Trump to deliver State of the Union address today amid wall controversy

Washington, Feb 5: Just days after the US saw lifting of the government shutdown albeit temporarily, President Donald Trump was set to deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday, February 5, before a joint session of the Congress.

This will be the Republican president's second such address after assuming the office in 2017 and the fact that it is coming against a backdrop of longest partial government shutdown in the history of the country has made it an interesting affair.

Eight lakh federal workers had an ordeal for over a month because of the shutdown.

The fight between the president and the Congress over erecting a wall along the US's border with Mexico is what had caused the shutdown and Trump has indicated at using emergency powers to build the wall if no deal was reached within three weeks.

According to Washington-based National Public Radio, Trump will take a bipartisan approach in his State of the Union address even though the prevailing situation is not too friendly for that.

"A senior administration official told reporters on Friday that "choosing greatness" will be the theme for the Feb. 5 address, which will outline a "policy agenda both parties can rally behind"," NPR reported.

The confrontation between Trump and the Democrat-dominated House of Representative over building of the wall intensified after the mid-term elections as the Democrats have refused to pass a deal that would fund the border wall.