For the past few days, I’ve wondered how Joe Biden and his team could believe that the president could and should go on a trip to Asia and Australia for seven days, while his administration insists the country is about 14 days away from fiscal Armageddon and hitting the debt ceiling. If Biden and his team really thought the country was on the brink of an economic disaster, they wouldn’t have the president attending foreign summits, business as usual.
Well, someone over at the White House recognized the glaring contradiction between their message and their actions:
President Joe Biden will cut short a visit to Asia as the push to strike a deal to raise the nation’s borrowing limit grows more urgent, according to a source familiar with the president’s plans.
…But with a deal still out of reach and the threat of the country’s first-ever default approaching, Biden will return early to Washington to continue negotiations.
Biden will also skip a visit to Papua New Guinea, where he had planned to stop on his way to Sydney to discuss regional security and economic and climate support.
“President Biden has decided to return to the United States on Sunday, immediately following the completion of the G7, to ensure Congress takes action by the deadline to avert default,” a source familiar said.