A spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says the trip that President Donald Trump is canceling was intended to express appreciation to U.S. troops and reaffirm the United States "ironclad commitment" to the NATO alliance.
Trump wrote Pelosi on Thursday and said he was denying military aircraft for a trip to Egypt, Brussels and Afghanistan amid the government shutdown. The notice came after Pelosi attempted on Wednesday to delay Trump's State of Union address.
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill tweeted that the previously unannounced trip was to Afghanistan, including a stop in Brussels. He said it did not include a stop in Egypt.
Hammill said Pelosi was to meet with top NATO commanders and troops and "obtain critical national security & intelligence briefings from those on the front lines."