WASHINGTON — House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will lead an official congressional delegation to Asia on Friday, two sources said, though it’s unclear whether the trip will include a stop in Taiwan.
One of the sources who reviewed the itinerary on Thursday afternoon said it listed a visit to Taiwan as “tentative”, although the trip includes visits to Asian allies Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore.
Bloomberg News first reported that Pelosi’s delegation will leave on Friday, the last day the House is in session before the months-long August recess.
Pelosi has invited senior lawmakers to join her on the journey, including Secretary of State Gregory Meeks, DN.Y., and Chair of Veterans Affairs, Mark Takano, D-Calif., who led a delegation of lawmakers to Taiwan last year. .
Takano declined to comment on the trip when approached by NBC News on Thursday afternoon.
Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill also declined to comment. The speaker’s office has a policy of not pre-discussing international travel by lawmakers, citing safety concerns.
Earlier reports that Pelosi might visit Taiwan sparked international headlines and stern warnings from Beijing that it would make a “strong” response if it set foot on the democratic island, which China sees as under its control.
President Joe Biden, speaking with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday, had expressed concern about Pelosi’s possible travel to Taiwan. He said last weekend that US military officials told him that a visit to Taiwan “isn’t a good idea right now.”
Tensions over Taiwan were among the issues Biden and Xi discussed over the phone.
Lawmakers from both parties rallied behind Pelosi, but urged her to make the trip and to emphasize US support for the self-governing island.
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