WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said
on Wednesday he looks forward to delivering a State of the Union
address before the U.S. Congress as scheduled on Jan. 29 in the
chamber of the House of Representatives despite House Speaker
Nancy Pelosi's request that he delay it due to the government
shutdown.
"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!" Trump wrote, according to a copy of
the letter to Pelosi released by the White House.
Pelosi on Jan. 16 asked Trump to consider postponing the
address, which is traditionally delivered in the House chamber,
because part of the U.S. government is shut down. She had cited
concerns about security for the event with some personnel
furloughed during a month-long shutdown.
But Trump, replying to Pelosi Wednesday, brushed aside the
security concerns.
He said the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S.
Secret Service had told him there would be "absolutely no
problem" with the security for the speech, which is
traditionally attended by both houses of Congress, most of the
president's Cabinet, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and justices of
the Supreme Court.