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Donald Trump to deliver State of Union address

The chairman of the House committee in charge of impeachment says it is 'very clear' Mr Trump obstructed justice.

The chairman of the House committee in charge of impeachment says it is 'very clear' Mr Trump obstructed justice. Photo: Getty

President Donald Trump is attempting to move ahead with planning for a State of the Union speech to US Congress on January 29 despite pressure from Democrats to delay it due to the government shutdown.

It came as his immigration proposal on the Dreamers suffered a blow in the Supreme Court.

No clear way to end the shutdown, which began on December 22, was evident, increasing the anxiety level of 800,000 federal workers who are furloughed with some struggling to make ends meet.

Mr Trump’s proposed on Saturday to relax his immigration policies for young immigrants known as Dreamers in exchange for funding for a southern border wall did not appear to be making much headway among Democrats who control the House of Representatives.

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell said the Senate will vote on Trump’s plan this week but there were doubts it would pass there. Leaders of the House of Representatives have already rejected it.

However, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court refused, at least during this term, to consider an administration appeal of lower court rulings allowing continued temporary protections for the Dreamers.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, the top US Democrat, had recommended Trump delay his State of the Union speech, traditionally delivered in the House chamber.

She had cited concerns about security for the event with some personnel furloughed during a month-long shutdown.

But an administration official said on Tuesday the White House sent a request to move forward with speech planning and requested approval of the House sergeant-at-arms for security officials to do a walk-through of the venue.

The request seemed likely to set up another clash between Mr Trump and Pelosi, days after Mr Trump abruptly refused to let her use a US military plane to go on an overseas trip hours before she was to depart.

A House Democratic aide, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the White House had not responded to Pelosi’s letter requesting a delay in the speech.

On Saturday, Mr Trump proposed ending the government shutdown by fully funding the one-quarter of US agencies that are affected.

In return, he would get $5.7 billion toward building a southwestern border wall that Democrats oppose. Mr Trump also is offering to restore temporary protections for the Dreamer immigrants who were brought illegally into the United States as minors.

In 2017, Mr Trump moved to end the Dreamers’ protections, triggering a court battle.

Democrats promptly rejected Mr Trump’s plan as insufficient, saying they would not trade a temporary restoration of the immigrants’ protections in return for a permanent border wall that they view as ineffective.

With the Supreme Court’s decision, Mr Trump may have lost the Dreamer issue as his main negotiating point.

Instead, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program established by then-president Barack Obama in 2012 lives on with or without approval by congress.

Before the Supreme Court’s announcement, US lawmakers were poised this week to take up competing remedies for ending the partial government shutdown, which has interrupted scores of vital federal services.

House Democrats also had legislation that would end the partial shutdown of agencies including the departments of Justice, Homeland Security, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor and Interior.

While their legislation would contain new border security money, there would be nothing for a wall.

Once the government reopens, Democrats said, they would negotiate with Mr Trump on further border security ideas.

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