The State Department said it would call its furloughed employees back to work next week for national security reasons. Trump's intervention stopped the trip just as Pelosi and other lawmakers were about to travel. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had planned to attend after Trump canceled his own participation at Davos. A spokesman for Pelosi, Drew Hammill, said the trip to Brussels was intended "to affirm the United States’ ironclad commitment to the Nato alliance." Also on Thursday, the State Department said it would recall its employees and take steps to pay them salaries - a departure from other agencies.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 18, 2019 14:37 UTC