WASHINGTON (Sputnik) – US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called on President Donald Trump on Wednesday to delay his State of the Union address until an agreement can be reached to end the partial shutdown and reopen the federal government.
“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 for this address,” Pelosi wrote in a letter to Trump.
She also suggested that if Trump still wants to deliver his speech on January 29, as it is scheduled now, he should hand it over to the Congress in written form.
Pelosi explained that her position stems from security concerns. The US Secret Service is responsible for security at such major events as a presidential address, but it has not been funded for 26 days now due to the federal government shutdown, she said.
As the US House speaker, Pelosi has the privilege of inviting the president to deliver his address to the US Congress.
Wednesday marked day 26 of the longest federal government shutdown in US history amid a political stalemate over border security funding that has no end in sight. The partial government shutdown started on 22 December after congressional Democrats refused to approve a spending bill that allocated $5.7 billion to build a wall on the southern border that President Donald Trump has demanded.
It has already cost the US economy around $3.6 billion, Standard & Poor’s Chief US Economist Beth Ann Bovino said in a statement on Friday. The S&P estimate also indicates that a shutdown lasting for two more weeks would cost the US economy nearly $6 billion, exceeding the $5.7 billion sought by Trump for his much-anticipated border wall project.
Sourse: sputniknews.com
