The cancellation of the official House delegation to the annual Munich Security Conference has drawn pushback from Democrats who still plan to attend, even as it’s upended a decades-long tradition of robust bipartisan participation in the high-profile global policy forum.
A House leadership aide told The Hill that cancelling congressional delegations (CODEL) is standard operating procedure during the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
But House Democrats have sharply criticized Republicans for the cancellation, arguing that attending the conference is critical to restoring the United States’ standing with allies amid the Trump administration’s aggressive foreign policy approach.
“Because of the Republican shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, because Republicans refuse to make any compromises or any changes to ICE after the deadly murders of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, we have a shutdown, and therefore, we cannot go on official CODELS. I’ve decided, along with a number of my Democratic colleagues, to go anyway,” Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.) said in a video statement on Thursday.