House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said it "will take days to fact-check" President Donald Trump's wide-ranging, 82-minute State of the Union address and accused him of threatening Congress.
"Tonight, the president spoke about the honor of being in the House chamber and all the progress that has been achieved here," said Pelosi, a California Democrat serving her second term as House speaker, in a statement.
"But at the same time, he threatened the United States Congress not to exercise its constitutional responsibility of oversight. It will take days to fact-check all the misrepresentations that the president made tonight," she said.
In his address Tuesday night, Trump made a pitch for unity, declaring that his agenda was neither Republican or Democrat but "the agenda of the American people," and he urged both parties to work together.
Trump wants Congress to work together on one issue in particular: immigration on the southern border, where he wants to build a wall to prevent migrants from crossing illegally.
If it does not make a deal on the wall, the president has said, he will take matters into his own hands by declaring a national emergency and unlocking powers that would allow him to go over Congress's head. By declaring a national emergency over the immigration issue, which he calls a crisis, Trump could use the military to build the wall.
House Democrats, who hold a majority, have refused to pass any bill that gives the president the $5.7 billion he is demanding to build the wall, arguing it is expensive, ineffective and a response to a border crisis that does not exist. Instead of the wall, Democrats propose spending money on improving border security through new technology, better infrastructure and more personnel.
The president shut down the federal government over the wall issue when no budget deal could be reached, despite regular talks between all sides. Eventually, Trump caved and temporarily reopened the government so 800,000 federal workers could return to work and be paid while Congress and the White House negotiated.
"As we have seen, when we are united, we can make astonishing strides for our country. Now, Republicans and Democrats must join forces again to confront an urgent national crisis," Trump said during his speech. "The Congress has 10 days left to pass a bill that will fund our government, protect our homeland and secure our southern border."
During his address, Trump referred to the "tremendous onslaught" of migrant caravans making their way up to the border and said he is sending 3,750 more troops to the border to meet them. The caravans are primarily made up of South and Central American refugees fleeing poverty and violence who want to reach the U.S. for a better life, including many children.
The president also called the border a "lawless state" and played up fears about drug smuggling, gangs, human trafficking and killings by undocumented migrants.
"My administration has sent to the Congress a common sense proposal to end the crisis on our southern border," Trump said. "It includes humanitarian assistance, more law enforcement, drug detection at our ports, closing loopholes that enable child smuggling and plans for a new physical barrier, or wall, to secure the vast areas between our ports of entry.
"In the past, most of the people in this room voted for a wall—but the proper wall never got built. I'll get it built. Simply put, walls work, and walls save lives. So let's work together, compromise and reach a deal that will truly make America safe," the president said.
In her response, Pelosi said, "Instead of fearmongering and manufacturing a crisis at the border, President Trump should commit to signing the bipartisan conference committee's bill to keep government open and provide strong, smart border security solutions."
She added, "Sadly, while talking about perceived threats to the safety of the American people, he completely ignored the gun violence epidemic that is claiming lives across the country."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Shane Croucher is a Senior Editor based in London, UK. He oversees the My Turn team. He has previously overseen ... Read more
To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.
