Political standoff blocks solution to US shutdown

US President Donald Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are playing a game of political brinkmanship, seeing who will blink first, political observers say.

A day after Pelosi proposed that Trump postpone his State of the Union speech until the government reopens, the president told her in a letter on Thursday that she couldn't use military aircraft for her planned overseas trip.

The latest dust-up between what many see as the two most powerful politicians in Washington suggests they're digging in on the partial government shutdown, experts said.