US government shutdown gets personal as Donald Trump cancels Nancy Pelosi’s flights for overseas trip
- US President Donald Trump told Speaker Nancy Pelosi her flights to Belgium, Egypt and Afghanistan on a military plane had been axed
US President Donald Trump on Thursday stopped House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi from using a military plane for an overseas trip, in a sarcasm-laced response to the Democratic leader’s suggestion he postpone the State of the Union address during the partial government shutdown.
Trump told Pelosi in a letter that her trip to Belgium, Egypt and Afghanistan, which he derided as a “public relations event”, would be postponed, citing the shutdown that has entered its 27th day.
It was not clear what trip Trump was referring to. Lawmakers often do not publicise foreign trips before they occur for security reasons, particularly when the trips involve a war zone as in this case.
“Due to the Shutdown, I am sorry to inform you that your trip to Brussels, Egypt and Afghanistan has been postponed,” Trump’s letter said.
Pelosi asks Trump to delay State of the Union, citing shutdown security
He continued: “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 told Pelosi she could make the trip by flying commercial if she wished.
The US House speaker normally uses a military plane for overseas travel and it was on that basis that Trump, as commander in chief, appeared to be acting.
“He postponed her ability to use military air,” which must be approved by the Department of Defence, said White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders.
Later on Thursday, Pelosi’s deputy chief of staff, Drew Hammill, posted on Twitter that the trip was scheduled to take a Congressional delegation (CODEL) to Afghanistan over the weekend, and that the stop in Brussels was required for “pilot rest”. While in Brussels, the delegation was to meet with “top NATO commanders, US military leaders and key allies”.
The trip would not include a stop in Egypt, Hammill said. He also noted that Trump and a Republican delegation had made similar trips to Iraq during the shutdown.
On Wednesday, Pelosi had written to Trump suggesting he postpone his January 29 State of the Union address to Congress because of security concerns during the shutdown.
The government has been partially shut since December 22, in a stand-off triggered by Trump’s demand for US$5.7 billion to fund a wall along the US-Mexico border, which Democrats oppose.
Trump’s action drew criticism from one of his Republican allies in the Senate.
“One sophomoric response does not deserve another,” Republican Senator Lindsey Graham wrote on Twitter. He criticised Pelosi’s move on the State of the Union as “blatantly political” but said, “President Trump denying Speaker Pelosi military travel to visit our troops in Afghanistan, our allies in Egypt and Nato is also inappropriate.”
