War between Trump, Pelosi heats up
President refuses use of military plane to visit troops in Afghanistan Donald Trump says he wants Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in Washington to negotiate.
WASHINGTON— She imperilled his State of the Union address. He denied her an aircraft to visit troops abroad.
The shutdown battle between President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is playing out as a surreal game of constitutional brinksmanship, with both flexing their political powers from opposite ends of Pennsylvania Avenue as the negotiations to end the monthlong partial government shutdown remain stalled.
In dramatic fashion, Trump issued a letter to Pelosi on Thursday, just before she and other lawmakers were set to depart on the previously undisclosed trip to Afghanistan and Brussels. Trump belittled the trip as a “public relations event” and said it would be best if Pelosi remained in Washington to negotiate to reopen the government.
“Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would cer- tainly be your prerogative!” concluded Trump, who had been smarting since Pelosi, the day before, called on him to postpone his Jan. 29 State of the Union address due to the shutdown.
Denying military aircraft to a senior lawmaker is very rare and Congress was caught off guard.
Pelosi spokesperson Drew Hammill said the speaker planned to travel to Afghanistan and Brussels to thank service members and obtain briefings on national security and intelligence “from those on the front lines.” He noted Trump had travelled to Iraq during the shutdown and said a Republican-led congressional trip had also taken place.
The political tit-for-tat between Trump and Pelosi laid bare how the government-wide crisis has devolved into an intensely personal clash between two leaders determined to prevail over one another.
It took place as hundreds of thousands of federal workers go without pay and Washington’s routine protocols — a presi- dent’s speech to Congress, a lawmaker’s official trip — become collateral damage in the budget fight.
Pelosi would normally make such a trip on a military aircraft supplied by the Pentagon. According to a defence official, Pelosi did request Defence Department support for overseas travel and it was initially approved.
White House spokesperson Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump wanted Pelosi to stay in Washington before Tuesday, a deadline to prepare the next round of paychecks for federal workers. “We want to keep her in Washington,” Sanders said. “The president wants her here to negotiate.”
While Pelosi did not directly respond to being denied her trip, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, Rep. Steny Hoyer, called Trump’s action “petty. It is small. It is vindictive.”
And Rep. Adam Schiff of California slammed Trump for revealing the closely held travel plans. (The president’s trip to Iraq was not disclosed in advance for security reasons.)
“I think the president’s decision to disclose a trip the speaker’s making to a war zone was completely and utterly irresponsible in every way,” Schiff said.
Some Republicans also expressed frustration. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham tweeted: “One sophomoric response does not deserve another.” He called Pelosi’s State of the Union move “very irresponsible and blatantly political” but said Trump’s effort was “also inappropriate.”
Pelosi reiterated she is willing to negotiate money for border security once the government is reopened, but she said Democrats remain opposed to Trump’s long-promised wall.