Biden cuts short Asia trip due to debt ceiling impasse

President Biden postponed his planned visit to Papua New Guinea and Australia, shortening his trip to Asia to return to the US to resolve the debt ceiling issue.

US President Joe Biden will leave Washington on May 17 for Hiroshima, Japan, to attend the three-day G7 summit. However, the White House boss announced on May 16 that he would skip two planned stops after the summit, including Papua New Guinea and Australia.

The US President spoke by phone with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to explain the decision. "Default is not an option," Mr Biden said. Prime Minister Albanese said Mr Biden had apologized for not being able to visit Australia. The two countries will discuss arranging the visit as soon as possible.

Biden’s team also announced the decision to postpone a visit with Papua New Guinea leaders. The Papua New Guinea embassy has not commented on the information.

US President Joe Biden answers reporters while leaving the White House for Mississippi on March 31. Photo: AFP

After negotiations on the debt ceiling ended on May 16 without a breakthrough, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said "there is still a lot of work to do" to break the deadlock between Congress and the White House.

The White House said Mr Biden was optimistic that “there is a path to a responsible, bipartisan budget agreement if both sides negotiate in good faith”. Meanwhile, Mr McCarthy also expressed hope for a deal, even if “nothing is resolved” at the moment.

"America is the number one economy in the world. And when we complete this negotiation, the American economy will be stronger," he said.

Raising the debt ceiling, or the limit on how much the government can borrow to pay for its expenses, is a regular occurrence. Republicans, who took control of the House of Representatives after the 2022 midterm elections, have said they will only agree to raise the debt ceiling if it is accompanied by major cuts to government spending.

The US Treasury Department previously warned that the country would default on its debt as early as June 1 if Democrats and Republicans could not reach an agreement on the debt ceiling.

Thanh Tam (According to Reuters, AFP )

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