House Democrat presses Pompeo over price of Trump’s scrapped Denmark trip

Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) on Thursday wrote to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to request a breakdown of the money the State Department spent preparing for President Trump’s canceled trip to Denmark.

Trump had originally planned to visit the nation in early September, with the visit including the first Danish state dinner attended by a U.S. president since the Clinton administration. However, after Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen publicly rebuffed Trump’s reported interest in the U.S. purchasing Greenland, Trump announced the visit would be canceled.

{mosads}In his letter, Kildee, a member of the House Budget Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee, asked Pompeo for details on the money spent so far in advance of the visit.

“Knowing the extensive background work that goes into planning any presidential travel, especially overseas, this action by the President raises important fiscal questions for Congress,” the letter stated.

Kildee’s letter blasted Trump’s “rash reaction” to Frederiksen’s comments, noting its longstanding status as an ally of the U.S. Trump decried her remarks on Wednesday as “nasty” after she called the idea “absurd.”

“Our country is already suffering a nearly $1 trillion budget deficit as a result of the tax cuts pushed through by Republicans in the last Congress, while many Americans cannot afford their medicine or have access to safe drinking water,” wrote Kildee, whose district includes the city of Flint, Mich.

“The president’s reaction underscores his weakening of American credibility around the world as well as his carelessness with taxpayer dollars and resources,” he added.