GOVERNMENT/NANCY PELOSI/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked President Trump on Wednesday [1-16-19] to scrap or delay his Jan. 29 State of the Union address amid the partial government shutdown, an extraordinary request that escalated the partisan battle over his border wall even as bipartisan groups of lawmakers pressed him to reopen the government and make room for compromise. In a letter to Mr. Trump that underscored how the shutdown fight has poisoned hopes of bipartisan comity at the start of divided government, Ms. Pelosi cited security concerns as her reason for proposing that the president postpone the annual presidential ritual of addressing a joint session of Congress in a televised speech during prime time — or perhaps submit a written message instead. Security aside, her move would deprive Mr. Trump of one of the brightest spotlights of a president’s year, intensified this year by Democratic control of the House and the drama of the longest government shutdown in the nation’s history.”
–Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Nicholas Fandos, “Pelosi Asks Trump to Reschedule State of the Union Amid Shutdown,” The New York Times online, January 16, 2019