President Trump should deliver his State of the Union address near the Mexican border, U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks said in a statement Wednesday.
The comment from the Huntsville Republican congressman comes on a day in which Trump accepted an invitation to address a joint session of Congress on Jan. 29 and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., then rescinded the invitation.
The speech is traditionally given from the House chamber and Brooks has previously suggested using the Senate as the setting for the address.
As an alternative, Brooks suggested Trump head to the border.
“Should the Senate Chamber be unavailable,” Brooks said in the statement, “I urge President Trump to deliver his State of the Union address in a state that borders Mexico as that symbolism will help President Trump communicate to the American people about Democrat efforts to protect illegal aliens and promote open borders no matter how many dead Americans result from Democrat obstructionism, and no matter how long the resulting partial government shutdown may last.”
The squabble between Trump and Pelosi over the State of the Union is a subplot to the partial government shutdown that’s now in its 33rd day with no end in sight. The shutdown has left about 800,000 federal workers at home without pay over a funding dispute for a border wall.
Trump is seeking $5.7 billion for the wall that was a central part of his 2016 presidential campaign while Democrats, led by Pelosi, have refused to provide any wall money.
“I most strongly condemn Nancy Pelosi’s partisan, childish, and radical political stunt and renew my call for President Trump to not let Speaker Pelosi’s absurd and counter-productive decision keep him from speaking directly to the American people about the state of America’s union,” Brooks said in the statement.
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