Pompeo Cancels End-of-Term Trip to Belgium

(Bloomberg) -- Secretary of State Michael Pompeo canceled a brief trip to Belgium set for Wednesday, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The trip, in the works for several weeks, was scrapped Tuesday, a day after it was announced by the State Department, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. Pompeo had tweeted about his planned travel earlier Tuesday.

The cancellation of the visit, expected to be the last travel of Pompeo’s term, comes as Washington is in turmoil over the assault on the Capitol by a crowd urged to action by President Donald Trump. Pompeo has criticized the attack but not Trump.

Pompeo had planned to visit Belgium on Wednesday and return the next day, according to an announcement. The trip was planned to reaffirm the U.S.-Belgium partnership and underscore U.S. support for the NATO alliance. It would likely have been his last trip as secretary of state.

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