Donald Trump has agreed to postpone his planned 'State of the Union' address as a result of the ongoing partial government shutdown in the US.
Planning for the annual speech by the US President to Congress has been disrupted by the partisan dispute that has resulted in the shutdown, which is now into its 34th day.
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, last week wrote to President Trump asking him to delay the address until the shutdown ended.
She cited security concerns, as some of the agencies involved in organising the high-profile event - which is attended by senators, representatives and senior government officials - are among those impacted by the federal funding gap.
However, President Trump fired back in a letter to Mrs Pelosi yesterday.
He insisted he'd been assured there'd be "no problem regarding security", and was planning to go ahead with Tuesday's State of the Union as originally planned.
Speaking to reporters, he also accused Democrats of becoming "radicalised".
Pelosi quickly hit back after the president's letter, saying she would not pass a resolution to allow the speech until the government reopened.
She added: "I look forward to welcoming you to the House on a mutually agreeable date for this address when government has been opened."
Following the back-and-forth, President Trump ultimately took to Twitter to say next week's speech wouldn't go ahead:
As the Shutdown was going on, Nancy Pelosi asked me to give the State of the Union Address. I agreed. She then changed her mind because of the Shutdown, suggesting a later date. This is her prerogative - I will do the Address when the Shutdown is over. I am not looking for an....
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 24, 2019
He added: "I am not looking for an alternative venue for the SOTU Address because there is no venue that can compete with the history, tradition and importance of the House Chamber.
"I look forward to giving a 'great' State of the Union Address in the near future!"
It comes as senators are due to vote today on competing motions to reopen the government, with neither likely to gain the necessary majority.
One from Democrats would allow for a temporary reopening of government until February 8th.
The Republican bill includes $5.7 billion for Trump's controversial border wall with Mexico - which Democrats have vowed to oppose.
With around 800,000 federal workers set to miss their second pay-day of the year tomorrow if the dispute isn't resolved, the partial shutdown - the longest in US history - is expected to continue.
