US President Donald Trump says he will not deliver his annual State of the Union speech until after the government shutdown is over.
On Wednesday House Speaker Nancy Pelosi withdrew an invitation for him to address Congress, saying government services should fully reopen first.
Trump initially said the speech should be “on time, on schedule, and very importantly, on location.”
But in a tweet overnight he backed down on his pledge.
He acknowledged Ms Pelosi’s refusal to allow Congress to host the State of the Union address until the shutdown – now in its 34th day – had been resolved.As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative – I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over.
Ms Pelosi responded with her own tweet saying she hoped Trump would back a bill passed by the House of Representatives to fund all the agencies affected by the shutdown except the department of Homeland Security.
“Please accept this proposal so we can re-open government, repay our federal workers and then negotiate our differences,” she said.