Appearing on the “Brian Kilmeade Show,” Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., said Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s move to postpone President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address is an attempt to block the commander-in-chief from making his case for border security.
“I think Nancy Pelosi is trying to keep the President from having a one-hour national speech to be able to lay out his argument and she's just concerned what he'll say and how he will say it, and so she's trying to find a way to stop him from delivering a State of the Union and [having another] one hour of the national attention,” Lankford told the Fox News host's radio audience.
Pelosi on Wednesday sent a letter to the president asking him to postpone the State of the Union until the partial government shutdown has ended, citing security concerns.
"Sadly, given the security concerns and unless the government re-opens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after the government has re-opened for this address or for your to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to Congress on January 29th,” Pelosi wrote in the letter.
Lankford dismissed the “security issues” brought up by Pelosi calling this a “political issue.”
“I don't see why you would be worried about security because again the security folks that take care of the President, incredibly good at what they do. The Capitol Hill police are all paid because they're not part of the government shutdown,” Lankford told Kilmeade. “So I don't understand what the security question will be and what gets thrown in there. I think this is more of a political issue.”
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