Government shutdown: Trump says he will do alternative State of the Union address as Pelosi blocks his plans

Trump's disapproval rating reaches record high

Mike Pence compares Trumps border wall stance to Martin Luther Kings legacy

As the government shutdown approaches day 34, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has blocked Donald Trump's plans for his State of the Union address.

Ms Pelosi said the president will not be allowed to deliver the address to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday, in spite of his suggestion he would show regardless of whether he was welcome.

The House will not approve a resolution allowing Mr Trump to come until the government reopens, Ms Pelosi said.

Donald Trump responded by saying “we’ll do something in the alternative”, while branding Democrats “radicalized.”

The argument comes shortly after a new poll revealed Donald Trump’s disapproval rating has risen to 57 per cent - the highest recorded by the pollster since his presidency began. The Politico / Morning Consult survey found that a majority of Americans blame the president for the government shutdown.

With thousands of furloughed workers still not receiving pay, tensions are running high over the ongoing closure.

Police were called to a protest by a group of federal government workers at a field office for Senator Mitch McConnell in Kentucky.

The Senate Majority Leader blocked legislation on Wednesday that would reopen most of the government.

Some 800,000 federal workers are set to miss a second pay check this Friday.

Follow events as they happened:

Key Points

• Government shutdown enters 33rd day on Wednesday
• Trump’s disapproval rating rises to all-time high in new poll
• White House seeks to go ahead with State of Union, but prepares rally as alternative
• Mitch McConnell sets up two showdown congressional votes for Thursday

[23 January 2019 13:04 · Adam Forrest]

Trump has new slogan. It rhymes. He likes it so much he's tweeted it twice this morning.

[23 January 2019 13:09 · Adam Forrest]

The shutdown is seriously hampering FBI investigations into drug and terrorism offences, the FBI Agents Association (FBIAA) has said.

The bureau has lost several informants who have worked “for months, and years, to penetrate groups and target subjects,” according to one official.

Samuel Osborne has more of the details:

[23 January 2019 13:29 · Adam Forrest]

There’s been some speculation Trump is ready to fire his outspoken lawyer Rudy Giuliani. But The New York Times’ White House correspondent Maggie Haberman says that is “absolutely not going to happen”.

[23 January 2019 14:00 · Chris Riotta]

The per cent of Americans who say they are confident Russia is not blackmailing Donald Trump is surprisingly low — just 31 per cent of the country, according to a major new Morning Consult poll. 

[23 January 2019 14:30 · Chris Riotta]

A slate of polls released Wednesday are showing bad numbers for the president and Republican leadership. 

Just seven per cent of the country support funding Donald Trump’s border wall in order to end the government shutdown, which has entered Day 33 on Wednesday.

[23 January 2019 15:00 · Chris Riotta]

More from the polls out on Wednesday:

Nancy Pelosi’s favourability ratings have increased since assuming her role as the speaker of the US House of Representatives, while Donald Trump’s disapproval ratings has reached record highs. 

The vast majority of the country — 71 per cent — say the border wall isn’t worth the battle that has shut down several federal agencies for weeks on end. 

Meanwhile, just 28 per cent say the wall is worth the nation’s longest government shutdown. 

[23 January 2019 15:30 · Chris Riotta]

The FBI Agents Association has publicly condemned the ongoing government shutdown, which has reached Day 33 — the longest in American history. 

The association says the impasse “undermines essential FBI operations” following a 72-page report the FBI released this week revealing the extent of the impact the shutdown has had on the federal agency. 

“You tell me what you would do if your family needed security financially, and you're not getting it from the federal government,” a spokesperson for the association said. 

[23 January 2019 16:00 · Chris Riotta]

Here’s more from the FBI Agents Association President Tom O’Connor discussing the historic government shutdown. 

The association’s president told CNN it’s “utterly disgusting” the shutdown has forced federal employees to rely on food from the office while continuing to work without pay during the impasse.

[23 January 2019 16:30 · Chris Riotta]

Senator Angus King discussed the government shutdown in an interview with CNN on Wednesday morning, saying he believed the president must “come to grips with the reality that he’s not the CEO of America.”

“He doesn’t get to say we are going to build a wall,” the Independent senator continued. “He’s got to persuade Congress.”

[23 January 2019 17:00 · Chris Riotta]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has rejected Donald Trump’s demands to negotiate in the midst of a government shutdown, telling reporters on Wednesday, “We cannot have the president, every time he has an objection, to say I’ll shut down the government until you come to my way of thinking.”

She added, “If we hold the employees hostage now, they’re hostage forever.”