President Trump said Thursday he was canceling an upcoming overseas trip for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., due to the government shutdown, just a day after Pelosi threatened to cancel Trump’s State of the Union address later this month.
Trump’s move was an escalation of a fight between Trump and Pelosi over the ongoing shutdown and left her and other lawmakers who were slated to travel overseas stuck in the Capitol, as a bus that was scheduled to take them to their flight remained stalled outside a House office building.
Pelosi was scheduled to travel to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan for several days, but Trump informed Pelosi in a letter Thursday the trip was canceled. Trump indicated he was canceling Pelosi’s access to a government or military plane for the trip, as he suggested Pelosi might still attend if she were to fly commercial.
While the military is fully funded during the partial government shutdown, a White House official said Trump has the authority to cancel military flights as he sees fit, since he is commander in chief.
The official said all CODELS, or congressional delegations, are canceled during the shutdown. The president, the official said, wants to ensure Pelosi is in the country for future discussions on a deal to re-open the government.
If Pelosi went on her trip as planned, it would guarantee federal workers impacted by the shutdown would miss a second paycheck, the official said. The first missed paycheck for government employees was on Jan. 11.
“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.”
“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.”
President @realDonaldTrump’s letter to @SpeakerPelosi concerning her upcoming travel pic.twitter.com/TtBCvwp080
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 17, 2019
Trump said he looks forward to “watching our open and dangerous southern border finally receive the attention, funding, and security it so desperately deserves” — a reference to the funding for a southern border wall that Trump is demanding and that Democrats are refusing to give him in a bill to fund the government.
The letter was released just before lawmakers were scheduled to depart. The White House suggested Trump was not trying to interrupt the trip at the last minute, saying he took “immediate action” after finding out lawmakers were going.
The bus departed the Capitol, drove around a bit, and then dropped off Democratic lawmakers in the vicinity of the Capitol. Among those disembarking were Reps. Adam Schiff and Mark Takano of California and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts.
The move left Democrats fuming.
“It’s a petty move and unworthy of the presidency of the United States,” said House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md.
“The last two years have been nothing but odd,” Schiff said.
Drew Hammill, Pelosi’s spokesman, noted that Trump and first lady Melania Trump made a secret visit to Iraq during the shutdown, as did Republican lawmakers for a congressional delegation led by Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y. He also outlined the purpose of the trip in a series of tweets.
“The CODEL to Afghanistan included a required stop in Brussels for pilot rest. In Brussels, the delegation was scheduled to meet with top NATO commanders, U.S. military leaders and key allies–to affirm the United States’ ironclad commitment to the NATO alliance. This weekend visit to Afghanistan did not include a stop in Egypt,” Hammill wrote. “The purpose of the trip was to express appreciation & thanks to our men & women in uniform for their service & dedication, & to obtain critical national security & intelligence briefings from those on the front lines.”
Trump’s letter came after Pelosi urged the president in a letter Wednesday to postpone his State of the Union address, scheduled for Jan. 29, due to the ongoing partial government shutdown. She later made it clear she would not host Trump in the House chamber as long as the partial government shutdown continued.
In her letter to the president, Pelosi suggested the date be moved “given the security concerns,” as the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security were among the agencies for which funding lapsed Dec. 22. But Republicans say she was playing politics, as funding exists for the security officers needed for the State of the Union address.
“One sophomoric response does not deserve another,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. “Speaker Pelosi’s threat to cancel the State of the Union is very irresponsible and blatantly political. President Trump denying Speaker Pelosi military travel to visit our troops in Afghanistan, our allies in Egypt and NATO is also inappropriate.”
The president and congressional Democrats have been in a stalemate over funding for a wall along the southern border since Dec. 22. Pelosi and Democrats are opposed to including wall funding in legislation to reopen the government, and the speaker has called the wall “immoral.”
The president was scheduled to travel to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, next week, but canceled his trip because of the ongoing shutdown.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, and assistant to the president Chris Liddell are slated to attend. The White House said there are no changes to the trip at this time.
Al Weaver contributed to this report.
