WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump is moving forward with plans to deliver a State of the Union address from the Capitol Jan. 29 — despite Speaker Nancy Pelosi's request that he delay the speech or submit it in writing — a White House official told NBC News on Tuesday.
"She invited, we accepted," the White House official said, referring to Pelosi's initial invitation and ignoring a letter the House speaker sent last week suggesting that Trump postpone his remarks because of a partial government shutdown now in its fifth week.
But a senior administration official told NBC News that White House speechwriters are also working on "separate passages" that could lend themselves to a speech at a different venue and for a different audience than members of Congress.
In her letter seeking a delay, Pelosi cited security concerns because the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the Secret Service, is one of the agencies affected by the shutdown.
DHS officials said there were no concerns about going through with the address, which is typically held in the House chamber before a joint session of Congress.
The White House sent a note to the House sergeant-at-arms over the weekend requesting a "walk through" this week.
