Citing 'security concerns' due to government shutdown, Speaker Pelosi urges delay of State of the Union address

Eliza Collins and David Jackson
Updated
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., waits for her new committee chairs to assemble for a formal photo at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ORG XMIT: DCSA109
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., waits for her new committee chairs to assemble for a formal photo at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, Jan. 11, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ORG XMIT: DCSA109

WASHINGTON – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has asked President Donald Trump to reschedule his State of the Union address from later this month if the government remains shuttered – or deliver it in writing.

"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 Wednesday.

The partial government shutdown is now on its 26th day, officially the longest on record in U.S. history. Trump has demanded $5.7 billion to pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and has vowed to veto any legislation that does not include the sum. Democrats oppose a wall and are refusing to appropriate the money.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from USA TODAY.

Pelosi cites Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen's designation of State of the Union addresses as a "National Special Security Event," which require a high level of security. The Secret Service has been given responsibility for such events but the agency, along with the Department of Homeland Security, are both affected by the shutdown.

Written state of the Union-type addresses were once presidential practice.

The nation's first two presidents, George Washington and John Adams, delivered annual messages to Congress in person. But successor Thomas Jefferson began submitting his in writing in 1801, a routine that continued for more than a century.

It was President Woodrow Wilson who revived the practice of in-person speeches, his first coming in 1913. President Franklin Roosevelt is the one who dubbed the annual remarks as "the state of the Union."

The last president to only submit a written State of the Union was lame duck Jimmy Carter in January 1981, four days before he left office.

Contributing: Michael Collins

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Citing 'security concerns' due to government shutdown, Speaker Pelosi urges delay of State of the Union address