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State of the Union - live: Women wear white in powerful message as Trump vows to ban late-term abortion

Follow the latest updates as Mr Trump prepares to deliver his second State of the Union address to a divided Congress

Clark Mindock
New York
,Chris Riotta,Joe Sommerlad
Wednesday 06 February 2019 06:12 GMT
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State of the Union: Trump asks Congress to end late term abortion

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Donald Trump is delivering the second State of the Union address of his presidency, where he has the opportunity to lay out his vision for the last two years of his first term in office and beyond.

With a damaging and politically contentious 35-day government shutdown having just ended in Washington, the president stands before a joint session in the House chamber — where is expected to make sweeping calls for unity in a time of dramatic division and to promote lofty efforts like the eradication of HIV by 2030.

But, Mr Trump’s audience in the House chamber will be noticeably different from his address last year. Flanked behind him and to his left will sit Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who proved to be a formidable political foil to Mr Trump during those shutdown negotiations last month after her party took control of the lower chamber during the 2018 midterm elections.

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The White House has announced the “theme” for Donald Trump’s second State of the Union address will be “Choosing Greatness”. 

Chris Riotta5 February 2019 18:38

Donald Trump isn’t the only person preparing for the State of the Union address in Washington. Newly-elected lawmakers like Katie Hill will also be making an appearance at the joint-session of Congress, with many of them planning to provide live updates across social media. 

Chris Riotta5 February 2019 18:52

Donald Trump is currently enjoying a lunch at the White House with a slate of television news anchors just before his second State of the Union address. 

The president’s guests reportedly include TV anchors from ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, C-SPAN, Fox and others. 

Mr Trump has regularly referred to several of these networks as “Fake News,” a phenomenon he describes as one of the greatest threats to the American public. 

Chris Riotta5 February 2019 19:05

In 2007, George W Bush said during his State of the Union address that he had the “distinct honour” of saying the title “Madam Speaker” during his speech when addressing California Democrat Nancy Pelosi. 

After Democrats took over the US House of Representatives in the 2018 midterm elections, Ms Pelosi will once again be seated front and centre, just behind Donald Trump as he delivers his second address to the joint-session of Congress. 

Chris Riotta5 February 2019 19:20

All eyes on Stacey Abrams. 

Shortly after Donald Trump concludes his second State of the Union address, 2018 Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams will deliver the official Democratic Party's response. 

Here's everything you need to know about the lifelong activist and progressive lawmaker: 

Chris Riotta5 February 2019 19:41

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has delivered the following remarks on the floor of the US Senate ahead of Donald Trump's second State of the Union address: 

Chris Riotta5 February 2019 19:55

Reports indicate Donald Trump is not planning on announcing a national emergency over the US-Mexico border during Tuesday night's State of the Union address.

Chris Riotta5 February 2019 20:24

Senator John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, is inviting Justina Pettway as his guest for the State of the Union address. Ms Pettway serves as a custodian fir the Russell Senate Office Building under the AbilityOne program, a federal initiative often participated by Goodwill to help the blind or people with disabilities to find employment at nonprofit agencies that have contracts with the federal government.

Sarah Harvard5 February 2019 20:47

Leana Wen, the president of Planned Parenthood, will be attending the State of the Union address as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's guest.

Sarah Harvard5 February 2019 21:00

Several progressives have stated that they will not be watching Mr Trump's State of the Union address. Instead, they will only be watching Stacey Abrams delivering the Democratic response.

Sarah Harvard5 February 2019 21:15

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