Updated 2:37 p.m. | President Donald Trump accepted Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s invitation Friday to deliver his State of the Union address on Feb. 4, which will be his first visit to the House since Democrats voted to impeach him.
The invite came in a letter Pelosi sent to Trump citing “the spirit of our Constitution,” which calls for the president to give Congress information on the state of the union “from time to time.”
The presidential State of the Union address has turned into an annual tradition — one that created some drama earlier this year.
After a partial government shutdown last December lingered into early 2019, Pelosi rescinded her invitation for Trump to give his State of the Union address on Jan. 29. She said she would not allow Trump to speak in the House chamber until the government was open, which prompted a spat between the two.
Ultimately, the government reopened Jan. 25, and Pelosi and Trump agreed to reschedule the State of the Union for Feb. 5.
This time around, with the government funded through the end of September, that drama should be avoided for the 2020 State of the Union.
White House spokesman Hogan Gidley said Trump accepted Pelosi’s invitation to give his address on Feb. 4.
