On Christmas holidays, "empty" Washington is preparing for a tumultuous political year

Mohammed Al-Minshawi-Washington

He disappeared from Washington DC during the Christmas and New Year period, which distinguishes him more than other American cities. President Donald Trump, along with his family and senior aides, left her a few days ago towards his private resort known as "Maralago" in Florida for a two-week vacation.

Most members of the House of Representatives - the House of Representatives and the Senate - have left Washington and gone to their constituencies to spend feasts among their constituents and their families, leaving only the city's permanent residents, who number no more than four hundred thousand people.

Before heading to Florida, the White House announced acceptance of the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, to President Trump to address the nation's "State of the Union" speech on February 4.

A speech to Trump
Pelosi sent the letter to Trump, saying, "Out of respect for our constitution, I invite you to deliver your speech on the state of the union to a joint session of Congress on the fourth Tuesday of February 2020."

This speech is a well-established American tradition in which the President presents his administration's record to members of Congress and the American people. And the speech, which is covered with great media coverage, gives an opportunity for the president to define his agenda during the new year, to be exposed to the most important issues facing the United States and offer a way to deal with it.

The importance of the State of the Union speech this year stems from its synchronization with President Trump's trial, which will be before the Senate on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

The speech will be the first occasion that brought together Trump and Pelosi, who oversaw the investigations that officially ended with charges against President Trump.

Before leaving for Florida, President Trump also signed the Defense Budget Act 2020, which amounted to $ 738 billion, considering this signature "a historic event for the armed forces."

The budget includes a 3.1% increase in salaries, incentives and salaries for members of the armed forces, the highest increase they receive in a decade.

Some experts considered that Trump is courting with this increase millions of voters who belong to the American armed forces and their families and are entitled to vote in the upcoming presidential elections.

The defense budget law also does not prevent the use of funds allocated to the Pentagon to fund the construction of a border wall with Mexico, a project that is considered one of the primary electoral promises that Trump made in his 2016 campaign.

The use of the Christmas holidays is not only used politically by President Trump, but also includes Democratic candidates who seek to obtain the party card to compete during the upcoming presidencies, as they are keen to participate voters in their states, or in Iowa, which opens the party's primaries on the third of February. Next.

Sparring
Although House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went to California, specifically the San Francisco area, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell went to Kentucky for the Christmas holidays, the debate between them did not stop on Twitter over President Trump's trial before the Senate.

Pelosi confirmed that she had not yet completed the formation of her team to accompany the trial, and wrote, "The House of Representatives cannot choose its representatives in the procedures of isolation, before we know what trial will be conducted by the Senate."

The House of Representatives will form the prosecution team in Trump's trial in front of the Senate, where Republicans have a majority of 53 to 47 for Democrats.

McConnell, however, replied that Pelosi "apparently believes that she can dictate the trial procedures."

He added, "Pelosi gives us the most unfair trial in the history of the US Congress, and is now crying to demand a fair trial in the Senate and breaking all rules."