Johnson's Office Scraps Congressional Staff Trip to Italy and France
A weeklong official visit to Italy and France that senior congressional staffers had planned for later this month was called off by Speaker Mike Johnson's office shortly after a news outlet sought details about the itinerary.
The delegation, which was to be bipartisan, was assembled to examine how the Trump administration's tariffs and taxes are affecting industry, according to a draft schedule reported by NBC News on Wednesday. The trip had been arranged to take place only weeks before the midterm elections.
Curt Beaulieu, Johnson's senior policy and tax adviser, was selected to head the group. Senior congressional staff from both parties were expected to take part.
Johnson's office attributed the cancellation to a scheduling conflict. It acted after the outlet made inquiries about the plans.
Under the draft itinerary, the delegation would have opened its travels in Vicenza, Italy, where staffers were to sit down with U.S. military personnel based there. The schedule then moved on to sectors drawn into President Trump's trade agenda, the memo obtained by NBC showed.
The memo described the aim of the visit as engaging European and U.S. government and industry officials on the impact of U.S. tariffs and taxes.
Such official trips by lawmakers or their staff — known as CODELs and STAFFDELs — are professional visits undertaken by members of both parties to meet global leaders or advocates, deepen understanding of a range of issues and strengthen ties.
According to the plan, the group would have visited a Ferrari factory close to Bologna, Italy, and a Barilla plant in Parma. Talks with luxury goods companies were to follow in either Milan or Florence. Once in France, the staffers were to travel to the Champagne region for discussions on taxes and trade with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
Johnson's office told NBC that Michelin, L'Oreal Paris and the drugmaker Sanofi had also been considered for the itinerary. It defended the proposed visit, noting that congressional staff from both parties regularly travel to U.S. allies and trading partners to meet government and industry officials.
The planned trip came amid a wider national argument over prices and trade ahead of the November elections, with Trump's tariffs at the heart of the debate.
Earlier this year, the president threatened a 200 percent tariff on Champagne from France after French President Emmanuel Macron turned down an invitation to join the White House Board of Peace, which oversees the 20-point recovery plan in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas ceasefire.
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