Biden will cut trip abroad short over debt ceiling talks

President Joe Biden will head to Japan this week to attend the G-7 summit but said he will cut short the remainder of his trip abroad so he can return to Washington “to be back for the final negotiations with congressional leaders” over the debt ceiling.

The president is scheduled to leave Wednesday for Hiroshima. He had planned to make visits afterward to Papua New Guinea and then to the Quad Summit in Australia. Biden will instead return to Washington on Sunday.

The stops in Australia and Papua New Guinea were meant to affirm the U.S. commitment to the Pacific as China’s influence in the region rises. Biden said he had already spoken with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to explain why he was postponing his visit.

Earlier Tuesday, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that the White House was “reevaluating” the second part of Biden’s trip.

“What I can speak to is G-7 and going to Hiroshima,” Kirby said as he offered a preview of the trip to reporters at the White House briefing. “The president’s looking forward to that. We’re taking a look at the rest of the trip.”

The schedule change to Biden's trip underscores how the White House has been consumed with the danger of defaulting on the nation’s debt. The president was meeting with the "Big Four" congressional leaders — including Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy — on Tuesday afternoon. The Treasury Department has warned that the nation may hit its limit in early June.

“There was an overwhelming consensus, I think in today’s meeting with congressional leaders, that defaulting on the debt is simply not an option. Our economy would fall into recession,” Biden said.

The stops in Australia and Papua New Guinea were meant to affirm the U.S. commitment to the Pacific as China’s influence in the region rises. Scrubbing those visits could be a blow to U.S. efforts in the Pacific, according to White House aides who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the situation.

Biden’s visit to Australia was meant to strengthen the Quad alliance — comprised of the U.S., Australia, Japan and India — but Kirby noted that Biden would still be able to spend time with those nations' leaders in Japan.

Republicans have said they will not vote to raise the debt ceiling unless Democrats agree to sharp spending cuts. Failure to lift the limit — a move necessary to cover the costs of spending and tax cuts previously approved by Congress — could trigger a default that would set off a sharp economic downturn.

Kelly Garrity contributed to this report.