Pelosi cancels Afghan trip, cites leak byTrump

WASHINGTON — The allegation, if true, was extraordinary: The White House, in leaking the travel plans of members of Congress, put the safety of the speaker of the House in jeopardy.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday canceled her plans to travel by commercial plane to visit U.S. troops in Afghanistan, saying President Donald Trump had caused a security risk by talking about the trip. The White House said there was no such leak.

But it was the latest turn — and potentially the most dangerous — in the highstakes brinkmanship between Mr. Trump and Ms. Pelosi, playing out against the stalled negotiations over how to end the partial government shutdown.

And it showed once again the willingness of the former hard-charging businessman to hit hard when challenged, as he was earlier this week when Ms. Pelosi suggested postponing his State of the Union address during the shutdown.

Julian Zelizer, a professor of history and public affairs at Princeton University, said it “gives new meaning” to tensions between the executive and legislative branches.

“There are public backand-forths,” he said, citing relations between past presidents and House speakers. “But this kind of tensions, preventing the speaker from visiting the troops and the speaker suggesting the White House leaked information about a crucial flight, this is one more example of where Trumpism brings us into new territory.”

The political stakes are high as the shutdown moves into a fifth week.

Mr. Trump is demanding money from Congress to build his long-promised border wall with Mexico. But Congress has not approved the funds.