The stunning decision made by President Donald Trump on Thursday to cancel the military plane scheduled to shuttle the Democrats to Brussels and Afghanistan was widely viewed as retaliation for Pelosi’s effort, just a day earlier, to postpone the president’s Jan. 29 State of the Union address until the government is reopened.
The maneuver drew immediate howls from Democrats who lamented the near-collapse of comity between Democrats and Republicans and expressed deep concerns about how the sides will find the common ground to end what has evolved into the longest government closure in the nation’s history.
Rep. Adam Schiff siad: “All too often in the last two years the president has acted like he is in the fifth grade,”
“To have someone who has that kind of character running the country is an enormous problem at every level.” Schiff added.
House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer appeared disgusted, saying Trump’s decision “demeans the presidency.” And Rep. Dan Kildee characterized the move as “petty, childish and counterproductive.”
“She’s doing her duty as a senior member of the United States government, and the fact that the president would think that’s not important because he’s going to have another temper-tantrum is just another indication just how dangerous this psychologically unfit person is to hold that office,” Kildee told The Hill.
“This is not good.”
Democrats were not alone in criticizing Trump’s response. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Trump ally, said it was “inappropriate” for Trump to postpone Pelosi’s visit with the troops. But Graham also reserved plenty of fire for the Democrats.
“One sophomoric response does not deserve another,” Graham said in a statement.
Nevertheless other Republicans offered support for Trump’s response, arguing he was fully within his rights and that Pelosi should be in Washington to work toward an end to the shutdown.
Rep. Mike Turner argued it was one thing for Trump to travel to Iraq to visit U.S. troops during the shutdown and another for Pelosi to do so.
“I think the president of the United States represents the entire country as commander in chief, I think if he wants to speak to the troops, that it certainly honors our entire nation,” Turner told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer in an interview.
“I think Nancy Pelosi’s been elected from a small portion of San Francisco. She should be behind her desk right now working diligently to open this government, close the border, and not pursue the open border policies she has, and make certain that we can move forward.”
When it became clear the that the planned trip was not happening, a number of those Democrats — including Reps. Schiff; Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; and Mark Takano, who chairs the Veterans’ Affairs panel — gathered in Pelosi’s office in the Capitol to discuss next steps. Engel, in cargo pants, appeared to be dressed in preparation for a long flight.
Over the next six hours, with a bank of cameras and dozens of reporters outside her office, Pelosi never emerged. Instead, Schiff addressed the press, with sharp words for Trump and an elusive message about the Democrats’ response that could have been interpreted to mean that Pelosi was still seeking ways to take her trip.
“We’re not going to allow the President of the United States to tell the Congress it can’t fulfill its oversight responsibilities, it can’t ensure that our troops have what they need whether our government is open or closed,” Schiff said.
Schiff added : “As far as we can tell, this has never happened in the annals of congressional history,” he continued. “But at the end of the day, we’re determined our oversight will continue no matter what the president’s actions are.”
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