Biden trip to Australia cancelled over US debt ceiling negotiations | ABC News

The White House says US President Joe Biden has postponed his planned trip to Australia because of stalled domestic debt ceiling negotiations.
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Mr Biden will leave the US tomorrow to travel to Japan for a meeting of the G7, which Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is also attending.

The US president was planning to travel to Papua New Guinea and Australia afterwards, including visits to Sydney and Canberra for security talks and an address to Australia's parliament.

However, Mr Biden will now fly home directly from Japan after the G7 to negotiate with Republican politicians over the debt ceiling, according to a White House statement.

Negotiations over the debt ceiling have reached a critical point, with Republicans asking for spending cuts in exchange for raising the limit, and the US Treasury set to run out of cash as soon as June 1.

The president spoke to Mr Albanese on Tuesday, US time, to inform him of the decision, the White House said.

"Revitalising and reinvigorating our alliances and advancing partnerships like the Quad remains a key priority for the President," the statement read.

"We look forward to finding other ways to engage with Australia, the Quad, Papua New Guinea and the leaders of the Pacific Islands Forum in the coming year."

Mr Biden also invited Mr Albanese for an official state visit to the US at a time to be agreed to, the statement added.

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