美国国家公共电台 NPR Trump Postpones Pelosi Trip To War Zone After She Postpones State Of The Union

Trump 1 Postpones 3 Pelosi Trip To War Zone After She Postpones State Of The Union

MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:

Fly commercial. That, in essence, was President Trump's recommendation to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as she was preparing to depart on a congressional trip to a war zone. Pelosi and other lawmakers and aides were about to leave for a trip to Afghanistan, also to Brussels. The president's recommendation came in a letter to the House speaker one day after she wrote to him asking that he delay his January 29 State of the Union address because of security concerns around the government shutdown. NPR congressional correspondent Susan Davis joins us now from Capitol Hill.

Hey there, Sue.

SUSAN DAVIS, BYLINE 4: Hey, there.

KELLY: Start with the scene there on Capitol Hill. I mean, walk me through quite how this unfolded today.

DAVIS: So Congress had already wrapped up its business for the week, and the lawmakers and aides that were scheduled to go on this CODEL were literally 5 getting on...

KELLY: CODEL, meaning...

DAVIS: CODEL - code for congressional delegation 6 - it's the shorthand that is used up here for when lawmakers take trips abroad. Staff can also take them sometimes, too.

KELLY: Right.

DAVIS: They're very common, and they're often bipartisan. And so lawmakers and aides were literally getting on the bus. The military and the State Department are the support staff for these trips. Lawmakers were boarding a U.S. Air Force bus. They were on their way to the airport when the White House released a letter essentially 7 pulling the plug on the trip and saying - characterized it as a public relations visit and said...

KELLY: Wow. They were literally, bags packed, ready to go.

DAVIS: Yes. And they essentially canceled the trip. The bus turned around. Many of us chased after that bus. It pulled back up to the Capitol, and they got off the bus.

KELLY: Wow. That's quite a scene. What was the purpose of this trip? To Afghanistan - so they were going to go to the war zone.

DAVIS: These are very common trips.

KELLY: Yeah.

DAVIS: They happen all the time. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was leading the CODEL. They were scheduled to take a weekend trip to meet with NATO commanders in Brussels and then to meet with troops in Afghanistan. They were scheduled to be back in time for the congressional session next week.

I would say that these trips are probably one of the last things that are known as being nonpartisan or bipartisan and also a way in which the executive branch and the legislative 8 branch work together. These trips can't happen without military support, without State Department support. There were already support staff on the ground in Belgium awaiting lawmakers to get there on this trip. And I talked to a lot of staffers and members that are kind of stunned 9 because this has just simply never happened before. The president has never pulled the plug on a CODEL for political reasons.

KELLY: As the president knows because of his own recent visit to a war zone, it is unusual for these trips to ever be announced in advance. And we didn't know this was going to happen - right? - until he announced - you know what? - maybe you should postpone 2.

DAVIS: He did. And he announced it as they were on their way there. That certainly breaks with norms and precedents 10. These kind of trips into war zones are almost never announced before they're on the ground and often not announced until they've left the war zone.

So for the president to sort of announce that, I think, has also ruffled 11 some feathers up here. Steny Hoyer is the majority leader. He called it small and vindictive 12 and said unbecoming of the president of the United States. Even Senator Lindsey Graham - he's a Republican from South Carolina and an ally of the president - was also critical of the move, saying that one sophomoric 13 response does not deserve another.

KELLY: Can the president do this? I guess the bus turning around indicates the answer is yes. But why does he have control over congressional leaders' travel?

DAVIS: You know, he has the legal authority to do it. I've already asked this question. I'm told he's the commander in chief of the military, and he controls military aircraft. I think there has also been a lot of deference 14 given to the speaker of the House. Remember; the speaker of the House is a constitutional officer. They're in the line of succession. So for them to do this and under these circumstances, it really just is all about politics. There isn't a really good policy reason for this. It's just a bit of a tit for tat.

KELLY: Susan, just briefly 15 - this comes on Day 27 of the shutdown and, I guess, gives us some window into that these negotiations 16 are not exactly becoming a warm and friendly conversation anytime soon.

DAVIS: They're not. And if it's told us anything, I think the two parties are moving further apart and that we have some time to go in the government shutdown.

KELLY: Thank you very much, Susan.

DAVIS: You're welcome.

KELLY: That's NPR's congressional correspondent Susan Davis.