President Obama Cancels Trip to Philippines, Due To U.S. Government Shutdown

President Obama with President Aquino

According to an official statement from the White House, President Obama has canceled his trip next week to the Philippines and Malaysia because of the U.S. government shutdown. Due to the funding crisis, nearly one million U.S. government employees have been furloughed - meaning they are temporarily out of a job.

The official statement reads: 

“Due to the government shut-down, President Obama’s travel to Malaysia and the Philippines has been postponed. Logistically, it was not possible to go ahead with these trips in the face of a government shut-down. Because they are on the back end of the president’s upcoming trip, our personnel was not yet in place and we were not able to go forward with planning.”

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, however, will lead delegations to both countries. And, President Obama, will instead make the trip to Bali, Indonesia to attend the APEC summit, where leaders from all over Asia will gather to discuss economic issues. He will also make the trip to the country of Brunei for the annual meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
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