Nancy Pelosi accuses White House of 'dangerous' leak
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has canceled a congressional trip to Afghanistan to visit U.S. service members there after the Trump administration leaked plans of the visit to the war-ravished country, her office said Friday. Trump suggested the delegation could instead fly on commercial aircraft one day after Pelosi asked the president to delay his State of the Union address -- planned for Jan. 29 -- until the conclusion of the ongoing partial government shutdown, which is now on day 28.
- World
- AP
- Published Date: 12:00 | 18 January 2019
- Modified Date: 09:32 | 18 January 2019
Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (puh-LOH'-see) is accusing the White House of leaking information about her planned congressional trip to Afghanistan and saying it's "very irresponsible on the part of the president."
Pelosi's comments Friday came after President Donald Trump canceled the military plane that was to have carried a congressional delegation to Afghanistan on the previously undisclosed troop visit. Trump suggested she travel by commercial plane instead.
Pelosi said she planned to do just that but was thwarted after "the administration leaked that we were traveling commercially." She says the State Department reported "the president outing" the original trip made the scene on the ground in Afghanistan "more dangerous because it's a signal to the bad actors that we're coming."
The White House has denied leaking Pelosi's backup plan to fly commercially and says it leaked nothing that would cause a security risk.
Pelosi and Trump are at an impasse over funding Trump wants for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. The partial government shutdown has reached its 28th day.