White House cancels US delegation trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos hours after throwing wrench into congressional trip to Afghanistan
- President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled the US delegation's annual trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, "out of consideration" for the furloughed federal employees amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.
- Trump attended the forum in 2018 but was expected to send a delegation of senior US officials this year.
- The decision follows Trump's move to cancel a military flight that was set to transport House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congress members to Afghanistan.
President Donald Trump on Thursday canceled the US delegation's annual trip to the World Economic Forum "out of consideration" for the furloughed federal employees amid the ongoing partial government shutdown.
"Out of consideration for the 800,000 great American workers not receiving pay and to ensure his team can assist as needed, President Trump has canceled his Delegation's trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.
Trump attended the forum in 2018 but was expected to send a delegation of senior US officials this year, including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
This follows Trump's move to cancel a military flight that was set to transport House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other congress members to Afghanistan. Trump's announcement came nearly an hour before that delegation was scheduled to depart on the trip.
Pelosi's spokesman Drew Hammill said in a statement that the trip was to show appreciation for the troops and to "obtain critical national security and intelligence briefings from those on the front lines."
Trump's move is widely seen as retaliation for Pelosi's suggestion a day earlier that Trump postpone his State of the Union speech or submit it writing, due to the ongoing shutdown.
The government shutdown, now on its 27th day, continues to affect around 800,000 federal employees. The congressional feud began on December 22, after Trump's demands for US taxpayer money to build a barrier at the US-Mexico border was rejected by Democrats and a few Republicans.