Here are the House rules from the Congress that just ended. I doubt they’ve changed much in the new Congress with respect to this sort of detail.
One relevant section:
Seems clear from those rules that the President is free to enter the House chamber at any time.
But he can’t give the SOTU there unless “the House agrees to take part in [that ceremony] to be observed therein” because the SOTU isn’t “legislative business of the House,” nor is it “caucus and conference meetings of its Members.”
Pelosi’s invitation to Trump to give the SOTU, as best as I can suss it out, is a necessary but not sufficient condition for Trump to be able to give the SOTU in the House chamber. The House has to vote its agreement to hold a joint session of Congress for that occasion. This is normally just a formality, and Pelosi’s invitation implied a willingness at that point to attend to any required formalities.
That was then, this is now, and the formality may well not happen. And if it doesn’t happen, there is no joint session, and while Trump is free to wander in, he doesn’t have the right to give a speech while he’s there.
That would be undeniably spiteful. What she’s doing can at least be attributed to concern for security staff who would have to work extra hours without pay.
Out of curiosity, how far do you think that this protection is extended?
I’m not sure if the presidential motorcade is subject to traffic laws, as it has a police escort, and that pretty much gives you the right of way, so your scenario is not likely.
But, lets say the Melania accuses him of domestic assault. What is SS going to do in the WH residence to resolve that?
What if he carries out his “threat” to shoot someone on 5th avenue? Can he continue to shoot people with impunity, while the SS holds law enforcement at abay?
Can he rob a bank, using his presidential motorcade as his getaway car?
Just how far above the law are you placing this man?
I think she’s handling it perfectly. She continues to say no in a calm way to the tantrum-throwing toddler, who will persist in exhibiting his obsession with being on the tee vee above all else – including getting federal employees back to work. Even the ones who protect him and the rest of us.
In a perfect demonstration of his unfailing tactic of projection, he responded to her latest “nope” by saying she was “afraid of the truth.” Rich, coming from an inveterate liar whose latest tally while in office now exceeds 8,000.
There’s not a particle of snark in that. It’s simply ‘until the government is re-opened there will be no State of the Union speech in the House.’
It’s very smart. Because it is so straightforward and, one might say, sincere in its expression of doing what’s right, there’s nothing that a reasonable person could object to in it. Trump and his enablers have no possible option but to make up stuff.
Not that they ever mind making up stuff. But each time they do, they lose another independent.
I do not know what would happen but the Secret Service are not Emperor’s Imperial Guard who are told to do whatever the president says or let him do whatever he wants. Their job is the protection of the president…even from himself.
I imagine if Trump shot someone on 5th Avenue the SS would immediately disarm him and toss him like a sack of potatoes into his limousine and get him back to the White House and locked in the bunker in the basement. I seriously doubt they’d let Joe Police Officer arrest him and throw him in the city lockup.
They’d then let congress sort it out (likely with an immediate removal from office).
