State of the Union 2019: President Trump gives annual address amid border wall fight

Georgia’s Stacey Abrams will give the Democratic response.

President Trump will give the State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 5, after a partial government shutdown delayed the address by one week. It’s the first State of the Union Trump will give to a divided Congress, now that Democrats control the House and Nancy Pelosi has reclaimed the gavel as House speaker.

The address comes after a battle over funding for President Trump’s border wall sparked the longest government shutdown in US history. A short-term spending deal to reopen the government — without wall funding — will run out on the 15th. Trump’s speech is expected to highlight the need for a bipartisan path forward on immigration reform, according to a senior administration official, as well as America’s trade policy, infrastructure, national security, and lowering health care costs.

Former Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will deliver the Democratic response following Trump’s address. Abrams became a rising star in the Democratic Party during her race against Republican Brian Kemp last November.