Nancy Pelosi asks Donald Trump to postpone State of the Union address while shutdown continues

Donald Trump was told to delay his State of the Union address by the most senior Democrat in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday until after the government shutdown was over.

Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker, wrote to Mr Trump demanding that he either push back the January 29 speech or simply submit a written version of what he wanted to say to Congress.

Ms Pelosi cited security concerns, saying that the Secret Service and Homeland Security - which both help keep the event safe – had been partly “hamstrung” by the lack of funding.

The move was an apparent attempt to force focus of the shutdown back onto Mr Trump while also denying the president a prominent stage from which to chastise Democrats over the impasse.

Republicans appeared to reject the move, with Steve Scalise, the second most senior Republican in the House, tweeting: “This decision makes clear what we already know: Democrats are only interested in obstructing Donald Trump, not governing.”

The procedural clash came as two separate moves from congressmen attempted to force an end to the shutdown – already longest in US history and which was due to enter its 27th day on Thursday.

Some 800,000 federal government workers are affected, with around half working for free and the other half sent home without pay. A quarter of the government is impacted.

Mr Trump hosted a cross-party group of House members, known as the Problem Solvers Caucus, in the White House on Wednesday in the latest attempt to break the deadlock. Sarah Sanders, the White House press secretary, called the meeting “constructive”.

The US president has insisted he will sign no spending bill that would reopen the government unless it includes $5.7 billion for construction of his Mexico border wall – a key campaign pledge.

In the second move, a cross-party group of US senators were circulating a letter urging Mr Trump to agree to reopen the government for 30 days, during which immigration reform can be negotiated.

The Democrats, who hold the majority in the House, have refused to give Mr Trump his $5.7 billion and insist they will not talk about immigration reform until the government is back open.

The letter, which was picking up signatures from Democrat and Republican senators on Wednesday, saw its backers promise to “make our best efforts” to reach a compromise in the three-week period.

“This would include debating and voting on investments on the Southern border that are necessary, effective, and appropriate to accomplish that goal,” it read.

Ms Pelosi, a 78-year-old congresswoman from California, has been at loggerheads with Mr Trump, 72, throughout the shutdown, trading barbs and attempting to pin the blame on each other’s party.

The State of the Union address is one of the most prominent Washington events of the year, seeing a president speak to almost every member of the capital’s political elite.

Every congressman and senator is invited to the speech, delivered in the House, as well as Supreme Court judges, members of the president’s cabinet and foreign ambassadors.

Security is extremely tight, with the roads around the US Capitol closed off in the hours before the speech.

A member of the president’s cabinet, dubbed the “designated survivor”, does not attend in case a disaster should happen.

Ms Pelosi wrote in her letter: “Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government reopens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after government has reopened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to Congress on January 29.”

Should Mr Trump refuse to change the date of his speech it is unclear what will happen. Theoretically the House speaker invites the president to make the address and could rescind that invitation.

But, congressional sources told The Telegraph, there is no rule or convention that dictates what should happen. It has been an informal agreement which, until now, has not been challenged.