WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi have agreed Trump will give the annual State of the Union address on Feb. 5, following her postponement of the event from Jan. 29 because of the partial government shutdown, a spokesman for Pelosi said on Monday.
In a letter to Trump posted by spokesman Drew Hammill on Twitter, Pelosi invited Trump to give the speech in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrat Pelosi had spoken with the Republican president and they had agreed on the date for the nationally televised address, the spokesman said.
The annual speech is given by the president to outline the administration’s priorities for the coming year. The partial government shutdown ended on Friday after 35 days, paving the way for the speech to go ahead.
The White House had considered alternative venues than the House. It blocked a congressional delegation’s trip to Afghanistan led by Pelosi. The Democrat held firm to her postponement and Trump said he would wait until the government had reopened.
(Reporting by Makini Brice; editing by Grant McCool)
