Why Trump canceled Pelosi's visit to Afghanistan

Disallowance (very) public, name flights and degraded flights: it is not petty acts of scorn rivals or family tragedies, but the latest tactics of revenge of President Donald Trump and the bitter game of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi In the run-up to the closure of the government, the president and leader of the Democratic Party spent last week engaged in a series of acts of reprisal personal, sometimes even minimal, against another, to launch slightly veiled beards to thwart the public events of each other. Pelosi found a shameless ploy to cancel the state of the Union, and then Trump sought revenge by canceling his intention to lead a congressional delegation while on a trip abroad .

All this to gain the upper hand in the ongoing negotiations to reopen the federal government.

Both parties are stalled on how to end the partial closure of the government that has lasted for nearly a month and is eating away at the US economy. Trump has asked for more than $ 5 billion to fund his election promise for a wall of borders. Congress refuses to give him the money. The negotiations on this single point of stumbling resulted in screams of matches and fights on Twitter.

Meanwhile, more than a quarter of federal agencies are at a standstill and 800,000 workers are not paid.

A daily blow-to-blow between Trump and Pelosi

began Wednesday when Pelosi told Trump that the annual State of the Union address – which the presidents delivered in a joint session of Congress since 1947 – should be postponed in light of the closure of the site.

For security reasons, Pelosi wrote in a letter to the president that he should wait for the reopening of the government before he can deliver the speech. But Trump could choose to submit her speech in writing, she said. (This is how the Presidents submitted their nationally mandated constitutional assessments between 1800 and 1913, as well as several other years of the twentieth century as well.)

Trump reacted the next day by saying that "I have not been here. he should also postpone the events planned by Pelosi. . The Democratic leader had apparently planned to bring a group of lawmakers to Afghanistan to visit US troops in the country.

In a sarcastic letter, Trump on Thursday canceled Pelosi's visit by canceling the military transport of his congressional delegation. minute. (Members of the trip have already packed their bags and were waiting on the bus bound for Fort Andrews when they learned that Trump had canceled their flight). Instead, wrote Trump, Pelosi could only advertise.

"I am sure you will agree with me that postponing this public relations event is entirely appropriate," he said. "I also think that during this period, it would be better for you to be in Washington to negotiate with me and join the Strong Border Security movement to end the closure."

By publishing his letter to the public, Trump made the one on the delegation's travel plans, which are generally kept secret to avoid security risks when traveling abroad As the third presidential candidate, the President of the House has access to a means of military transport during his travels. During her first term as Speaker of the House from 2007, Pelosi relied on Air Force aircraft to travel to her district of San Francisco. John Boehner ended this practice once he took the presidency and this self-imposed ban on charter domestic flights remains in effect today.

War zones are another matter. The State Department sent the delegation to the delegation. a note noting that Trump's letter "greatly increased the danger" for lawmakers, troops and other government officials backing the trip, according to Pelosi spokesman, Drew Hammill. Pelosi's trip is now postponed indefinitely.

Deferred Trip Delays Damage Control of NATO Allies

Congressional Delegations Frequently Make Trips to NATO Allies To meet with troops and build relationships with key allies and leaders. Interactions abroad serve a crucial function in allowing Congress to monitor the use of the US military abroad and – like the trip Trump himself made on a visit to US troops in Iraq – can give a general morale boost.

The Pelosi delegation was to meet. with commanders and troops on the front lines in Afghanistan, and receive briefings on national security and intelligence during their stay. Along the way, lawmakers planned to stop in Brussels to let the pilot rest and meet with NATO allies and military leaders.

The timing of the trip comes at the hour announced by rumors that Trump is once again denigrating the North Atlantic Treaty. Organization or NATO. The 70-year military alliance between the United States, European countries and Canada is widely recognized for helping to contain Soviet expansionism during the Cold War. But according to Julian E. Barnes and Helene Cooper of The New York Times, Trump has repeatedly told senior administration officials that he wants to withdraw from NATO, which would paralyze the company. Alliance and would give a major victory to the Russians.

Trump is publicly complaining that the alliance is too expensive, calling it "obsolete" and "worse than NAFTA" – a trade agreement that he has recently dismantled. And it is no secret that Russian President Vladimir Putin wanted to see NATO destroyed.

Trump's own national security team – former Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, National Security Advisor John Bolton – has been working for the last two years to keep the President online. with the commitment of the United States to NATO. But in view of Trump's alleged entanglement with the Russians and his frequent desire to contradict the information and advice of his own administrative officials, his derogatory remarks about NATO are worrying people.

Pelosi's trip was partly designed to serve to limit the damage. to compensate for Trump's public and private comments. The delegation was scheduled to meet with European leaders and leaders to "affirm the US's unwavering commitment to the NATO alliance," Hammill said.

Unless Pelosi and his crew are able to find a way to fly in secret for commercial purposes, [19659002] it may be necessary to wait for the opening of the government, whatever the time.

There is something of a double standard on stopping trips

Beyond diving into the arena of small political quarrels to establish dominance, Trump's actions towards Pelosi set a double standard for Democrats and Republicans on who is allowed to travel abroad in the middle of the stop. Trump himself went to visit troops in Iraq just days after the start of the closure on Dec. 22, and New York Republican Representative Lee Zeldin also led a delegation to Kuwait at Christmas.

Of course, it was a few weeks before this stop became the longest in the history of the United States. Now that the country has been down for a month, the government is catching up. The Office of Management and Budget on Friday issued a memo announcing that, as long as the closure is not over, congressional delegations are banned, rented, leased or chartered "without the express permission of Mick Mulvaney , acting chief of staff of Trump.

On Thursday, Trump canceled his intention to send Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross to Davos, Switzerland, on Monday. the occasion of the annual World Economic Forum.

But according to the New York Times, in the midst of the quarrels, the First Lady, Melania Trump, was still able to keep her plan to fly a military plane to Florida to stay at the family seaside resort, Mar. a-Lago. [19659035] [ad_2]
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