Pelosi Calls For Postponement Of State Of The Union Address Due To Shutdown

The annual State of the Union message to Congress may be the latest casualty of the partial government shutdown.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., sent a letter to President Trump on Wednesday, suggesting a postponement until after the shutdown is over. The speech, which the president would deliver to a joint session of Congress and a national broadcast audience, was originally scheduled for Jan. 29.

The shutdown, now in its 26th day, affects nine government departments, including the Department of Homeland Security, of which the Secret Service is a component. Secret Service agents and other federal law enforcement officers have been working without pay since the shutdown began last month.

In her letter, Pelosi wrote, "The U.S. Secret Service was designated as the lead federal agency responsible for coordinating, planning, exercising, and implementing security National Special Security Events." She added, "However, both the U.S. Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security have not been funded for 26 days now — with critical departments hamstrung by furloughs."