Yesterday, freshly reminted Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) flexed her new powers by sending a letter to the White House, postponing Trump’s invitation to deliver his State of the Union Address.
She cited the ongoing federal shutdown — which the president still refuses to end despite the suffering of hundreds of thousands of unpaid workers — as the reason for moving back the date of the speech. Since the Secret Service and the Department of Homeland Security have gone so long without funding and many workers are furloughed, Pelosi explained that there are reasonable security concerns about holding the event before the government reopens.
Today, I wrote to @realDonaldTrump recommending that we delay the State of the Union until after government re-opens, as the @SecretService, the lead federal agency for #SOTU security, faces its 26th day without funding. https://t.co/K2oL8WGvqo pic.twitter.com/g3fIlxDbbK
— Nancy Pelosi (@SpeakerPelosi) January 16, 2019
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Of course, it was only a matter of time before the infamously thin-skinned Trump responded to what he was sure to see as an embarrassing show of disrespect, and now he has. The White House has sent a letter to Nancy Pelosi, retaliating for her postponement.
In it, Trump writes that he is “sorry to inform” Speaker Pelosi that her upcoming trip to Brussels, Egypt, and Afghanistan has been postponed and that it will be rescheduled after the shutdown finally ends. It was an unparalleled act of pettiness from a president known for his childish decisions.
According to BBC, the White House is asserting that Trump has the power to stop the trip unilaterally because it would rely on military aircraft for travel. Additionally, BBC reports that Pelosi’s trip had not been announced before Trump sent his letter, and some critics are upset that the president would so nonchalantly reveal Congressional plans to visit a warzone. The delegation was supposed to leave today.
President @realDonaldTrump’s letter to @SpeakerPelosi concerning her upcoming travel pic.twitter.com/TtBCvwp080
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) January 17, 2019
This letter reveals the secret travel plans into a war zone for one of the most high ranking officials in the US. https://t.co/Yhs4OMtkdp
— Micah Grimes (@MicahGrimes) January 17, 2019
Speaker Pelosi’s Chief of Staff Drew Hamill took to Twitter to give a rundown of the plans for the trip, which included meetings with NATO commanders and U.S. military leaders to do damage control in the wake of reports that Trump has flirted with the idea of leaving the crucial military alliance.
In other words, the president’s decision to block the trip isn’t just the pathetic lashing out of an adult toddler, it also does real-world damage to national security and international diplomacy.
This weekend visit to Afghanistan did not include a stop in Egypt. (2/4)
— Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) January 17, 2019
The President traveled to Iraq during the Trump Shutdown as did a Republican CODEL led by Rep. Zeldin. (4/4)
— Drew Hammill (@Drew_Hammill) January 17, 2019
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-CA) condemned Trump’s announcement, calling it “a petty move and unworthy of the President of the United States.”
Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says Trump’s decision to postpone Pelosi’s trip is “a petty move and unworthy of the president of the United States.”
— John R Parkinson (@jparkABC) January 17, 2019
According to Fox News’s Kevin Corke, a bus was all set to take the lawmakers to the airport for their departure, and some of them were already aboard the vehicle when Trump made his sudden announcement.
@PressSec says @SpeakerPelosi can still travel by commercial. Here’s a pic of the bus that was going to take lawmakers to Andrews for departure: pic.twitter.com/zDS7znlZ6Q
— Kevin Corke (@kevincorke) January 17, 2019
LATEST: Among the Democrat members on the bus: Engel, Schiff Davis, Lynch, Murray … (more)
— Kevin Corke (@kevincorke) January 17, 2019
Surprisingly, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) waded into the discussion to condemn Trump’s “sophomoric” letter, a surprising response from a man who has repeatedly gone out of his way to make excuses for the president’s worst actions. For once, Graham is right.
Furthermore, the fact that Trump is resorting to such an infantile tactic rather than some kind of more substantive action just underlines how powerless he is to beat Pelosi now that Democrats control the House.
NEW: @LindseyGrahamSC says: “One sophomoric response does not deserve another. @SpeakerPelosi ’s threat to cancel the State of the Union is very irresponsible and blatantly political. @realDonaldTrump denying Speaker Pelosi military travel is also inappropriate.
— Kevin Corke (@kevincorke) January 17, 2019
