Despite US President Donald Trump claiming he would be holding an alternative event to the State of the Union address, it now won't be going ahead.
Trump's earlier announcement for an alternative event came after Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi barred him from speaking in the House of Representatives until the partial government shutdown ends.
The clash between two of Washington's most powerful leaders has escalated the standoff that has partly closed the government for 33 days and threatens the US economy and the livelihoods of about 800,000 federal workers.
In a turnaround, he used Twitter to announce that he would "do the address when the shutdown is over.
About a quarter of the US government has been shut down since 22 December when some US agencies' funding expired for reasons unrelated to border security or immigration.
[Source: Reuters/RNZ]
