Trump administration officials will still travel to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum next week, despite canceling Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi’s, D-Calif., overseas trip due to the partial government shutdown.
A White House official told the Washington Examiner that there are no announced changes to the Davos trip from Jan. 22 to 25, but noted that Trump decided not to attend due to the partial government shutdown.
The presidential delegation will be headed by Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Other administration officials slated to attend are Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer.
All attendees of the annual gathering in Davos of the elite international forum for “public-private cooperation” — including leaders from more than 100 governments, top executives from global companies, and social leaders, among others — must be invited to participate.
The partial government shutdown has lingered for almost a month due to a dispute over border wall funding. While President Trump has requested more than $5 billion for a border wall to dampen illegal immigration and to aid national security, Democrats have rejected his proposal.
As a result, Trump has sparred with Democratic leadership, including Pelosi, who warned earlier this week she would cancel Trump’s State of the Union address set for later in January. Trump responded in kind on Thursday, saying Pelosi’s trip to Brussels and Afghanistan were canceled.
“Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed,” Trump wrote. “We will reschedule this seven-day excursion when the Shutdown is over.”
According to Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff Drew Hammill, Pelosi was not scheduled to stop in Egypt, despite Trump’s reference in the letter.
“In light of the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay, I am sure you would agree that postponing this public relations event is totally appropriate,” Trump added. “I also feel that, during this period, it would be better if you were in Washington negotiating with me and joining the Strong Border Security movement to end the shutdown. Obviously, if you would like to make your journey flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative.”
According to a White House official, Trump wants Pelosi in the U.S. so negotiations regarding the shutdown can continue.
The White House official said that although the military is fully funded at the moment, Trump may cancel military flights accordingly and that all congressional delegations are canceled while the shutdown continues.
Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.
