
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">I recently wrote a commentary explaining why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had to maintain her plan to visit Taiwan. ; However, I did not address whether the original decision to organize a congressional Asian junket at that time was a good idea. ; The trip to Taipei would have been uneventful if it were not for the belligerent reactions by Chinese President Xi Jinping.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Once the schedule was leaked, Xi went bonkers. ; He repeatedly warned Biden not to allow the stopover in Taiwan. ; He threatened that it would result in military action – whatever that was supposed to mean at the time. ; Regardless, the American media joined Xi in going bonkers. ; Some in the media even speculated that Xi might shoot down Pelosi’s plane. ; Would this lead to a military confrontation with China – or would Xi use the Pelosi visit as a pretext to attack Taiwan?</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Then the Biden administration went bonkers – sending U.S. ships into the South China Sea and the Straits of Taiwan.  ; They gave Pelosi’s plane a jet fighter escort. ; That is how utterly absurd the situation got.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Xi was not going to attack Taiwan. ; Nor was he going to shoot down Pelosi’s plane. There would be no military conflict between China and the United States. No invasion of Taiwan. ; None of that was even in the realm of possibility.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Once Xi made his threats, however, Pelosi had no choice but to complete her itinerary – including the layover in Taiwan. ; To cave would have been another diplomatic signal that America is no longer the world’s leading nation – but a supplicant to the bullying of international bad actors. ; ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The American image has already been sufficiently damaged by President Biden’s serial weaknesses. ; And Biden had already made it known that he wanted the visit to Taiwan cancelled – although he could not order it. America needed to push back against Xi’s threats. ; Thankfully, Pelosi did just that.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">But to the larger question: Was the trip necessary in the first place? ; What was remarkably absent from media reports – and from the Speaker, herself – was the purpose of the trip. ; What was to be gained? ; What was achieved? ; Crickets.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We should first understand that it is illegal for anyone but the President of the United States – or his official emissary &#8212; to negotiate agreements or treaties with foreign nations. ; It is certainly not the role of Congress. ; Overseas trips by members of Congress are supposed to be “fact-finding” – although most are more for pleasure and prestige than business.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to the State Department, Pelosi would “focus on mutual security, economic partnership and democratic governance in the Indo-Pacific region.” ; Whatever that means. ; We can say with certainty that there were no articulated goals – or “deliverables,” as the diplomats call them. ; No goals. No deliverables. ; No achievements. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Joining Pelosi on this her no goals/no achievements tour were Gregory Meeks, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; Mark Takano, Chairman of Veterans’ Affairs; Suzan DelBene, Vice Chair of the Ways and Means Committee; Raja Krishnamoorthi, member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence; and Andy Kim, member of the Armed Services Committee. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">They are all Democrats. ; That is a worthy point since most congressional delegations traveling overseas for legitimate business reasons are bipartisan. ; Pelosi is not a fan of true bipartisanship – as we see with her Select Committee prosecuting a one-sided case. ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">If you look at the purpose of the trip as opposed to the controversy it inadvertently created, one could conclude that it was nothing more than a congressional junket – one of those taxpayer trips that enable the privileged members of Congress to visit exotic places … meet powerful people – and enjoy lavish meals. ; ;</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">It also gave Pelosi the image of a powerful world leader. ; She even got a version of being knighted by Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. ; The speaker was inducted into the Order of Propitious Clouds with Special Grand Cordon – Taiwan’s highest civilian honor. ; (Hmmm. ; Is the Microsoft Cloud propitious? ; Probably not.)</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">From Pelosi’s perspective, that made the entire trip worthwhile. ; Maybe that was the real reason Pelosi was so damned eager to go to Taiwan. ; She looked absolutely royal with that wide blue sash across her chest.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">No matter the reason, Pelosi created a problem for Biden and the pinstriped pants folks at the State Department. ; He upset Xi so much that he finally revealed his “military response” by shooting off rockets and missiles like a fourth of July fireworks show. ; Thankfully, he did not hit anything but merely showed that he could if he wanted to do so.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Pelosi’s overseas junket&#8211; and that nice honor from President Tsai &#8212; made me wonder if Pelosi is planning for her retirement – especially if Republicans take over the House. ; The award and the trip – along with her abandonment of bipartisan leadership – has the ring of a person gathering laurels on their way out the door.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">We will have to wait and see about that. ; But with regard to her Asian junket, methinks it was just a taxpayer-funded pleasure trip that inadvertently caused an unnecessary and overblown controversy.</p>



<p class="wp-block-paragraph">So, there ‘tis.</p>

Was Pelosi’s Asian trip nothing more than a taxpayer junket?
