Planned Quad summit in Sydney won’t go ahead without Biden

A planned meeting of the Quad alliance, which consists of the United States, Australia, Japan and India, will not take place as scheduled in Australia after President Biden said he would cut his trip short amid negotiations over the debt ceiling in Washington, D.C.

The leaders of the four nations were set to gather in Sydney for a summit, but with Biden’s altered schedule, they will instead connect in Japan at the Group of Seven (G-7) summit this week.

Biden informed Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of his change in plans and invited him to the U.S. for an official state visit in the future.

Biden told reporters he expected to meet with Quad members on the sidelines of the G-7.

Albanese said Wednesday he understood why Biden needed to scrap his trip to Australia.

“The blocking and the disruption that’s occurring in domestic politics in the United States, with the debt ceiling issue, means that, because that has to be solved prior to 1st June — otherwise there are quite drastic consequences for the U.S. economy, which will flow on to the global economy — he understandably has had to make that decision,” Albanese told reporters, according to The Associated Press.

The White House announced Tuesday the change to Biden’s itinerary, which also included the cancelation of what was set to be the first ever presidential trip to Papua New Guinea.

Biden met Tuesday with congressional leaders about the debt ceiling, and he is expected to reconvene lawmakers at the White House upon his return from Asia. The Treasury Secretary has warned the U.S. could default as early as June 1 if lawmakers do not raise the debt ceiling.