Speaker Nancy Pelosi is an indomitable fighter, an incredible leader, and an effective vote counter. We all know that. But the Speaker seems to have another specialty she revels in: embarrassing Donald Trump.
We all remember the meeting in the White House between Pelosi, Trump, and Senate Democratic leader Schumer where the then-Speaker-Designate torched the orange baby for demanding the wall like an incessant child. Just yesterday, Trump’s White House tried and failed spectacularly to peel off Democrats to fund Trump’s wall as every moderate Democrat invited to a lunch meeting designed to sidelined the Speaker declined.
And today, the Speaker sent a letter to the White House that essentially rescinded her invitation from earlier this month for Trump to deliver the State of the Union address in person. Citing security concerns under the rules of Trump’s own Department of Homeland Security, Pelosi told Trump that unless he agrees to open the government this week, the State of the Union either need to be postponed to after the government opens or be delivered in writing instead of in person.
She wrote, in part,
In September 2018, Secretary Nielsen designated State of the Union Addresses as National Special Security Events (NSSEs), recognizing the need for “the full resources of the Federal Government to be brought to bear” to ensure the security of these events. 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. […]
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.
You see, the live, televised State of the Union addressed delivered in person is not mandated by the Constitution. In fact, for the lion’s share of US history, it was delivered in writing to Congress. The in-person address delivered in front of Congress is a courtesy extended to the president by the Speaker, and Nancy Pelosi just put a marker down and said she will not do so while President Temper Tantrump (a ha!) continues history’s longest government shutdown. The Speaker noted in her letter that never has a State of the Union Address been delivered during a government shutdown.
The floor is yours, as we wait for a tweet storm from the overgrown baby president.