The White House said Monday that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has invited President Donald Trump to hold the State of the Union speech on February 5, adding that he accepted her invitation.
In a letter Pelosi sent to the President she said, “When I wrote to you on January 23rd, I stated that we should work together to find a mutually agreeable date when government has reopened to schedule this year’s State of the Union address.”
She added that the two of them agreed on a date after they spoke on Monday. “Therefore, I invite you to deliver your State of the Union address before a Joint Session of Congress on February 5, 2019 in the House Chamber,” she added.
President Trump responded later in the day by accepting Pelosi’s invitation, saying it was his “great honor to accept.”
“We have a great story to tell and yet, great goals to achieve!” he added.
According to an aide of Pelosi’s, she was the one to call the President. She initially invited President Trump to give the SOTU speech on January 29, but as the government shutdown dragged on, on January 16 Pelosi sent a letter to Trump asking him to postpone it or deliver it in writing due to security concerns.
He then reluctantly agreed to reschedule the address after the government had been reopened. After a deal was reached Friday to temporarily reopen the government while congressional negotiators work toward striking a possible deal on border security, immigration issues and the President’s campaign promise of a border wall.
President Trump has threatened to close the government again, or declare a state of emergency, if funding for his long-sought border wall was not provided.
Responding to a question about the exact date of the State of the Union address, a senior White House official said later that day that only the speaker would know that.
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