U.S. President Joe Biden has no plans to shorten his upcoming weeklong trip to the Asia-Pacific region so as to deal with an impasse in Washington over the debt ceiling, the White House said Monday.
John Kirby, White House national security spokesman, reiterated that Biden is due to depart for the Japanese city of Hiroshima on Wednesday as planned to take part in this year's Group of Seven summit as well as meetings later in Papua New Guinea and Australia.
"Right now, there are no plans to curtail the trip or cut it short or not go," Kirby said in an online press briefing. "We're planning on going and we're planning on executing it."
His remarks came as Biden has been struggling for months to strike a deal with top congressional leaders to avert an unprecedented government default, which could occur as soon as June 1.
Biden is expected to meet with them on Tuesday, but Republicans remain opposed to his request to raise or suspend the $31.4 trillion ceiling.
