In an apparent tit-for-tat move against Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Donald Trump has abruptly halted a congressional delegation’s secret trip to visit US troops in Afghanistan.
Trump reportedly grounded the military aircraft that was to have taken Pelosi and several other US lawmakers to Afghanistan, with a stopover in Brussels to meet US Nato allies, less than an hour before it was due to depart.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“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 wrote in a letter to Pelosi, explaining why he was cancelling the trip.
“Trump himself visited Iraq after the partial government shutdown began on 22 December, raising questions about his stated rationale for blocking Pelosi’s travel,” the Washington Post says.
Meanwhile, the New York Post reports that “First Lady Melania Trump was winging her way to Mar-a-Lago — on a government jet”.
Trump’s decision to kill Pelosi’s trip was a “remarkable bit of one-upmanship in an increasingly bitter government shutdown drama”, The New York Times says.
Pelosi had written to Trump earlier this week to suggest that he either postpone his 29 January State of the Union address, or simply provide the text in writing, citing security concerns because of the shutdown.
Following the cancellation of the congressional delegation’s flight, CNN reports that “Democrats responded angrily”, releasing a series of statements that were highly critical of Trump.
“All too often in the last two years, the president has acted like he’s in the fifth grade. And to have someone who has that kind of character running the country is an enormous problem at every level," said House Intelligence Committee chairman Adam Schiff.
-
The 8 best TV shows of the 1960sThe standout shows of this decade take viewers from outer space to the Wild West
-
Microdramas are boomingUnder the radar Scroll to watch a whole movie
-
The Olympic timekeepers keeping the Games on trackUnder the Radar Swiss watchmaking giant Omega has been at the finish line of every Olympic Games for nearly 100 years
-
Kurt Olsen: Trump’s ‘Stop the Steal’ lawyer playing a major White House roleIn the Spotlight Olsen reportedly has access to significant US intelligence
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
How corrupt is the UK?The Explainer Decline in standards ‘risks becoming a defining feature of our political culture’ as Britain falls to lowest ever score on global index
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
