Political Scientist's Research Focuses on State of the Union Address

When President Trump delivers his rescheduled State of the Union Address on February 5, 黑料福利社 political scientist Alison Howard will be watching to see how he uses the Address to both communicate with the public and make specific requests of Congress.

Howard recently talked with the and  about the history of the speech. On January 23, President Trump said he would deliver his Address when the government shutdown was over.

Delays, Howard says, have happened in the past. In 1986, for example, President Reagan postponed his State of the Union Address by a week because of the Challenger disaster.

鈥淭here isn't anything in the Constitution about the State of the Union having to be on a specific day or at a specific time,鈥 Howard said. 鈥淧ostponing the Address until the government re-opens allows both the president and the Congress to focus on the issues at hand and provides an opportunity for the president to deliver the State of the Union Address in the House Chamber to set his legislative agenda, claim cre