Speaker of the Michigan State House of Representatives, Lee Chatfield, has invited to give the State of the Union at the Michigan state Capitol.
According to Fox News:
With questions over whether President Trump will give the annual State of the Unionaddress from Congress amid a partial government shutdown, a Michigan lawmaker has a suggestion: deliver it in Lansing.
New state House Speaker Lee Chatfield, a Republican, sent Trump a formal invitation to deliver the State of the Union address from the House chamber at Michigan’s state Capitol.
“There is no higher loyalty or obligation than to the people we serve and the communities we represent, and no partisan gamesmanship should stand in the way of that service,” Chatfield, 30, said in his letter. “Because of that, this chamber and this speaker are willing to put people before politics for this important occasion.”
President @realDonaldTrump, due to the unavailability of the US House for your #SOTU Address, I would like to extend to you an official invitation to deliver your important address in the Michigan House chamber. The success of our state & country is bigger than political parties! pic.twitter.com/FqFYIf8V3G
— Lee Chatfield (@LeeChatfield) January 18, 2019
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., urged Trump to either delay the address, scheduled for Jan. 29, or simply submit the speech in writing as the government remains partially shuttered. The partial shutdown came just before Christmas with Trump and Democrats at an impasse over funding for a border wall. It is now the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
Chatfield joins Rand Paul in offering an alternative location after Speaker Pelosi asked President Trump to postpone the State of the Union until the government reopened.