Donald Trump does not like anyone telling him what to do. He especially does not like a strong woman telling him what to do. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-NY) dis-invited the president from giving his State of the Union address, and what she says goes. Unless, we are talking about this POTUS.
The man currently sitting in the Oval Office watching Fox News and his sharply declining polls for shutting down the government cooked up another play. He took note of Speaker Pelosi’s cited security reasons for denying him her space and responded with a letter of his own.
The 45th president wrote that there were no “security concerns:”
‘I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th in the Chamber of the House of Representatives. It would be so very sad for our Country if the State of the Union were not delivered on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location!’
The security people are not being payed, and many of them had been furloughed when the partial shutdown caught 800,000 federal employees off-guard. Pelosi had noted earlier that she paid her workers, and she did not want federal workers providing security without pay.
Speaker Pelosi has sent a bill to the Senate that would open the government right away and beyond the traditional State of the Union address. That way, workers could get back pay, the shutdown momentum would be broken, and Trump could appear in the House for his address.
The Senate could pass her bill and send it to the president. If he vetoed it, then it would go back to the Senate for a vote to override POTUS’ veto. Possibly, there are enough votes to make that happen.
Trump’s letter followed his tweet on the subject:
‘Nancy, I am still thinking about the State of the Union speech, there are so many options — including doing it as per your written offer (made during the Shutdown, security is no problem), and my written acceptance. While a contract is a contract, I’ll get back to you soon!’
White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said there was plenty of security for Trump. Apparently, they do not care about the security for all the senators, representatives, Supreme Court justices, spouses, guests, and others:
“The United States Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security who would have jurisdiction over whether or not the capital is safe for the President to visit have addressed those concerns. I think they’re the most qualified people not only to address it — but to make that assessment and they’ve certainly addressed that and I think satisfied those concerns.’
The next move goes to Pelosi. She would not need to respond to Trump until after the Senate vote played itself out. If it passed the president’s veto, problem solved. The government would open temporarily, and Trump could get all the attention he wants at a formal State of the Union address.
Currently, the White House has been preparing alternative options for POTUS. Given the president’s fondness for his rally’s, he might choose to give his State of the Union address that way.
One thing is certain. Pelosi will not be bullied.
Featured image is a screenshot via YouTube.
