Government shutdown: Trump blocks Pelosi's trip in State of the Union spat as State Department calls in workers

Comes as Democrat-led House withdrew a bill they had passed to reopen the shuttered portions of the government

(EPA)

Donald Trump has escalated his spat with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi over a possible delay to the annual State of the Union address by cancelling her upcoming trip to Belgium, Egypt and Afghanistan.

The White House postponed Ms Pelosi's ability to use military aircraft, which is Mr Trump's perogative as commander-in-chief. It comes a day after Ms Pelosi asked Mr Trump to delay the annual State of the Union address. Both blamed the partial government shutdown.

The episode shows how neither side appear close to backing down over the border wall funding issue that sparked the government closure now into its 27th day.

To follow how events unfolded, follow our liveblog below

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[17 January 2019 21:25 · Chris Stevenson]

The Trump administration trip to the World Economic Forum at Davos is still on.

Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin will lead the delegation from 22 to 25 January. Mr Trump was scheduled to go but cancelled over the shutdown.

[17 January 2019 21:34 · Chris Stevenson]

White House officials, including acting chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, began discussing potentially canceling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s trip early this morning, according to two people with knowledge of how things unfolded who spoke to CNN.

They felt completely caught off guard when Mr Pelosi publicly released her letter calling on President Trump to postpone his State of the Union address, or deliver it in writing.

[17 January 2019 21:42 · Chris Stevenson]

The White House is at pains to point out that Ms Pelosi's trip is just postponed.

 

[17 January 2019 21:55 · Chris Stevenson]

With that we are closing our blog for today. Thanks for reading.