the state of the union. The state of the union is closed,” another Democratic lawmaker said. “Also, knowing how desperately he wants to give this speech, this is just going to drive him crazy!”

The White House did not immediately return a request for comment on Pelosi’s letter. But her letter sparked both anger among Republicans and a bit of begrudging respect for its boldness.

“It shows she has leverage and is willing to use it [and] it hits Trump where it hurts—massive media attention,” said Doug Heye, who, as Republican National Committee press secretary in 2010, led the Fire-Pelosi campaign that dislodged her as speaker that election cycle. “And I think this is being somewhat mis-reported. While the letter contains all the niceties and courtesies, Pelosi isn’t asking Trump not to come. She is telling him he won’t be allowed.”

Before sending her letter to Trump on Wednesday, Pelosi read it to her fellow Democrats during a caucus meeting in the morning. According to a lawmaker in the room, “there was a very positive reaction”—reflecting the unified front that the party has adopted during the shutdown fight.

In her letter, Pelosi noted that the government agencies responsible for managing security during the State of the Union, including the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security, “have not been funded for 26 days now–with critical departments hamstrung by furloughs.” </s> House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has written President Trump to suggest that he postpone his State of the Union address, citing her “security concerns” over the ability of the Secret Service and Department of Homeland Security to protect government officials during the shutdown.

With all due respect, that is fake news.

Pelosi isn’t worried about security. She invited the president to deliver the State of the Union on Jan. 3, 13 days after the partial government shutdown began. She did not ask the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service before writing the president whether they had concerns about their ability to provide security. Indeed, Politico reports that a planning meeting with the Secret Service was scheduled for the day after Pelosi sent her letter, and subsequently canceled. If Pelosi had bothered to ask, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen would have told her exactly what she said Wednesday on Twitter: “The Department of Homeland Security and the US Secret Service are fully prepared to support and secure the State of the Union.”

Pelosi is using her faux security concerns as a pretext to do something unprecedented and outrageous: deny a president of the United States the opportunity to come to Congress and deliver his State of the Union address. Never in the history of our Republic has the House speaker invited, and then disinvited, a sitting president from addressing a joint session of Congress. Yet all those who constantly decry Trump for shattering of presidential norms seem to be perfectly fine when Pelosi is doing the norm shattering — and lying about why she is doing it.

To the contrary, some have praised this is as a power move on Pelosi’s part. No, it’s not. Pelosi understands full well the power of a State of the Union address. Trump’s first two addresses of a joint session drew 48 million and 46 million television viewers, respectively (plus millions more online). She knows that, if anything, the drama of Trump addressing Congress in the midst of the shutdown would likely increase interest. Trump has now twice demonstrated that he can use the venue effectively. So, Pelosi wants to stop him from speaking from the rostrum of the House of Representatives directly to tens of millions of Americans and calling her out for her refusal to compromise.

If she follows through on this threat, it could backfire. Right now, Democrats are brimming with confidence because polls show that a majority of Americans blame Trump for the shutdown. But according to a recent Hill-HarrisX poll, 70 percent of Americans want both sides to compromise, including 61 percent of Republicans and 76 percent of Democrats. Right now, Trump is the only one talking compromise, while Democrats are demanding unilateral surrender. A few weeks ago, Trump sent Vice President Pence to Capitol Hill with an offer that cut his wall request from $5.7 billion to $2.5 billion. Pelosi said she would be willing to give him “one dollar.” She probably thought it was funny. But to millions of voters, it came across as cocky and insensitive to the hundreds of thousands of federal workers affected by the shutdown.

Then, to add insult to injury, Democratic lawmakers took a junket to Puerto Rico on the very day that federal workers stop receiving their paychecks. They had time to sun themselves on the beach at an exclusive resort with more than 100 lobbyists and executives and hang out with the cast of “Hamilton,” but they could not be bothered to accept Trump’s invitation to meet with him at the White House on Tuesday to find a way out of the crisis.

And now Pelosi is threatening to cancel the State of the Union address — a move that will be seen by many Americans as petty and vindictive. If Democrats continue with this cavalier attitude and refusal to negotiate, eventually public opinion will turn against them.

Trump should tell Pelosi that, while he appreciates her concerns, the Secret Service has assured him that they can handle security and that he plans to deliver his address in person, as scheduled. Let her withdraw the invitation. If she does, it will be a turning point in our nation’s history — a moment when the last vestiges of comity in Washington were destroyed. It may also be the moment when Americans finally realized that Pelosi cares more about hurting Trump than she does about finding a compromise solution and doing what is best for the country.

Read more from Marc Thiessen’s archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. </s> By KEVIN FREKING, MATTHEW DALY and CATHERINE LUCEY

 Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Donald Trump said Wednesday night he is postponing his State of the Union address until the partial government shutdown ends, yielding after a weeklong showdown with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Following a high-stakes game of dare and double-dare, Trump conceded that "no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber" and that he was not looking for an alternate option after Pelosi served notice earlier Wednesday that he won't be allowed to deliver the address to a joint session of Congress next week.

Pelosi had taken the step after Trump said he planned to show up in spite of Democratic objections to the speech taking place with large swaths of the government shut down.

Denied that grand venue, Trump promised to come up with some sort of alternative event. The White House scrambled to find a site matching the gravitas of the traditional address from the rostrum of the House to lawmakers from both parties, Supreme Court justices, invited guests and a television audience of millions.

"As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed," Trump tweeted. "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."

Fireworks over the speech shot back and forth between the Capitol and the White House as the monthlong partial government shutdown showed no signs of ending and about 800,000 federal workers faced the prospect of going without their second paycheck in a row come Friday.

Pelosi told Trump the House wouldn't approve a resolution allowing him to address Congress until the shutdown ended. Trump shot back that Pelosi was afraid of hearing the truth.

"I think that's a great blotch on the incredible country that we all love," Trump said earlier Wednesday. "It's a great, great horrible mark."

The drama surrounding the State of the Union address began last week when Pelosi asked Trump to make other plans but stopped short of denying him the chamber for his address. Trump called her bluff Wednesday in a letter, saying he intended to come anyway.

"It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location," he wrote.

Pelosi quickly squelched the speech, writing back that the House "will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President's State of the Union address in the House Chamber until government has opened."

The president cannot speak in front of a joint session of Congress without both chambers' explicit permission. A resolution needs to be approved by both chambers specifying the date and time for receiving an address from the president.

The gamesmanship unfolded as the Senate prepared to vote this week on dueling proposals on the shutdown. A Republican one would give Trump money for the wall while one from Democrats would re-open government through Feb. 8, with no wall money, giving bargainers time to talk about it.

Both proposals were likely to fail to reach the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority. As well, House Democrats were putting forward a new proposal, aiming to lure Trump away from his demand for a border wall by offering billions of new dollars for other border security measures.

The Constitution states only that the president "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union," meaning the president can speak anywhere he chooses or give his update in writing. The address has been delayed before.

Ronald Reagan's 1986 State of the Union address was postponed after the Challenger space shuttle exploded in flight on Jan. 28 of that year.

But there is no precedent for a State of the Union invitation being rescinded.

Presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter issued their final messages in print. As Eisenhower recovered from a heart attack in 1956, he prepared a seven-minute, filmed summary of the message from his retreat in Key West, Florida, that was broadcast nationwide. Richard Nixon sent a printed message in 1973; his staff said an oral message would have come too soon after his second inaugural address.

White House officials have been working on a backup plan to have Trump give the speech somewhere else if Democrats blocked access to the House chamber. Nevertheless, they were rattled by Pelosi's move Wednesday and expressed concern it would further sour shutdown negotiations.

Officials have been considering a speech in the Senate chamber and a visit to a state on the southern border. Multiple versions of the speech were being drafted to suit the final venue. Trump has been presented with a series of options for making the address and is expected to decide within the next day or so, said a person familiar with White House discussions but not authorized to speak publicly about them.

Pelosi said that when she extended her Jan. 3 invitation to Trump to deliver the State of the Union address on Jan. 29, there was no thought that the government would still be shut down.

She wrote Wednesday: "I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened."

Moments after her letter became public, Trump told reporters he wasn't surprised by Pelosi's action. Democrats have become "radicalized," he claimed. He expanded on those sentiments during a subsequent event at the White House, calling the cancellation a "disgrace" and asserting that Pelosi didn't want to hear the truth about the need for better border security.

The White House and Democratic lawmakers have been accusing one another of pettiness since Pelosi raised doubts about the speech. Trump followed up by revoking her use of a military plane for a congressional delegation visit to Afghanistan.

North Carolina's House speaker, Tim Moore, invited Trump to deliver the speech in the North Carolina House chamber. Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield has offered his state capitol. Trump spoke with both of them this week, according to Moore's office and a tweet from Chatfield.

------

 

 Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Andrew Taylor, Laurie Kellman, Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller contributed to this report. </s> WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Wednesday night he is postponing his State of the Union address until the partial government shutdown ends, yielding after a weeklong showdown with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Following a high-stakes game of dare and double-dare, Trump conceded that “no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber” and that he was not looking for an alternate option after Pelosi served notice earlier Wednesday that he won’t be allowed to deliver the address to a joint session of Congress next week.

Pelosi had taken the step after Trump said he planned to show up in spite of Democratic objections to the speech taking place with large swaths of the government shut down.

Denied that grand venue, Trump promised to come up with some sort of alternative event. The White House scrambled to find a site matching the gravitas of the traditional address from the rostrum of the House to lawmakers from both parties, Supreme Court justices, invited guests and a television audience of millions.

“As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed,” Trump tweeted. “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.”

Fireworks over the speech shot back and forth between the Capitol and the White House as the monthlong partial government shutdown showed no signs of ending and about 800,000 federal workers faced the prospect of going without their second paycheck in a row come Friday.

Pelosi told Trump the House wouldn’t approve a resolution allowing him to address Congress until the shutdown ended. Trump shot back that Pelosi was afraid of hearing the truth.

“I think that’s a great blotch on the incredible country that we all love,” Trump said earlier Wednesday. “It’s a great, great horrible mark.”

The drama surrounding the State of the Union address began last week when Pelosi asked Trump to make other plans but stopped short of denying him the chamber for his address. Trump called her bluff Wednesday in a letter, saying he intended to come anyway.

“It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location,” he wrote.

Pelosi quickly squelched the speech, writing back that the House “will not consider a concurrent resolution authorizing the President’s State of the Union address in the House Chamber until government has opened.”

The president cannot speak in front of a joint session of Congress without both chambers’ explicit permission. A resolution needs to be approved by both chambers specifying the date and time for receiving an address from the president.

The gamesmanship unfolded as the Senate prepared to vote this week on dueling proposals on the shutdown. A Republican one would give Trump money for the wall while one from Democrats would re-open government through Feb. 8, with no wall money, giving bargainers time to talk about it.

Both proposals were likely to fail to reach the 60-vote threshold needed in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 53-47 majority. As well, House Democrats were putting forward a new proposal, aiming to lure Trump away from his demand for a border wall by offering billions of new dollars for other border security measures.

The Constitution states only that the president “shall from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union,” meaning the president can speak anywhere he chooses or give his update in writing. The address has been delayed before.

Ronald Reagan’s 1986 State of the Union address was postponed after the Challenger space shuttle exploded in flight on Jan. 28 of that year.

But there is no precedent for a State of the Union invitation being rescinded.

Presidents Harry Truman, Dwight Eisenhower and Jimmy Carter issued their final messages in print. As Eisenhower recovered from a heart attack in 1956, he prepared a seven-minute, filmed summary of the message from his retreat in Key West, Florida, that was broadcast nationwide. Richard Nixon sent a printed message in 1973; his staff said an oral message would have come too soon after his second inaugural address.

White House officials have been working on a backup plan to have Trump give the speech somewhere else if Democrats blocked access to the House chamber. Nevertheless, they were rattled by Pelosi’s move Wednesday and expressed concern it would further sour shutdown negotiations.

Officials have been considering a speech in the Senate chamber and a visit to a state on the southern border. Multiple versions of the speech were being drafted to suit the final venue. Trump has been presented with a series of options for making the address and is expected to decide within the next day or so, said a person familiar with White House discussions but not authorized to speak publicly about them.

Pelosi said that when she extended her Jan. 3 invitation to Trump to deliver the State of the Union address on Jan. 29, there was no thought that the government would still be shut down.

She wrote Wednesday: “I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened.”

Moments after her letter became public, Trump told reporters he wasn’t surprised by Pelosi’s action. Democrats have become “radicalized,” he claimed. He expanded on those sentiments during a subsequent event at the White House, calling the cancellation a “disgrace” and asserting that Pelosi didn’t want to hear the truth about the need for better border security.

The White House and Democratic lawmakers have been accusing one another of pettiness since Pelosi raised doubts about the speech. Trump followed up by revoking her use of a military plane for a congressional delegation visit to Afghanistan.

North Carolina’s House speaker, Tim Moore, invited Trump to deliver the speech in the North Carolina House chamber. Michigan House Speaker Lee Chatfield has offered his state capitol. Trump spoke with both of them this week, according to Moore’s office and a tweet from Chatfield.

Associated Press writers Darlene Superville, Andrew Taylor, Laurie Kellman, Jill Colvin and Zeke Miller contributed to this report.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi suggests that President Trump's State of the Union address scheduled for January 29 be delayed or use a drastically modified format due to security concerns related to the ongoing government shutdown.