White House calls off Davos trip for top officials
The White House will not be sending a delegation to Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum next week, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders announced Thursday night.
The announcement came hours after Mr. Trump announced he was postponing a trip House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats were scheduled to take Thursday afternoon to Afghanistan and Brussels to visit U.S. Troops. The president had canceled his own attendance at Davos due to the government shutdown, but top officials including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin were still scheduled to attend.
"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," Sanders said in a statement.
The Davos summit, which Mr. Trump attended and spoke at least year, is a gathering of top dignitaries and business officials.
In canceling the military aircraft, Mr. Trump said Pelosi shouldn't be traveling during the government shutdown, and should stay in town instead. That prompted questions about whether the Davos summit with top Trump officials would continue as planned.
Mr. Trump's decision to pull Pelosi's military plane came one day after she asked him to postpone his State of the Union address because of the shutdown, although a White House official insists the president didn't make the move in response to Pelosi.